Places to Visit in Rwanda

Rwanda, “the land of a thousand hills” is one of the most incredibly beautiful places of the African continent. Rwandan tourism is one of the most fast developing industries of Rwanda.

The government has lately placed a great deal of investment in the Rwanda tourism sector.
Rwanda has many attractive beaches, lakes, mountains and an extremely rich wildlife reserve. The country is blessed with a very favorable climate, fine food, lodging facilities and a rich cultural heritage of arts and crafts. Rwanda also has national parks, national museum, eco tourism and scope for many exciting tourist activities like biking, trekking, mountain biking and shopping facilities. Tourists can enjoy an exciting vacation trip to Rwanda and its adjoining cities and their popular attractions. Rwandan tourism industry is fast booming and more and more tourists are ready to explore this comparatively quieter and peaceful country of African continent.

Rwanda is a small country with forests, mountains, landscapes and beautiful beaches in Central Africa. Surrounded by Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, Rwanda travel enables a person to enjoy the beauty of Rwanda, well known as “the land of thousand hills”. Rwanda travel will give a complete over view of Rwandan culture, history and wild life. Travel to Rwanda any time except in the rainy season of mid March to mid May. The main attractions to visit while traveling in Rwanda include:

Rwanda has a well connected road network. Luxury bus and efficient mini bus facilities are provided in Rwanda. There are certain special flights that can be availed to travel to Rwanda. Charter flights are also available in Rwanda. Rwanda has no connection through railways but it is well connected by road network to Uganda, Kenya.

There are many tour operators housed in Rwanda that help tourists while traveling in Rwanda. Again Rwanda travel tours can also be arranged through the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Park and Office Rwandaise du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN). The main tour operators of Rwanda are:

• National Office for Tourism and National Parks
• International Tours and Travel(ITT)
• Albertine Safaris
• Sat guru Travel and Tour Service
• The Travel Company

Rwanda travel guide will help the people to reach the small landlocked territory of Central Africa. Rwanda travel guide will help the people to know about Rwanda the “land of thousand hills”. The city of Rwanda is divided by the Rift valley and surrounded by mountain ranges running from north to south of the country. The city of Rwanda came into the spot light only after the genocide of 1994.

Travel guide to Rwanda will give a complete over view of Rwandan culture, history and wild life. French and Kinyarwanda is the main language spoken in Rwanda. Apart from it English and French are also spoken by the Rwandan people. The main currency of Rwanda is Rwanda franc. US dollars are mainly used as hard cash. Credit cards are accepted only in the top hotels of Rwanda. To reach Rwanda the first thing you need is a legal passport. Visa is mandatory for all except for the residents of UK, Uganda, USA, Congo, Sweden, Burundi, Kenya and many others.

Rwanda can be visited all through out the year. The European winter is the appropriate time for watching the birds of different species. Gorilla trekking is not suitable during the dry season.

The Travel guide of Rwanda provides the best communication network in Rwanda. All the roads of Rwanda are well connected. There are certain flights for the travelers to reach Rwanda. Those who mainly travel through a tour company enjoy the facility of private vehicles. All the regions of Rwanda are well connected with local as well as luxury bus services. Air charter services are available from all corners of the country. Bicycle trips are also well matched in the roads of Rwanda. Car can also be hired in Rwanda for traveling.

Goma, Kibuye, Kigali, Gisenyi are the well known places to see in Rwanda. Rwandan wild life attracts a huge number of tourists every year. The dangerous volcanic mountains preserved by the Volcanoes National Park and the dense tropical forests are the main attractions in the northern part of the country. On the other hand lakes, rivers, valleys and hills dominate the rest part of the country. Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda and Parc National des Volcanoes is the home place for many endangered species.

The water bodies of Rwanda are also very famous particularly the Lake Muhazi and Lake Kivu.

There are innumerable numbers of airways which offers travel to Rwanda. They are:

Rwanda Visa

Rwanda visa is a compulsory document to get an entry in the landlocked country. There are different types of Rwanda visa like visa for traveling, business visa, tourist visa and others. They include travel visa, tourist visa, business visa, and others.

There are single entry visa and multiple entry visas. All these types of Rwandan visa are valid for three months. For any kind of application of visa there is consulate section in the Embassy of Rwanda.

