Rwanda – Home of the Gorillas and Chimps
- by Kerstin Bahnmüller
- •
- 31 Oct, 2018
- •

Rwanda - if you hears that name you think automatically of gorilla and chimps, so did I :-)
But that small country has so much more to offer than that. First of all – it is the cleanest country in Africa I have ever seen - the streets are clean, there is no rubbish, nothing. The whole country cleans up everything every month for half a day to support the president and help him to keep the country clean. It is really incredible and amazing!
Kigali is the capital of Rwanda and located on several mountains which gives you very nice viewpoints over the city and the surroundings. There is a lot to see besides the history and the Genocide museum like vibrant markets, where you can shop and experience Africa and for example the colorful fabrics.

Just a few hours drive away is Akagera National Park. Akagera is the largest national park in Rwanda comprising acacia woodlands, savannah grasslands and mountain habitats. The Akagera River feeds a labyrinth of lakes and papyrus swamps making it the largest protected wetland in Central Africa with one of the highest concentrations of hippopotamus in Africa. It is a Big 5 National Park but it is more about the scenery and the incredible landscape than seeing the Big 5. And of course – the birds. Rwanda is the perfect destination for birdlovers. There are beautiful birds everywhere.







The next morning we drove towards Nyungwe National Park where we did the only canopy walk in East Africa, Nyungwe Canopy Walkway – over 160 meters long, spanning three bridges and around 70 meters high with a bird’s eye view experience of the spectacular tropical rainforest.
It was a great experience but it was as well frightening being so high above the trees and I was more focused crossing the bridge than taking pictures. The magical hike back along the Igishigishigi Trail passes by giant tree ferns and orchids amongst butterflies and birds was (how we realized afterwards) only a little walk in comparison to the the trekking of the chimps and gorillas. :-) :-)


The next day we were split: one group went to see the colobus monkeys in the middle of a tea plantage and the other ones were trekking the chimps. I was in the group visiting the colobus monkeys and we walked for about 30minutes on a walkway and had the chance of taking great pictures of those funny little ones. They did a whole show for us and it was really great seeing them so closely. The other group was lucky seeing the chimps but it took them a trekking of 4 hours through the forest – no walkways or pathways, there was nothing. They had to create their own ways and hike up and down with sunshine and rain – but they saw the chimps and had great videos and pictures. But you must be phisically fit and wear the right clothes and shoes!




The next day - finally was THE day – we did the gorilla trekking. We met at Kinigi, Volcanoes National Park, to experience one of Rwanda’s most iconic tourism attractions – the gorilla trekking. Volcanoes National Park, in the north-western part of Rwanda, on the slopes of the extinct volcanoes, is one of Rwanda’s conservation epicentres and home to a number of international scientific and research organizations mainly focused on gorillas. You meet all other groups which are trekking the gorillas and on the spot the groups are devided by fitness to go to one of the families in the National Park. And then the trekking starts :-) First we were transferred to the “entrance” to the National Park on a bumpy road through villages till we reached the trekking start. Here we were welcomed by porters which you can hire to help you for the trekking.
They carry your backpack, help you through the forest and give you a helping hand – of course our group hired them all, we didn’t want to leave one behind. After that we started hiking to the entrance. It went up a mountain for approximately 45 minutes till we reached the entrance to the forest. Then it got humid with all the plants and trees and we hiked another 30 minutes through slippery landscape till we were finally near the gorillas. After you found them you have 1 hour with the family. You can take pictures and experience them from a very close distance - I must say it was a great experience, which felt kind of unreal. The majestic silverback, the leader of the family, just sitting 50 cm away from the group and observing us, while the youngsters and babies tried to play with us – it was an amazing and unforgettable experience!



