Category: Destinations

In the Virunga ranges of Africa; shared by Uganda Congo and Rwanda, you will find the rare mountain gorillas. In Uganda around the Bwindi Impenetrable Natural Forest, Rwanda at the Volcanoes National Park and Albert National Park in The Belgian region of Congo. One of the favorite places for tourists is the Volcanoes National Park in the North of Rwanda (found in the small village of Musanze – the former Ruhengeri area) in her Virunga ranges habituated by 10 gorilla family groups of mountain gorillas.

Volcanoes Natonal Park is believed to be the oldest park in Africa. Formed from the Karisimbi, Mikeno and Visoke volcanoes which were gazette for the protection of mountain gorillas that were nearing their extinction.

Dian Fossey, who was researching on mountain gorillas in 1967, was the one behind the conservation of these endangered creatures and even established resources fighting against poaching in the then Karisoke area (Karisimbi and Visoke). Volcanoes National Park, is a home to mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, spotted hyena, buffalos, elephants, bush back, black fronted duiker as well as birds. This park is habituates about 480 mountain gorillas with more than half of the world’s population and the rest in the Bwindi area of Uganda.

Volcanoes National Park is an easily accessed park; where apart from flying out there, you can also enjoy a two hours’ drive through the hills of Rwanda to the park headquarters of ORTPN in Kinigi. This park offers several tourism activities which include among others; gorilla trekking, hiking on the Karisimbi and Bisoke, visiting Dian Fossey site and the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Bulera.

One to view mountain gorillas, it is necessary to buy a permit in advance prior your tour. This can be obtained from Rwanda Tourism Board. Permits currently cost $750USD a person, and are set to go up to $1000 a person in 2014.The gorilla permits allow you to spend an hour with a gorilla family group.

Rwanda is blessed with 10 mountain gorilla families with seven available for the tourists , 8 persons per group (Susa, Sabyinyo, Amahoro, Group 13, Kwitonda, Umubano , and Hirwa from Group 13 and Sabyinyo. Normally for a gorilla visit, you are assigned to a gorilla group in line with your level of fitness and ability to take the longer gorilla treks in Volcanoes National Park.

Each gorilla group is only exposed to eight tourists a maximum one hour each day. Therefore less than 100 people are permitted each day.

Note: Children under 15 years of age can not go gorilla tracking.

On the fateful day of gorilla trekking in Rwanda, tourists assemble at the Volcanoes National Park headquarters early in the morning (7:00am), here you enjoy a traditional Intore dance performance while sipping a cup of African coffee. At the headquarters you are also assigned a gorilla group and a guide, based on your fitness level. You can opt for: a short hike ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, a medium hike running between one hour to three hours, and a long hike that can even last for a day to the large Susa group. Your guide will be in contact with trackers in the park who know pretty much where each gorilla group is – so each morning they have a good idea of all the gorillas’ whereabouts.

After mastering the briefing on these creatures, you set off into the park with your guide, for the most amazing wildlife experience of your life.

As the sun set down its covers we too set down our sand prepared for the long awaited safari in Rwanda to Nyungwe forest one of the largest remaining tracts of rainforests in Eastafrica. The surfaced winding road between Nyungwe and Kigali can be covered between 5 to 6 hours given the possibility of often getting stuck behind a slow track on steeper slopes.

With our experienced Rwandese guide we hit the road to Nyungwe with several stops including the ethnographic museum, the king’s palace in Nyanza, a number of genocide museums among other stopovers. The lush green tea, terraced gardens in the thousand hills and valleys projected marvelous beauty at its best. However by the time the forest came in full view it was raining heavily and I was nauseated and feeling a bit dizzy from the twists and turns of the winding roads. As we closed in on the forest, along the road in the thickets of the forest, there he was the least researched – the l’hoest’s monkey.

He is also rather shy and as soon as we spotted him and he spotted us, he dashed off in the thickness of the forest. We were very excited and couldn’t wait to take on the forest because this was just the tip of the ice bag.

It was only a matter of time before we pulled into the parking lot of Gisakura visitor’s centre. Ehhhuuu! We couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief we were finally here at, the haven of primates in Rwanda and the largest afro-montane forest in Africa.

