Lindsay and I began our African adventure in Rwanda, which is one of two countries in the world where one can view mountain gorillas in their natural habitat (Uganda is the other). Many of you may have heard of the book "Gorillas in the Mist" by Dian Fossey. The book is based on the research she did in Rwanda over a period of 18 years. The gorillas live above 2700 meters in the northeast of the country - in a mountainous region of jungles, volcanoes and lakes and that covers area of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are gorilla safari lodges in both countries, but the proximity and density of the gorilla population are better on the Rwanda side, so that's where we chose to visit.
Rwanda is a small central African country that is most famous for gorillas and, sadly, genocide. The country was a former German and Belgian colony from the late 19th century until independence in 1962. The primary ethnic groups within the country are Hutu (about 84%), Tutsi (about 15%), and Twa (a pygmy group that makes up only about 1% of the population). The Rwandans describe this distinction as something that the Germans and Belgians encouraged in order to divide and rule the country. Prior to colonial rule, the Rwandans spoke a common language and did not attach much significance to the Hutu/Tutsi distinction. In fact, one could easily move between the groups through the acquisition of cattle or inter-marrying. When the Germans arrived in the late 19th century, they handed power to the Tutsis based on their lighter skin, which looked more European. In 1935, the Belgians issued identity cards to the population identifying each individual as "Hutu", "Tutsi", or "Twa." This distinction was based on a number of arbitrary factors such as the size of one's nose and the number of cattle an individual owned. Similar to the Germans, the Belgians created a governing structure that gave the power to the minority Tutsi population. Prior to leaving Rwanda in 1962, facing growing Hutu hostility, the Belgians handed power to the Hutus. This created large-scale resentment of both groups towards one another, which sewed the seeds of the genocide that resulted in the deaths of an estimated one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus (about 20% of the Rwanda population).
While many people think of the genocide as something that was perpetrated over a few months in 1994, it had been simmering for decades following the departure of the Belgians. Many Tutsis were forced to flee the country in the early years of Hutu rule, fearing for their lives. These exiled Tutsis later created an army called the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) that returned to Rwanda in the late 1980s to counter the Hutu-dominated government and growing violence towards Tutsis that remained in the country. The Hutu government of Juvenal Habyarimana signed a ceasefire with the RPF in 1993, which angered more extreme parts of the Hutu government, who were advocating full scale annihilation of the Tutsis (referred to by the Hutu leadership as "inyenazi" or cockroaches). On April 6, 1994, Habyarimana's plane was shot down by what most believe to be extremist Hutus within his own government. Just hours after the the president's assassination, the Hutu-led interim government blamed the Tutsis and launched a large scale extermination of the Tutsi population. Road blocks were set up around the country, neighbors turned on one another, militias went door-to-door checking identity cards, and killings were carried out in the most horrific ways imaginable (mostly by machetes as bullets were expensive). The mass killing continued for nearly 100 days until the RPF were able to fight their way into the country and stop the bloodshed.
When visiting the country today, you would never know the genocide took place. It's a peaceful, clean country with some of the friendliest children we've encountered anywhere in the world. The country remains very poor, but is growing quickly, with agriculture and tourism being their largest industries. Kigali, the capital city, is a pleasant city with newly constructed wide tree-lined boulevards. The government sets up city-wide cleaning days on the first saturday of every month, where even the president spends the day picking up trash. As a result, it's one of the cleanest cities in all of Africa.
Kigali - the capital and largest city in Rwanda
We began our trip to Rwanda with a couple days in Kigali, where we stayed at the Kigali Serena hotel, the nicest in town. In case you were wondering it's not the hotel where the Hotel Rwanda story took place (that's the Hotel des Mille Collines). While we were there, there was a large conference that included several African heads of state. The hotel was very comfortable and we'd recommend a stay here if you're looking for a 5 star hotel in Kigali.
We booked our travel through Volcanoes Safaris, the best of the gorilla safari companies in the region. They assigned us a guide for the trip, Abby, who gave us a city tour of Kigali.
With our guide Abby
Our first stop on the city tour was the Rwanda Genocide Memorial, where we learned about Rwanda's history leading up to and following the Rwandan genocide. It was a very moving experience. It's hard to get your head around something so awful - how human beings can do such horrible things to one another. It was shocking to us how the international community simply stood by and did nothing as the genocide occurred. There's not a person in the country whose life wasn't touched by the violence occurring only 20 years ago, yet the country is very peaceful today, and the country seems firmly on an upward trajectory.
