Tourism in Rwanda
Senior 2 · Geography and Environment
Tourism in Rwanda
Lesson 1 of 3
20 min
A family from Huye spends a weekend on the beach at Rubavu. A student group visits the King's Palace Museum in Nyanza. A visitor from Germany climbs for hours through bamboo forest to spend time near a family of mountain gorillas. All of them are tourists. Tourism is travelling to, and staying in, places outside your usual surroundings for leisure, business or learning, usually for less than a year. It is one of Rwanda's fastest-growing industries. This lesson maps the places that draw visitors.
| Site | Location | Main attractions |
|---|---|---|
| Volcanoes National Park | North-west, near Musanze, on the borders with Uganda and the DR Congo | Mountain gorillas and golden monkeys; five volcanoes of the Virunga chain, including Karisimbi (4,507 m) and Bisoke with its crater lake; the old research base of the gorilla scientist Dian Fossey. Founded in 1925, it was the first national park in Africa. |
| Nyungwe National Park | South-west, on the border with Burundi | One of Africa's best-preserved mountain rainforests: chimpanzees and 12 other primate species, more than 300 bird species, waterfalls and a canopy walkway above the trees. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023. |
| Akagera National Park | East, on the border with Tanzania | Savanna, lakes and papyrus swamps, the largest protected wetland in east-central Africa: elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles and many antelopes. Lions were brought back in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017, so visitors can again see the “Big Five” (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino). Boat trips on Lake Ihema. |
| Gishwati-Mukura National Park | West | Chimpanzee tracking, monkeys, birds and community walks; its Gishwati forest opened to visitors in December 2020. |
| Lake Kivu | Western border with the DR Congo | Rwanda's largest lake (about 2,700 km²): sandy beaches, boat trips and islands, with resort towns at Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi. |
| Congo Nile Trail | Along Lake Kivu from Rubavu to Rusizi | A hiking and mountain-biking route along the Congo–Nile divide, through five districts, with green hills and lake views. |
| Museums | Nyanza, Huye and Kigali | The King's Palace Museum in Nyanza (a rebuilt royal palace and the long-horned Inyambo cows); the Ethnographic Museum in Huye (baskets, tools, drums and traditional dress); the Kandt House Museum in Kigali. |
| Genocide memorial sites | Across the country | The Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi, where more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest, and memorials such as Murambi. Visitors come to remember the victims, honour the survivors and learn, so that it never happens again. These are places of remembrance, visited quietly and respectfully. |
| Kigali city | Centre | Conferences and events at the Kigali Convention Centre, sports events, markets, crafts, restaurants and a reputation as a clean, safe city. |
Areas from Wikipedia, rounded: Rwanda about 26,338 km²; Akagera about 1,122 km²; Volcanoes about 160 km².
Tip
Memory map: north-west, south-west, east. Volcanoes in the north-west for gorillas; Nyungwe in the south-west for chimpanzees and the canopy walk; Akagera in the east for savanna animals. Add Lake Kivu on the west for beaches and Nyanza in the south for royal history, and you can place every major site on a sketch map.
Solution: domestic tourism is by residents within their own country (a Huye family visiting Lake Kivu); international tourism is by visitors from other countries (a German visitor tracking gorillas).
Solution: chimpanzees and other primates, and the canopy walkway (also birds, waterfalls, rainforest).
Solution: lions (2015) and black rhinos (2017) were brought back, joining the elephants, buffalo and leopards already there.
Solution: 1,019 ÷ 26,338 × 100 ≈ 3.9%.
Solution: cultural: the King's Palace Museum in Nyanza (or the Ethnographic Museum in Huye); historical: the Murambi Genocide Memorial.
Summary
Sources and credits
The key terms, the site table, the worked example and the practice items are written by Ganzaa. The description of the genocide memorials is written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