We checked into our double room, reasonable space with the bed in the centre of the room and a relatively large open wardrobe with hangers and a solar lamp just in case of a power cut out. Just adjacent to it was the relatively small window that looked out into a small flower garden and further into the forest. The rooms are not self contained, but in our row there were five rooms sharing two bathrooms and toilets with hot and cold running water. Being a cold evening after a down pour we enjoyed a warm bath before continuing for dinner.

We chose to have dinner at Nyungwe forest lodge located a few meters away from the gisakura. The luxurious state of the art beauty stands harmoniously among the gisakura tea estates and the Nyungwe forest. The spacious well decorated lounge is an addition to the warm and friendly staff that were waiting to serve us. I must say they are the friendliest staff I met during my stay in Rwanda with an exception of our guide Paul Tamwenya Meals here are served in different places to start with the dining area, a wooden fenced area with open fire, perfect for outdoor dining and sundowners, the cozy restaurant with fire places spread out is an equal beauty for those who love indoor coziness, a tea lounge and a bar are the other places one could enjoy a meal. We chose the cozy indoor diningarea with a spot close to the fire place being a cold evening. We were served hot and magnificent pumpkin soup for a starter (the best pumpkin soup I’ve ever had so far) and for dinner we had pork chops and mashed potatoes and finished with a chocolate gateau. The meals were superb!

After an amazing dinner we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee in the tea lounge with a number of games to pass time and slowly breathed in the cool night air at the terraced as the eyes feasted on the beautiful night views of the lodge before retiring back for the night.

Early morning we were awakened with the song of the cape robin chat that lingered in the air alongside others. We took breakfast and headed out to the Uwinka Park headquarters a 30 mins drive from gisakura. We booked for our day’s activity before receiving a briefing from the park authorities about the do and don’ts of the forest, the condition of the forest among other things.

The trail covers 2.1kms and could take anything around one and half hours.

It is also called the Igishigishigi trail, after the majestic giant tree ferns that are numerous in this area. Through the entire walk we spotted about various birds and I would recommend the trail for birders. We also encountered the l’hoest’s monkey and the grey cheeked mangebeys as the wild flowers graced our path. At the bridge that hangs 57m above the ground, we enjoyed spectacular views of the Uwinka ridge and valley, as well as the forest canopy.

Although we didn’t get to take part in the other activities and walk on other trails there are still many other trails in this forest that provide different views. These include:

• Buhoro trail (exceptional views, big trees, good birding and pretty wildflowers)
• Umuyove trail (waterfalls, birds, flowers and massive trees)
• Karamba trail (the best bird walk & fairly easy)
• Kamiranzovu marsh (orchids and wetland birds)
• Ngabe trail for primates (L’hoest, silver and colobus monkeys)
• Cyamudongo&Uwinka (chimps).

Once you choose Africa and take a Rwanda safari you will have it all!! We wish you a fun-filled memorable safari through the land of a thousand hills!

Visit Zambia and enjoy the pleasures at the South Luangwa National park and enjoy the safari delights here in this part of the world. The wildlife inhabitation here fills your tours with the kind of adventure that you would have longed for. As the wildlife provides you ultimate delights on the banks of the River Luangwa, this one of the highest in Africa and provides ultimate delights in this part of Southern Africa. With pods of hippos, and many lions, elephant, leopard and the African wild dogs along with the giraffe and zebras this is one of the best places to get wildlife sights. With the kind of variety of avifauna species that are found here, the south Luangwa national park is a lovely place to be in and also should not be missed when you are going on a tour to South Africa.

South Luangwa National park is a lovely destination in this part of the world which provides you with the best kind of tour delights and travel destinations. The River Luangwa runs through the centre of this beautiful park spanning over 3475 square miles. The River has made its own trail in the entire valley and it creates a beautiful escarpment and leaves a lot of ox bows and lagoons which are filled with hippo and fish.

South Luangwa is very popular for the many hippos which form a mainstay of wildlife here. Then of course you have the Cookson’s wildebeest which is very special to the valley of Luangwa. The African Wild Dog is also found here in the beautiful surroundings of Luangwa Valley.

Once upon a time the Luangwa Valley was filled with fascinating sights of the elephants but then poachers made life difficult for the elephants and their numbers started receeding. The rhino was very sadly enough poached so much that it got extinct.

A birder’s haven, there are more than 400 birds here and these have been recorded with a lot of interest and care. Safari tours Southern Africa include the birds in view and also the warthog and the zebra apart from others.

