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Rwanda Alive > Teachers & Students > Rwanda Facts > Sites of Interest Rwanda is known as the “Land of a thousand hills” which pays tribute to its beautiful and diverse landscape, including 6 volcanoes, 23 lakes, numerous rivers and an abundance of wildlife. There are many sights which attract tourists from all over the world which demonstrate the appeal of Rwanda 's geographic splendor and cultural history. Rwanda 's National Volcano Park (NVP) consisting of 125 square kilometers of mountain forest and home to the six Virunga Volcanoes bordering DRC and Uganda. It is also home to the famous and rare Mountain Gorillas which tourists can view in their natural habitat through organized gorilla trekking tours. The Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda is offers more wildlife ranging from lions, giraffe, elephant and hippopotamus to hyena, impala and gazelle. Rwanda has a huge population of birds, 670 different bird species have been recorded, many of which can also be seen in Akagera. The Nyungwe Forest National Park is located in the southwest of Rwanda. Covering an area of 970km, the park offers an overwhelming example of biodiversity including 75 different mammal species, 275 bird species, 120 butterfly species and over 100 different species of orchids. Many tourists come to the forest to take part in the chimpanzee trekking tours. Rwanda also has a variety of lakes which are ideal for water sports and fishing, particularly Lake Kivu , which lies in the west of the country on the border of DRC and Lake Muhazi in the east. Kigali is Rwanda 's capital city located in the heart of the country. It is the country's most important business center and its main port of entry. Kigali boasts a range of hotels catering to all tastes and budgets, and an assortment of fine restaurants whose menus reflect the country's historical links with Belgium —while also embracing numerous other international cuisines. On the outskirts of Kigali lies the Gisozi Memorial Project which marks the mass graves of an estimated 250,000 people killed during the 1994 genocide. Butare was the country's largest and most important city prior to 1965, when Kigali was established as the capital of Independent Rwanda. Today the city is home to several academic institutions, including the country's largest university and is considered the intellectual and cultural pulse of Rwanda . The most prominent tourist attraction in Butare is the National Museum , which houses perhaps the finest ethnographic collection in East Africa. The museum also offers displays of traditional artifacts and a selection of turn-of-the-century monochrome photographs, providing insight not only into pre-colonial lifestyles, but also into the subsequent development of Rwanda as a modern African state. From Butare visitors can travel north to see the town of Nyabisindu , formerly known as Nyanza, which was the traditional home of Rwanda 's feudal monarchy. The impressive Royal Palace at Nyanza, an enormous domed construction made entirely with traditional materials, has been carefully restored to its 19 th century state and is now maintained as a museum. |
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