In addition to the history lesson, the memorial had several nice gardens and a mass grave where they were collecting remains that had been found across the country. In an effort to dehumanize the Tutsi, the Hutus refused to allowed them to be buried. This meant that bodies were frequently left out in the open or hastily disposed of. Additionally, whole families were often wiped out, so there are very few records to identify the dead. Next to the mass graves, they are beginning the process of listing their names, but the wall only has a few dozen names today due to the difficulty in identifying the remains.
Rwandan Genocide Memorial
After the visit to the Genocide Memorial, we enjoyed a Rwandan buffet of potatoes, beans, avocado, fresh vegetables and meat. Rwanda is a sub-tropical mountainous region with very fertile volcanic soil, so the fruits and vegetables are fresh and tasty. The food is simple and healthy.
A selection of potatoes, avocados, beans and meat
Our city tour concluded with a visit to Habyarimana's former home, which has been converted into a museum. Habyarimana took power in a coup in 1973 and continued to rule for more than 20 years until his death in 1994. The house has several indications of how fragile this rule was, including surveillance systems, secret rooms/doors and the original wreckage of his plane in the backyard. The house is near the airport, so his plane was actually shot down just a few feet from the house while his wife and children were inside.
After a couple days in Kigali, we drove out to Ruhengiri, which is the gateway city to Volcanoes National Park, where the world's remaining population of mountain gorillas live. As a result of tourism to see the gorillas, business is booming in town and Ruhengiri is the fastest growing city in Rwanda today. Our guide Abby lives in Ruhengiri with his family, so he took us to the central market in town on our way to our lodge.
The town of Ruhengeri - gateway to Volcanoes National Park
Central market in Ruhengeri
Central market in Ruhengeri
During our stay in the area, we also saw other perspectives on the local life. On Sunday, we joined the townspeople at Sunday mass (in their native language Kinyarwanda). Abby also introduced us to one of his favorite bars in town, where we enjoyed a couple Mützigs (the local beer) and some barbecued goat.
Enjoying the view with Abby
Barbecued GOAT with fried potatoes
We stayed three nights at an eco lodge near Ruhengiri called Virunga Lodge. It had some of the most spectacular views we've ever seen. In one direction, you have a view of 5 volcanoes and Lake Ruhondo, and from the other side, you have beautiful views of Lake Burera. It's simply breathtaking.
View of Lake Ruhondo from the main building at Virunga Lodge
View of Lake Burera from the other side of the property
Sunrise over Lake Burera
Early morning clouds over the volcano Muhabura (4127m)
Our room at the resort was typical of the safari lodges we stayed in around Africa - large open floorplan with a rustic, but comfortable vibe. Each of the rooms at the lodge has a private view of the surrounding lakes/volcanoes.
Our room at Virunga with our honeymoon cake
Our private terrace
Unlike other safari properties we've been to, Virunga is located in A populated area just above a small village. The lodge supports the village in a number of ways, including running the main school in town. We spent our first afternoon at Virunga visiting the village and taking a walk around Lake Burera. It gave us a good introduction to the town and the local culture. Despite having so little, the kids were some of the happiest kids we've ever encountered. They were always smiling and very eager to practice their English. We were greeted everywhere by shouts of "Good Morning!" and "How are you?"
Road through the village. Virunga Lodge is at the top of the hill.
Local villager
Lindsay making friends
Kids from the village
Lake Burera
A local fisherman
Trying the locally brewed banana beer
I'm happy to report that I suffered no ill effects from this drink (I was very lucky)
We highly recommend the Virunga Lodge if you're thinking of doing a gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda. In addition to the breathtaking views, it had delicious food (the best we've had at any safari lodge), and they set up fun cultural events like the traditional intore dance performed by the local school children.
Children from the village performing the traditional intore dance
Children from the village performing the traditional intore dance
The Rwandans have done a good job of conservation with the mountain gorillas. Though the surrounding area is very populated, the park is well protected and they have strict limits on the number of visitors that the gorillas can receive every day. They sell 80 gorilla permits a day, which translates to 10 trekking groups that have a maximum of 8 people each. The permits are pricey ($750 pp per day), but they ensure that the government can protect the gorillas with minimal damage to their habitat. Each group of visitors gets exactly one hour with the gorillas to minimize disruption.
