Rwanda's most popular tourist activity is the tracking of mountain gorillas, which takes place in the Volcanoes National Park. Other attractions include Nyungwe Forest, home to chimpanzees, Ruwenzori colobus and other primates, the resorts of Lake Kivu, and Akagera, a savanna reserve in the east of the country.
The Republic of Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, and is a landlocked country located in the Great Lakes region of eastern-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.
Tourism
Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors and is now the country's leading foreign exchange earner, generating US$214 million in 2008, up by 54% on the previous year. Despite the genocide, the country is increasingly perceived internationally as a safe destination, and one million people are estimated to have visited the country in 2008, up from 826,374 in 2007. In 2009 a CNN report labeled Rwanda as Africa's biggest success story, having achieved stability, economic growth (average income has tripled in the past ten years) and international integration.
Climate
Although close to the equator, the country has a cool temperate climate due to its high elevation. The terrain consists mostly of grassy uplands and gently rolling hills. Abundant wildlife, including rare mountain gorillas, have resulted in tourism becoming one of the biggest sectors of the country's economy. Rwanda has a temperate tropical highland climate, with lower temperatures than is typical for equatorial countries due to the high altitude. In Rubona, in the centre of the country, daily temperatures typically range between 14 °C (57 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) and there is little variation through the year.
Geography of Rwanda
At 26,338 square kilometres (10,169 sq mi), Rwanda is the world's 148th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Haiti, the U.S. State of Maryland, and Belgium. The country is located in Central and East Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator and is landlocked. The country neighbours the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; Uganda to the north; Tanzania to the east; and Burundi to the south. The capital, Kigali, is located in the centre of the country.
Central and western Rwanda is dominated by mountains. The highest peaks are found in the Virunga chain of volcanoes in the north-west, including Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda's highest point at 4,507 metres (14,787 ft). This western section of the country, which lies within the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion, has an average elevation ranging between 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) and 2,500 metres (8,202 ft). Rwanda is also noted for its lakes. Lake Kivu is the largest, occupying the floor of the Rift Valley along most of the length of Rwanda's western border and is one of the twenty deepest lakes in the world with a maximum depth of 480 metres (1,575 ft). Other notable lakes include Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi, Rweru and Ihema, the last being the largest of a string of lakes in the eastern plains of Akagera National Park.
For more info, visit the National Parks of Rwanda website