When it comes to a safari in East Africa, Rwanda is truly unique. Fly into Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, and you’ll be in the verdant wonderland of the Volcanoes National Park, the rainforest home to numerous mountain gorilla families, a great area for gorilla trekking.
Volcanoes National Park has six active and three dead volcanoes, it’s breathtakingly gorgeous, and it’s home to the nearly extinct mountain gorilla. The latter is the park’s main draw, but this Rwandan part of the Virunga Massif, which crosses the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, offers many additional trekking routes to explore, even if you aren’t looking for gorillas. You could see indigenous golden monkeys, forest elephants, or buffalo if you look for them.
Nyungwe National Park is East Africa’s biggest expanse of tropical rainforest, covering over 1,000km2 and home to a massive population of chimps, as well as Ruwenzori colobus and L’Hoest’s monkeys. There are also 130 kilometres of hiking paths of various lengths. The Igishigishigi Trail is the shortest and goes to East Africa’s tallest canopy walk, while the Bigugu Trail climbs to the park’s namesake highest peak at 2,950m.