Farming at the base of Sabinyo (3634m)
Small village near park headquarters where the gorilla naming ceremony takes place
Our lodge was about a 45 minute drive from the park headquarters, where all visitors begin their day. Here, you are assigned to a guide that will be taking 8 visitors to see one of the 10 gorilla groups that are habituated to seeing humans. The gorillas are spread out over a large area, so some groups are very close (a short drive and walk) and others are much further away (requiring hours of driving and hiking). We signed on for two days of gorilla trekking, which turned out to be a great decision and the minimum we would advise. The gorillas are wild animals, so every day will be different. Two days ensure a good and varied exposure to them.
Volcanoes National Park headquarters
Once we arrived at the headquarters we were assigned to the Amahoro group, which means the "Peace" group. It was an unusual group as it had 5 silverbacks, which are the adult males. Only the leader Ubumwe gets to mate with the females in the group, so the other silverbacks typically try to overtake him or leave the group. In this case, Ubumwe has been able to coexist peacefully with the other silverbacks for years. That's why they got the nickname Amahoro. Interestingly, the day that we visited the group they were far from peaceful.
Our group for day 1 was the Amahoro group, which means the "Peace" group.
Our trekking group included a guide, several trackers (to locate the gorillas) and four visiting couples - one each from Mexico and Canada, and two from the US. We had expected them to assign people to groups based on similar age/health levels, but we learned later that it's a random process on your first day unless you voice a strong preference and have a good guide to advocate for you. The older couple in the group was 70 and did great, though it was very challenging for them. They had asked for an easy hike, which this definitely was not. Note that if you trek multiple days, you'll get priority on the second day for which gorilla group you would like to see.
Our group on Day 1 of Gorilla Trekking
The hike up to see the gorillas was quite strenuous as we walked about 1.5 hours through steep farmland just to reach the park entrance. As we climbed over the small rock wall to enter the national park, we found ourselves in thick jungle foliage. Upon entering the park, we were told by our guide that the trackers had located our group just 10 minutes from the entrance.
Walking through the farms on our way to the national park
Looking like a professional gorilla tracker
Ready to get some shots
As we reached the gorilla group, we were startled to see a large silverback coming straight for us. He seemed aggressive as he was banging his chest. Our guide moved us out the way and we continued to follow the group to a clearing. It turns out that this silverback was solitary and was being aggressive towards the Amahoro group. The leader of the Amahoro group, Ubumwe, was protecting his family and moving them up the mountain away from the agitator. The interaction between the gorillas was very exciting, leading to a series of standoffs in which each of the gorillas - the agitator and Ubumwe - would bang their chest at one another. Unfortunately, it also meant that the gorillas were on the move through steep jungle terrain, so it was a challenge to try to keep up with them.
The agitator
The agitator looking up at the leader of the Amahoro group
Ubumwe, the leader of the Amahoro group
Ubumwe
One of the females in the group waiting for the family to join her
Ubumwe surveying the landscape from the top of the ravine
After pursing the family for nearly an hour through steep jungle terrain, we made the decision to give up and head back down. The gorillas were moving very quickly and were likely on the move for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this meant we only had about 15 minutes of quality time with the group. While disappointed at not having much time, the 15 minutes we did get was really exciting (and unusual) with two males facing off against each other. Here's a highlight of the encounter that Lindsay recorded.
On our way back down to the cars
We were really happy to have a second day of gorilla trekking, as we were hoping to spend more time with the female and baby gorillas to see the family dynamics. We got exactly what we were hoping for. We were assigned to one of the largest groups called the Agashya group, named for its leader. Agashya means "something special." Agashya earned this name because he managed to take over the family after several other males failed to do so. He was quickly accepted as the leader and then grew the family from just a few gorillas to over 20.
Agashya group
The hike on the second day was shorter but quite steep. We had stunning views of the surrounding volcanoes as we climbed through the jungle.
Tracking the gorillas through the thick mountain jungles
When we found the family, they were resting in a small clearing. Most were asleep or eating peacefully, though the baby was quite active.
The family resting in the clearing
Agashya - the leader of the group
Agashya eating some bamboo
Relaxing for a bit
Many of the gorillas were cuddling with one another
Such a tough life
One of the babies eating
This was the youngest gorilla in the group - only 3 months old - playing on some branches
Taking a nap in the sun
Gorilla feet
We were able to get very close to the animals. They require that you keep a distance of about 20 feet to limit the spread of diseases, but of course, you can't control mother nature, so the gorillas frequently get closer than that.
Posing with the Agashya group
Our group on Day 2
After an incredible week in Rwanda, we packed up for our next adventure in Tanzania, where we saw the Great Wildebeest Migration in the northern Serengeti and visited the Ngoro Ngoro Crater.
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