Like its counterpart Uganda, Rwanda
is also a landlocked with neighbor countries like Democratic Republic of Congo
in the West, Tanzania to the East, Uganda to the north, , and Burundi in the
south. Rwanda occupy an area of about 26,338 sq km (10,169sqmiles), with a
total population of about 13 million (UN estimates 2013 and it’s Africa's most
densely populated country. Rwanda is divided by great peaks of up to 3,000m
(9,842ft) which run across the county from north to south. Rwanda is a very
beautiful county with a moderate climate. The majority of the people in Rwanda speak
Kinyarwanda, French, English, and Kiswahili.
Fact 1
Rwanda’s capital and its largest
city is Kigali. It is located within the heart of Rwanda, just about 7kms from
Kanombe international airport. it’s a very attractive small city with a
fantastic variety of flowering trees and plants from various points on the
edge, there are outstanding views over the intensively cultivated and terraced
countryside. The capital Kigali is a center to very many tourist attractions
like the genocide memorial center, national museum, cultural sites,
international business, market center. It’s really very difficult to come on a
safari to Rwanda without going for a Kigali city tour. Rwanda’s national
currency is the Rwandan franc (Rwf.)
Fact 2
Rwanda obtained its independence on
July 1, 1962 from Belgium. It has a presidential system of government and Paul
Kagame is currently the president of Rwanda
Fact 3
The climate of Rwanda is made up of two wet
seasons and two dry seasons. The short wet season lasts from October to November
and the main rainy season lasting from mid-march to the end of May. The dry
season lasts from December to mid-march and from June to end of August. Rwanda
has deep valleys and steep mountains and sometimes Rwanda is referred to as a
country of ‘’a thousand hills’’
Fact 4
Rwanda is known as one of the three
countries in the whole world that houses the few remaining endangered mountain
gorillas. Today a Rwanda gorilla trekking safari is the most adventurous
experience especially to real nature lovers. It’s a home to over 350 primates
and it’s known as the leading mountain gorilla safari destination in the
world. Many visitors whole over the
world come to this small African country to spend at least 1-2 hours with these
endangered apes in their natural habitat.
Your gorilla safari in Rwanda will be a memorable adventure as you are privileged to explore more about these Rwanda facts.
Fact 5
Rwanda's dreadful genocide which took place in
1994 has not been forgotten; over 1 million people were killed within 90 days.
The memorial museum in Kigali is a "must-see". This terrible war took
place between two ethnic groups that live in Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis
and this happened after the murder of the Presidents of Burundi (Cyprien
Ntaryamira) and Rwanda (Juvénal Habyarimana) in a plane crash caused by a
rocket attack On 6 April 1994. The killings started immediately since the Hutu
thought that the Tutsi where accountable for the tragic. The killings where
herd in each and every town of Rwanda, people used pang, stick, stone and guns
to kill each other. As a way of remembering the incidence, memorial sites were
built, and there about 7 memorial genocide sites with in Rwanda these include
Murambi Genocide Memorial Site, Gisozi Memorial site, Gisenyi, Bisesero,
Nyamata, Ntarama Memorial sites. This day is celebrated every year. Many
visitors can’t leave Rwanda without visiting one of these memorial sites; it’s
a life-changing experience to hear testimonies from the survivors of this
horrific war which claimed million lives.
Fact 6
Roman Catholics dominate other
religions in Rwanda. Half the people are Roman Catholics while 26% are Protestants,
11% are Adventists and 4.6% are Muslims.
Fact 7
Nyungwe Forest National Park is the only park
not only in Rwanda but also in world hosting over 13 species of primates.
Nyungwe forest national park has a huge montane forest and it’s located in the
south western part of Rwanda just about 5-7 hours’ drive from Kigali Rwanda’s
capital and its largest city. For primate lovers the park is a home to the
close relative of man the chimps which shares almost a half of the 98% of human
genes, chimp tracking is the most done tourist activity at the park. Other primates include baboons, black and
white colobus monkey, silver monkeys, civet monkeys, red tailed monkey to
mention but a few. It is also a home to over 300 species of birds. It’s also a
home to mammal species which include civets, leopards, several cats, and other
animals.
Fact 8
Akagera National Park is the only protected
Rwanda national park where game drives to meet the big five species can be done
from. Wildlife species expected to see includes elephants, hippos, lion,
elephant, buffaloes, crocodiles, warthog, and antelopes among others.
Fact 9
Rwanda’s natural resources are
gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite, (tungsten ore) methane, hydropower and
arable land. The industries include cement, agricultural products, soap,
small-scale beverages, furniture, plastic goods, textiles, shoes and
cigarettes, all these generates the country a lot of revenue that in turn used
to improve people’s standards of living.
Fact 10
Rwanda highest point is mountain Karisimbi, 4,519 m and lowest point is Rusizi River, 950m. Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s freshest water body and the sixth largest lake in Africa, Very good for relaxing and many activities can be carried out at the lake like swimming, beach volleyball & exploring the lake on the boat to the nearby island.
