Rwanda is small, and its main attractions are spread across four regions: the volcano forests in the far northwest, the Nyungwe forest, Akagera in the east, Lake Kivu in the west, and the museums in Kigali. Everything below comes from Visit Rwanda and the venues' own pages, read on 11 November 2026.
Volcanoes National Park
This is the home of gorilla tracking. Visit Rwanda says a permit costs US $1,500 per person per day, so read our gorilla booking guide before you plan. The park protects the Virunga volcano slopes, and Karisimbi, at 4,507 m, is the highest in the chain.
Nyungwe Forest
Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe starts at 5:30am and can last from one hour to several, depending on where the chimps are. Once you find them, you spend at most one hour with them. The terrain is steep, slippery and muddy.
Visit Rwanda lists seven monkey species in the forest: colobus, golden, L'Hoest's, owl-faced, Dent's, blue and vervet. Its canopy walkway is about 160 metres long and about 70 metres above the ravine floor. International visitors pay 40 USD.
Akagera National Park
Akagera lies on Rwanda's eastern border with Tanzania and covers just over 1,000 km². Visit Rwanda calls it central Africa's largest protected wetland. Seven lions were reintroduced in 2015 and 18 eastern black rhinos in 2017, and the park has been run as a joint venture with African Parks since 2010.
Predators include leopard, spotted hyena and side-striped jackal. Visitors can also see elephant, buffalo, topi, zebra and waterbuck, and take a boat trip on Lake Ihema to see hippos and Nile crocodiles.
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu covers 2,700 km², Rwanda's largest lake and the sixth largest in Africa. Rubavu, on the northern shore, is about an hour's drive from Volcanoes National Park. Karongi is a beach resort halfway along the lake, and Rusizi is at the south end.
The Congo Nile Trail runs 227 km from Rubavu to Rusizi in 6 stages, and you can hike it, cycle it or kayak on the lake.
Museums in Kigali
The Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi is the burial place of 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. Entry is free.
The Kandt House Museum tells the story of Rwanda before, during and after the colonial period.
Visit Rwanda also lists the Rwanda Art Museum, for contemporary art, the Ethnographic Museum, and the King's Palace, a reconstruction of the traditional royal home.
The Memorial is open daily from 9am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm, and children under 12 are not admitted. Visit Rwanda says the Kandt House Museum is closed from 11am on Umuganda Saturdays, the last Saturday of the month, so check the calendar before you plan a museum day.
For a longer list of places inside the city, see things to do in Kigali.
Where to Sleep in Kigali
Step Town Hotel is a small hotel in Kigali. See the rooms page for the six room types. A single room is listed from $50 a night and breakfast is included in every room.
Book Your Kigali Base
Tell us your dates on the reserve page, then plan the rest of the country around them.