The payment for visa of Rwanda can not be made by cheques and cash. The people must furnish all the required formalities in order to obtain Rwanda visa. The required formalities to be furnished for getting a visa for Rwanda include:

• The person opting for Rwanda visa should fill in two application forms in his/her own handwriting or in type.
• The traveler must render a legal passport for at least six months.
• To complete the procedure of visa it takes twenty four hours and forty eight hours for the travel document.
• The application envelope of the applicant must be registered, bear a stamp and the address of the applicant.
• Two passport size photographs must be attached with the application form.
• Person opting for business visa must mention the type of business.
• The application letter must bear the signature of an officer of the company other than the applicant.
• The name and address provided by the applicant must be verified by the officials before issuing the Visa.

A valid Rwanda visa is absolutely necessary for all the travelers except for the nationals of Uganda, UK, USA, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Canada, Germany, Burundi, South Africa, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Sweden. They can obtain a Rwanda visa from any big entry point without being charge. Rwanda visa is not required for those passengers who pass through Rwanda for business purpose within twenty four hours.

Rwanda Tour Operators

The Rwanda tour operators offer a variety of tours through out Rwanda. The people traveling through Rwanda tour operators can enjoy a variety of facilities. The Rwanda tour operators make arrangements for reservations in the hotels, apartments, guest houses and lodge. The tour operators also arranges for an exquisite dinner at any of the popular restaurants in Rwanda.

Arranging safari accommodation for the travelers is one of the prime facility offered by these tour operators. The tour operators in Rwanda make arrangements for luxury bus services. They also provides rented cars. The tour operators in Rwanda arranges certain adventurous excursions for the travelers like hiking and biking. Arranging gorilla tracking and safari tours is the top most facility of these tour operators. They offer bird catching, gorilla safaris and other wild life safaris. Visiting all the popular places of attraction in Rwanda are well arranged by Rwanda tour operators. The tour operators provides special assistance for the old persons and physically disabled.

Apart from the tour operators, a tour to Rwanda can be well coordinated through National Parks and National Office of Tourism. There are a hand full number of tour operators in Rwanda offering the travelers a variety of facilities. The main tour operators of Rwanda include:

• National Office for Tourism and National Parks
• Nord Sud International Tours and Travel
• International Tours and Travel(ITT)
• Top Travel and Tours
• Rwanda Eco Tours Agency
• Thousand Hills Expedition
• Sat guru Travel and Tour Service
• Magic Safaris
• Albertine Safaris
• Jacana Tours and Travels
• Access Rwanda Safaris Ltd.
• Volcanoes Safaris
• The Travel Company
• Primate safaris
• Kiboko Tours and Travels

There are also many travel agencies in Rwanda along with tour operators at Rwanda. The well known travel agencies of Rwanda are:

• Rwanda Travel Bureau
• International Tours Agency
• Changa Travel Agency
• GTS Game Travel Service
• Concord Rwanda Safari International Travel Bureau

Thus, traveling in Rwanda with the help of tour operators is a wonderful experience.

Rwanda Shopping

Rwanda located in Africa is marked by its hilly terrain that has earned for it the name of “Land of a Thousand Hills”. Rwanda has developed into an important tourist destination due to the rich bio diversity that is present in this area. The species richness coupled with the beauty of the natural environment had made it a famous tourist spot. Rwanda Shopping too therefore serves to cater both to the needs of the locals and the tourists.

Rwanda Shopping articles include baskets that are woven. These consist of lids which are pointed. Apart from this the other Rwanda specialties include clay statuettes, masks and charms. Besides, Rwanda Shopping articles also includes the local handicrafts.Rwanda Shopping articles also includes other products like mattress, shoes, and textile products.

Rwanda Currency is known as the Rwanda Franc (RWF). The denominations of the notes are RWF 5000, 1000, 500, and 100. Denominations of coins are RWF 50, 20, 10 ,5, 2 AND 1.

Rwanda Shopping articles have further witnessed a rise due to the development that the country has made in the recent years. Such a development has also been made in the sphere of textile goods and products that has increased the variety of shopping articles meant for consumers.