Rwanda travel guide

Akagera National Park is far from being the top safari place in Africa, but it is the only one in Rwanda. The park was cut in half several years ago to make place for returning Rwandan refugees after the genocide. As a result of this human invasion, the remaining animals fled to Tanzania, giving Akagera the reputation of being a 'vegetarian safari' park. The situation has improved since then, but don't expect to check all of your Big Five list here. Animals that are most likely to be seen are buffaloes, hippos, zebras, giraffes, baboons, topis, impalas, warthogs, elephants, crocodiles and several species of monkeys and birds. The most abundant species, however, might be the tsetse fly, especially in the southern part of the park. Be prepared for a fierce battle with this nasty insect.

Home to the first secondary school in Rwanda, to the National University, the country's largest cathedral, many research centres and the National Museum, Huye is the intellectual town of Rwanda. Being the intellectual hub, it offers mostly cultural activities, but is definitely not boring. Often visited by people on their way to Nyungwe Forest National Park or Burundi, Huye is worth a short stop. With its cool vibe typical of college and university towns, it is a nice place to spend a day wandering its lively streets and visiting the few cultural landmarks. And like in the rest of Rwanda, the hills are everywhere and always superb.

Set on the shores of Lake Kivu, Kibuye has no reason to envy its big sister, the more touristic Gisenyi (Rubavu). Formed by many mountainous peninsulas and hilly islands, Kibuye offers splendid views from every location, and could easily meet some of the expectations coming with the overused term of 'paradise'. This small and quiet town doesn't have much to offer in terms of activities - and it might be why it has been neglected in favour of Gisenyi - but is a really pleasant getaway for a few days. Many of the islands that dot the lake are fun to visit, the favourites being Napolean Island with its thousands of fruit bats and Peace Island where you can sip a beer and play volleyball. While still surprisingly overlooked by most tourists, the town is starting to get noticed, so development is underway... for better or for worse.

Up and down, and up and down... Kigali is Rwanda in miniature. The city is spread over many hills, making it a bit difficult to find your way around. Luckily, fairly cheap moto-taxis (and, watch this, with helmets) are everywhere to take you to most places. Kigali doesn't fit the idea you could have of an African capital: with its large tree-lined and well-manicured boulevards, extremely clean and safe streets, its people driving slowly and cautiously and no real city centre to speak of, it looks more like a very civilised busy suburb. However, it is the kind of city that grows on you, and when you get to explore its diverse neighbourhoods, meet their friendly inhabitants, and take in the superb views of the surrounding hills, you can't help but start to love it.

Even though we've seen and read numerous reports about Rwanda's genocide in 1994, it might still be hard to grasp the magnitude and sheer horror of the event. The Murambi Genocide Memorial could be the place to help people get a sense of what happened. Set on top of a hill with incredible views and a seemingly peaceful environment, the Murambi technical school has been the theatre of the killing of 40,000 to 50,000 Tutsis in just one night. Mass graves were quickly dug and volleyball courts and baseball fields set on top of them to cover the massacre. 20,000 bodies have since been found, exhumed and reburied, but about 1000 of them have been preserved with lime to be exposed in the many small dorm rooms on site. It's a tear-inducing, stomach-churning experience to see all those contorted mummified corpses piled one on top of another... and it goes on and on, room after room, until you reach the point where, overwhelmed, you want to scream "No more!", but you keep watching this incredible display, feeling invested in a certain duty to bear witness and make your motto the same as Rwanda's: Never again.

Out of respect for the victims, picture-taking is forbidden inside the rooms.