Rwanda - A Gem Of Africa
Rwanda - one of the smallest African countries and one of the youngest populations in the world. The “land of a thousand hills” (its lowest elevation is just under 1000m) suffered from terrible tragedy less than 30 years ago, and since then has been on an incredible path of recovery - economically, socially and through its conservation efforts.
We only had 6 days in Rwanda, so the schedule was relatively packed as there is a lot to see - and as I learnt, more to explore than what I had time for. The first impression of Rwanda is Kigali, and it’s a positive one - the city is modern and clean, and well organized. Corruption is rare, and the country is united in building a better future for themselves - so far, relatively successfully.
Great Apes and Golden Monkeys
More on Kigali and Rwanda’s history later, as we immediately left towards the country’s western parts: The Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga mountains, home to the world’s second remaining Mountain Gorilla population, aside from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, about which you can read in my Uganda blog.
In Dian Fossey’s Footsteps
This was also the mountain we had to climb to see Rwanda’s most famous attraction - luckily not all the way to the top! With our guide, porters, and armed rangers, we started from the very western part, just a few kilometers from the border to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the national park area is currently closed due to the civil war. The trek was intense, although less so than in Uganda’s aptly named impenetrable forest.
Even though it was my second Gorilla trek, it was not one bit less exciting than the first one. The varied behavior of the Gorillas, the different natural setting, and simply the fact you only have one hour with them definitely makes you want to experience more of it once you had a taste.
Rwanda’s Gorilla conservation effort and the conflict with poaching has been in the global spotlight for many years, starting with Dian Fossey’s work from the 1960s, culminating in her famous book “Gorillas in the Mist”, later adapted into a movie. She was instrumental in stopping the decline of the Mountain Gorilla population, and her work is now eternalized in the newly opened “Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund”, a modern research centre and museum dedicated to the plight of these animals - definitely worth a visit when you’re in the area. Fossey’s life was not without controversy, and ended in her murder, which remains a mystery until today.
A Feast
The second species of primate that is special in this area are Golden Monkeys, an endangered animal that can only be found in the Virunga volcanic mountains, with an estimated population of 2000-4000.
Watch one of them stuffing its face.
The Golden Monkey Trek is a lot less intense (and the permit much cheaper) than the Gorillas, and while not quite comparable they’re an interesting species, so it’s definitely worth combing the two if you visit Rwanda.
Into the Darkness and a Nice Place to Stay
A rather obscure attraction (my favorite ones) of the park are the Musanze caves. Their entrance lies literally under the main road through the area, and you’d never know what lies beyond unless you descend down for the guided tour.
The last night at Volcanoes National Park was spent at One & Only Gorilla’s Nest. Definitely the most spectacular place to stay in the area, located in its own private Eucalyptus forest, featuring the restored cottage of wildlife expert Jack Hanna.
From Lakes and Volcanoes
I had one more place to see before heading back to Kigali - the Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo, on the border to Uganda. These two lakes have an almost identical shape (hence the colloquial name), although they are at different elevations. The existence of a small channel (now a hydropower pipe) meant that water was flowing from one lake into the other in the past. They are separated by a small elevated hill, from which you get to experience beautiful views of the volcanoes and lakes - Byiza Lodge is probably the best spot.
My last day in Rwanda was spent exploring Kigali and its surrounding areas. That includes one of its last independent milk bars (yes, that’s a thing) called Kuruhimbi, for the famous Ikivuguto drink. If you know me, you’ll know that’s my kind of bar, but the story behind the importance of cows and milk in Rwanda is an interesting one, worth a read in this article - there’s a reason why the phrase for “wishing someone well” here literally means “may you have a cow”.
Lessons Learnt from History, or not?
Beyond that, an agenda point no one should miss out when visiting Rwanda is to explore some of the country’s most significant monuments of the genocide in 1994. We visited three such places: Kigali Genocide Memorial, Nyamata Church, and Ntarama Church Memorial Centre, the latter two about an hour outside the city. They each provided a different insight and perspective on the genocide, but the theme of invoking incredible sadness about what occurred here is shared across all of them - it’s a rough emotional journey. For instance, Nyamata church still features holes in the wall that were used to throw grenades into the building when people looked for shelter, and blood stains on the altar cloth caused by machete massacres. Over 50,000 people are buried here, many of them displayed as rows of skulls and in coffins filled to the brim with bones, often unidentified. New victims are still found in mass graves of the area.
While I recommend reading the articles linked above, another way to start is the (albeit Hollywood-ized and not without its controversy) movie “Hotel Rwanda” which took place in the historic Hotel des Mille Collines, (where I stayed, as it happens).
While estimated numbers vary, around 800,000 people were killed in the span of just over 3 months, the vast majority of Tutsi ethnicity, slaughtered by the Hutu perpetrators with the most brutal means. What makes learning about the events of this period particularly intense is their recency - as a consequence, literally everyone you meet in Rwanda is somehow directly or indirectly affected - and secondly, how the seeds for the genocide were planted long before, and, as so often, by Western occupants. At the same time, the country has taken a path of unification and forgiveness, and you don’t ever have the feeling of lingering tension or divide. While Rwanda is not without its political challenges, it makes the progress and development over the last 25 years all the more impressive.
When visiting memorials such as these, one often has the feeling that “this can never happen again” or “it wouldn’t happen today” - the problem is, that’s what everyone thought after genocides in Armenia over 100 years ago, or the Holocaust 80 years ago, and yet history keeps repeating itself. I found this banner particularly prescient and it makes you think about where the next risk lies and how to prevent it, given the complexity of the root causes.
A Sunset in Kigali
The last evening was spent on capturing the city from day to night. We found this elevated viewpoint which was perfect for capturing some cityscape scenes and this timeslice video.
