Rwanda is undoubtedly a huge success story within the continent of Africa. The country has come a long way since the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and now is continually cited as one of the fastest growing economies on the continent. The capital Kigali is a cosmopolitan and modern city, offering great accommodation and restaurant options to tourists from around the world.

In recent years Rwanda has taken a similar path to Botswana in targeting high-end luxury tourists, by building a small number of super-luxe accommodation properties, and by significantly increasing permit prices for the ever popular Gorilla Tours in Virunga National Park. The aim is to ensure conservation efforts are maximised by limiting tourism numbers.

As well as Gorilla Trekking, Rwanda has other alternative wildlife experiences including Golden Monkey tracking in Volcanoes National park, chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park and safari game drives in Akagera National Park, that is once again home to the Big 5 and also over 480 bird species. The elusive shoebill is a bucket-list sighting for many visitors and is known to frequent the swamp-fringed lakes.

You would also be remiss if you visited Rwanda without a visit to the highly informative Genocide Museum in Kigali and the culturally informative King’s Palace, a beautifully-crafted thatched dwelling shaped like a beehive. that is a reconstruction of the traditional royal residence.