Five mist-wrapped volcanoes rise along Rwanda's northwestern border, sheltering roughly a third of the world's remaining mountain gorillas. A trek here — an hour or four through bamboo and hagenia forest — ends face to face with a habituated gorilla family. Golden monkey tracking, the Dian Fossey hike and volcano summits round out the park.

Volcanoes National Park

A vast high-altitude rainforest in Rwanda's southwest, Nyungwe is home to chimpanzees, thirteen primate species and over 300 birds. Walk the canopy suspension bridge 60 metres above the forest floor, track chimps at dawn, and drive out through some of the most beautiful tea country in Africa.

Nyungwe National Park

Rwanda's only savannah park is one of Africa's great conservation comebacks — lions returned in 2015, black rhinos in 2017, and today all of the Big Five roam its lakes, marshes and rolling grasslands. Game drives, boat safaris on Lake Ihema and behind-the-scenes conservation experiences, just 2.5 hours from the capital.

Akagera National Park

One of Africa's Great Lakes, Kivu stretches 90 kilometres along Rwanda's western rim. Kayak at sunrise past singing fishermen, cycle sections of the Congo Nile Trail through coffee farms, island-hop by boat, or simply rest a day between treks on a quiet sandy shore in Gisenyi or Karongi.

Lake Kivu

Almost every Rwandan journey begins and ends in Kigali — and it deserves more than a transfer. The Genocide Memorial is essential and profoundly moving; beyond it are craft coffee roasters, the Nyamirambo women's centre walking tours, contemporary art at Inema, and mille collines views from rooftop bars.

Kigali

Two restored forest reserves between Lake Kivu and Nyungwe form Rwanda's fourth national park, a quiet UNESCO biosphere where small communities of chimpanzees and golden monkeys are being habituated. Visit now and you'll likely have the trails — and the primates — almost to yourself.

Virunga Trails