Impressive Nyanza Royal Palace – Nyanza Royal Palace is an enormous domed construction made entirely with traditional materials. This old Royal Palace of the Rwandan monarchy is situated in the town of Nyanza about 35km north from Butare in the Southern Province of the country. The palace sits on top of a hillock with commanding views. The palace is a simple art-deco 1950s Italianate bungalow residence splashed in pale green. The interior is quite sparse with some grand fire-places. The most interesting rooms are the sleeping quarters and inside bathroom which must have been splendid regalia in this part of the continent in its heyday.
Rwesero Arts Museum – Rwesero Arts Museum is located 2km from Nyanza town, Rwanda. The museum was initially set up as a Palace for former King Mutara III Rudahingwa who however died before occupying it. It is now a museum that attracts several cultural tourists in Nyanza, Rwanda. It demonstrates contemporary artwork which testifies to the originality of Rwandan creativity. It is also linked to the Olympic Academy, the Cultural Centre, the Sport Museum, and the stadiums of diverse sports.
Akagera National Park – One of the most fascinating Rwanda attractions is the Akagera National Park. Akagera, the only savannah park in Rwanda is located on the eastern part of the country and boasts a variety of wildlife animals and more than 500 species of birds. Other attractions include the Rusumo Falls and Lake Mungesera. This park is a great spot for game viewing. Tourists have chance to view the African big five including the lion, leopard elephant, Buffalo and rhino. Other animals to see include zebras, giraffes, hippos and over a dozen species of antelopes. Crocodiles and hippos are common along the banks of river Akagera where they track their prey as they come to drink water.
Kigali Genocide Memorial Center – After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, several memorial sites have been established to honor those who lost their lives.Since many of them couldn’t be identified and were even devoured by wild animals, many were buried in mass graves with claims of many mass graves being dug by the victims before they were hacked to death. Among the many is the Genocide Memorial Center, a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide in the city of Kigali. It serves as a place for people to grieve those they lost.
Lake Kivu – Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in the Albertine Rift of the Great Rift Valley. It empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. The lake is one of only three “exploding” lakes in the world. Lake Kivu has one of the most spectacular shorelines in the world and because of this; it is a favorite get-away for several Rwanda holiday activities including beach vacations, water sports including kayaking, windsurfing and canoeing.
Nyungwe Forest National Park – Nyungwe National Park is the largest block of montane forest in the east and central Africa. It is situated south of Lake Kivu on the border with Burundi in the south west of Rwanda. The Park is home to chimpanzees, Angolan black-and-white colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and other primates. It is an ideal site for tracking chimpanzees and the beautiful golden monkeys. Chimpanzee and gorilla tracking takes many hours of walking in the thick forest, this makes the safari quite tiresome.
Volcanoes National Park (Parc des Volcans) – Volcanoes National Park is one of the last sanctuaries where one can find the mountain gorilla. It lies in the North Western part of Rwanda bordering the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park of Uganda and Virunga National Park of DR Congo. The Volcanoes Park was the first park to be formed in Africa in the year 1929 intended to protect the gorillas from poachers. It is also home to five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains which are covered with bamboo forest namely Kirisimbi, Sabyinyo, Bisoke, Muhabura and Gahinga. This park is the habitat to over a third of the remaining mountain gorillas in the whole world. It is the best destination for Gorilla Safaris in Rwanda.
