Rwanda% POP 11.53 MILLION / 250
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Rwanda% POP 11.53 MILLION / 250 Includes ¨ Why Go? Kigali ..........................640 Tiny Rwanda’s name may evoke memories of the horrif- Musanze ic genocide that brutalised this country in 1994, but the (Ruhengeri)................645 country is better known today as one of Africa’s most Volcanoes stable nations, a plucky survivor that has come together National Park ............. 647 in the decades since the dark times to create a promising Huye (Butare) ............648 and dynamic future. Nyungwe Forest Tourism is once again a key contributor to the economy National Park .............650 and the industry’s brightest star is the chance to track moun- tain gorillas through bamboo forests in the shadow of the Understand Rwanda ........................ 650 Virunga volcanoes. These conical mountains are shrouded in equatorial jungles and helped earn Rwanda the moniker Survival Guide ............652 of ‘Le Pays des Mille Collines’ (Land of a Thousand Hills). So, while Rwanda’s scars may run deep, now is the time to help the country look to its future and embrace its new- found optimism. Best Places to Eat ¨ Heaven Restaurant (p644) ¨ Shokola Cafe (p643) ¨ Nehemiah’s Best Coffee (p648) When to Go ¨ Khana Khazana (p644) Kigali °C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm 40/104 24/600 30/86 Best Places to 16/400 Sleep 20/68 ¨ Discover Rwanda Youth 8/200 10/50 Hostel (p641) ¨ Garden House (p645) 0/32 0 J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨ Cormoran Lodge (p646) ¨ Ruzizi Tented Lodge Dry seasons Jun–Jul Baby The long rains (p649) Rains ease from gorillas are Although often mid-May to Sep- named during wet from mid- ¨ Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village tember and from the Kwita Izina March to mid- (p647) mid-December to ceremony. May, travel is still mid-March. possible. 640 KIGALI in Africa, as well as easily one of the cleanest POP 1.2 MILLION and safest. Spanning several ridges and valleys, Kigali, Despite bearing the brunt of the genocide’s with its lush hillsides, flowering trees, wind- unspeakable horrors in 1994, Kigali has been ing boulevards and bustling streets, is argu- the centre of Rwanda’s nation-building ef- ably one of the most attractive capital cities forts since that time and has seen massive 0 50 km Kampala 0 25 miles (500km) Butembo R (130km) UGANDA iver Kagitumba Kagera Rutshuru Kisoro TANZANIA Cyanika Kabale Katuna Masisi Karisimbi Lake Gatuna RWANDA RWANDA (4507m) Burera Musanze Saké (Ruhengeri) Volcanoes Byumba Gabil National Park Goma Akagera National Park K Gisenyi iga DEMOCRATIC Lake REPUBLIC OF Muhazi L I THE CONGO Kayonza Lake Kivu Kigali Gitarama Kalehe Kibuye Kibungo Ntarama Nyamata Nyungwe Forest Rusumo National Park Kamembe Kabare Nyanza Lake Ngara Cyangugu Uwinka Nyamagabe Rweru B3 Bukavu (Gikongoro) Kirund Bugarama Huye Kobero (Butare) Rulenge Luhwa Muyange Nigozi TANZANIA Muyinga Kayanza Bujumbura BURUNDI (40km) Rwanda Highlights 1 Volcanoes National 3 Kigali Genocide Lake Kivu with views of the Park (p647) Hiking the Memorial (p641) islands out in the bay at this forested slopes of the Confronting the horrors much-overlooked resort town. Virungas for a close of the genocide at this 6 Akagera National Park encounter with mountain haunting museum and (p649) Going on safari in gorillas and golden monkeys. memorial. this quickly replenishing 2 Nyungwe Forest 4 National Museum of national park, a victim of National Park (p650) Rwanda (p648) Watching an the genocide but still one of Hacking through steamy Intore dance performance Rwanda’s best. rainforests in search of at the finest museum in the 7 Kigali (p640) Getting colobus monkeys and country, in Huye (Butare). to know Rwanda’s charming chimpanzees. 5 Kibuye (p646) Kicking and hilly capital, full of great back on the sandy shores of eating opportunities..