KIGALI - A GATEWAY TO RWANDA

Located at Rwanda’s geographical heart, the rapidly growing City of Kigali is not only the national capital, but also the country’s most important business centre and main port of entry.

Kigali City, which started in 1907 as a small colonial outpost with little link to the outside world, is now 100 years old. Today, Kigali City has come of age-as the capital of Rwanda and made phenomenal strides. It is a city that has not just survived, but has prevailed and has grown into a modern metropolis- a heart of the emerging Rwandan economy and a pride of every Rwandan.

Among the safest and friendliest of African capitals, Kigali City is blessed with a moderate high altitude climate that belies its tropical location, and is conveniently located within three hours’ drive of the main tourist sites. The Rwandan capital provides both a comfortable and welcoming introduction to this land of a thousand hills and an ideal springboard from which to explore this magical country.


Kigali city is made up of three districts namely Gasabo, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge. It is presently inhabited by approximately 1 million inhabitants. Kigali is 70% rural with a population which is relatively young- the youth make up about 60% and women make slightly more the 50%.

VOLCANIC LAKES

Kivu, Bulera, Ruhondo, Bunyonyi and Mutanda - These five volcanic lakes on the borders of Rwanda and Uganda have their own special attractions.

Lake Kivu, on the Rwanda/Congo border, the largest, is like a giant inland sea with some interesting lakeside towns. Kibuye, two hours from Kigali, is a relaxing retreat for swimming, canoeing and water-skiing. Gisenyi, a famous resort in the past, now has a sleepy forgotten air with some fine but neglected buildings from the Belgian era.

The twin lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo are attractive places to visit after gorilla tracking in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

The emerald green Mutanda, in Uganda, with its distinctive hump-back islands, seen in the distance from Mgahinga, has a pristine beauty. Toyo Island, Volcanoes’ private island in the lake, wild and unspoilt, is reached by dug-out canoe.

The finger-like Bunyonyi literally "a place of little birds”, lies among steeply terraced hillsides near the hill town of Kabale; it is an ideal stopping point on the way to Bwindi and Mgahinga.

LIGHTNING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

This small country is located near the center of Africa, a few degrees south of the Equator. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of Congo by Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley to the west; it is bounded on the north by Uganda, to the east by Tanzania and to the south by Burundi. The capital, Kigali, is located in the centre of the country.


Rwanda's countryside is covered by grasslands and small farms extending over rolling hills, with areas of rugged mountains that extend southeast from a chain of volcanoes in the northwest. The divide between the Congo and Nile drainage systems extends from north to south through western Rwanda at an average elevation of almost 9,000 feet (2,740 m). On the western slopes of this ridgeline, the land slopes abruptly toward Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi River valley, and constitutes part of the Great Rift Valley.

The eastern slopes are more moderate, with rolling hills extending across central uplands at gradually reducing altitudes, to the plains, swamps, and lakes of the eastern border region. Therefore the country is also fondly known as "Land of a Thousand Hills" (Pays des milles collines). In 2006, a British-led exploration announced that they had located the longest headstream of the River Nile in Nyungwe Forest.

Rwanda is a tropical country; its high elevation makes the climate temperate. In the mountains, frost and snow are possible. The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 1,463 m (4,800 feet) is 23°C (73°F). Rwanda is considered the lightning capital of the world, due to intense daily monsoons during the two rainy seasons (February–May and September–December). Annual rainfall averages 830 mm (31 inches) but is generally heavier in the western and northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.