Luangwa Valley is popular for the walking safari which is filled with many ways to experience wildlife experiences. It is home to some of the best safari guides and if you get a good guide you would surely cherish your visits to this beautiful land in Southern

Africa. Walking safaris are not permitted for children below the age of 12. these are given at every lodge and camp in the South Luangwa and these are the major attractions in tours to this part of Africa.

There are also traditional game drives which provide with the best of wildlife experiences and these offer you the best and the most promising travel memories ever.
Birding safaris are another popular activity here and give you a lot of time to enjoy. The best time to come here is during the months of November to February. This is the time the birds mingle with the rest of the migrating birds .There are Carr safaris which provide good itinerary and bird sights.
The South Luangwa Valley also has provisions of a green season when the River Luangwa gets filled and when there are lovely boat trips possible too. There are groves of ebony trees here and there are also excellent opportunities to see these lovely fascinating birds.

South Luangwa National park is open all the year around and looks most beautiful in the green season. One needs at least three nights in South Luangwa. If you can sty for a week the better. the remote surroundings and the lovely ambience, the beautiful haven and the mighty landscape and fascinating terrain all enthrall you totally and you would go back with an enchanting travel kitty.
Visit South Luangwa National Park and bask in the delights of an interesting wildlife destination in this part of the world.

Angola, a country officially referred to as the republic of Angola is located in the south-central territories of Africa. On its south, it is bordered by Namibia and has Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering its north. In this article, we’ll be discussing about one of the most visited tourist spots of the country, the Kissama National Park.

Kissama National Park is also often called as the Quiçama National Park. This national park is situated at the northwestern part of Angola. The feature that makes it an extremely priced possession of the country is the country’s only running national park. All the other national parks of Angola have been destroyed during Angolan Civil War that continued from 1975 to 2002.

To reach the Kissama National Park, you will have to cover a distance of 70 Km from the capital of the country, Luanda. The park itself covers a total area of 12,000 km² or three million acres. This makes it one of the biggest national parks on earth. In the year 1938, the Kissama National Park was established for being used as an animal reserve.  In the year 1957 i.e. almost after 2 decades of its inception, the park obtained the designation of national park. During this time the area was under the rule of Portuguese people and thus the park obtained a Portuguese name.

The Kissama National Park used be the home to a wide range of animal species; especially the game varieties like Giant sables and elephants. However, during the civil war, the park encountered incessant poaching incidents, which resulted in decrease in the animal population of the national park.

In the year 2001, a community called Kissama Foundation consisted of South Africans and Angolans started a movement called ‘Operation Noahs Ark’. This movement involves the act of transporting animals, particularly elephants from the neighboring countries of South Africa and Botswana. The animals that are transported in Kissama National Park are from the overpopulated parks of their native countries.

Located in the eastern part of Rwanda, Akagera National Park is an amazing place to enjoy sightseeing in Rwanda. The park lies near the border with Tanzania and can be visited anytime if the year.

It was gazetted in 1934 covering an area of 1122 km sq. and was named after the river Akagera that flows through this park pouring its waters in the Lake Victoria. The park is a home to unique wildlife and bird species including the rare shoe bill stork a bird sought after by many birders. The major mammals in the park include zebras, elephants, Topi, bush back, water back, duiker, impala, Oribi, bohor reedbuck and primates like olive baboons, L’Hoest and blue monkeys. Recently lions were reintroduced in the park and they were got from South Africa.

Getting There

To get to the park, it only takes about 2-3 hours from the Kigali and it only has one park entrance at Kiyonza south of the park and the only exit is at Nyungwe gate north of the park

Where to Stay

There are very few accommodation facilities in this national park only two lodges and camp sites. Those interested in luxurious facilities use Akagera Game Lodge or Ruzizi tented lodge therefore tourists should make their bookings early enough. For those looking tp deluxe, Akagera Game lodge offers a deluxe wing while for those on a shoestring budget Akagera Guest House is the available option.

Things to Do in the Park

Birding, Game drives, boat cruises on Lake Ihema, sport fishing, community walks are the major activities one can engage in while at the national park.

Excursions and Tours

There are organised safaris to the park offered by several tour operators in Rwanda. The shortest trip is the 2 Day Wildlife Safari though an excursion is also possible. There are also guides and cars hire services are available for tourists interested in self driven wildlife expeditions in the park however booking for them in advance is highly recommended.