The Ruhengeri Area In Rwanda
The Ruhengeri Area in Rwanda : Ruhengeri is one of the most popular cities of Rwanda and is known as Ruhengeri in the ancient Rwanda. Ruhengeri town is now commonly known as Musanze town or Muhoza town and this city is the capital of the Musanze district. The Musanze district is found in the Northern part of Rwanda in the Northern Province. Rwanda is a small landlocked country but is divided in four provinces which are the Northern Province, the eastern province, the eastern province and the western province.
The Ruhengeri area after the new administration took over, the town was renamed Musanze and welcomes the biggest number of visitors after the Kigali City the capital city of Rwanda. About 98% of the international guests entering into Rwanda will land in Kigali at the Kigali International airport and the other guests could enter the country through the land borders of the neighboring countries.
The Ruhengeri area is a strategically located city as it is only a 2 hour road transfer from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda and is a 1 hour away from the Gisenyi town, another tourism hot spot and also the entry point to the neighboring DR Congo that has guests passing through this town when headed to the Virunga national park from Rwanda. Ruhengeri is only 8 miles away from the Volcanoes national park, 30 miles away from Lake Kivu, 43 miles away from Kigali, 43 miles from Kibuye, 75 miles away from the Nyungwe forest, 77 miles away from Butare and 85 miles away from Cyangugu town.
The Ruhengeri area is a major tourism spot as there are many tour attractions in the area. The city is situated just close to the Twin lakes of Rwanda these are Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo which attract guests interested in the views. The twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo are 2 individual lakes only separated by a 1 kilometer wide piece of land and were a result of volcanic activity. A visitor can visit the twin lakes to enjoy some water activities like kayaking or fishing with the local community. The lake Burera and Ruhondo at some point pour into each other and you can explore this on a boat trip in the area.
The Ruhengeri area is also famous majorly because it is an entrance to the Volcanoes national park, the home of the Rwandan mountain gorillas. The Volcanoes national park is one of the four national parks of Rwanda and is the most popular for the mountain gorilla trekking activity. The Volcanoes national park has factored the growth of the Ruhengeri area as this is in the countryside of Rwanda. A number of hoteliers and restaurateurs have set up hotels and restaurants to accommodate the ever growing numbers of visitors to the area.
The closeness of the Ruhengeri area to the Volcanoes national park maybe the biggest factor for the area being a hot tourism point however there are other reasons this town is popular. The Ruhengeri area is also the base for the Institute of Applied sciences that is a private research university in Rwanda and this was established to support the farming sector in the area.
The Institute of Applied sciences in 2019 signed a 5 year long collaboration with the Bingen Technical University of Applied sciences in Rheine Germany to find solutions to improve the farming done in the area.
Ruhengeri area is also the base of the Dian Fossey fund memorial museum where people get to visit to see and learn more of the efforts of the fallen primatologist Dian Fossey and also see a 3D impression of the Virunga ranges at the museum. Get to also start your Mount Karisimbi overnight hike in the Ruhengeri area.
The Ruhengeri area has benefitted so much from tourism as 10% of the revenue generated in the area goes to support local projects to give the local people faith in the tourism in the area.
You can take a taxi from Kigali to Ruhengeri at any hour as they are flexible and aren’t scheduled and you would spend about 30,000 to 35,000 rwf which is approximately 30 to 35 USD. There are also small buses or mini vans which carry 22 people and is usually used by the Rwandan people which would be a great chance to interact with them if you are interested or just opt for a private car which may be more costly but more flexible to drop you off at your exact destination unlike the other options that stop at the bus stops.
The Ruhengeri Area In Rwanda : Known for being the link to the only home of gorillas in Rwanda, the ton is on the slopes of the Virungas which gives it good scenery thus a good touristic center.
The area has a lot of activities such that one can stay for several days doing various treks and hikes like hiking the volcanoes in this park.
The most impression you get as soon as you approach this area is the drop in temperatures making it so cool fro most of the activities. The taller volcanoes are also eye catching. Seeing about five volcanoes in one shot is also overwhelming. Five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga are found in this area.
Besides this there is the oldest park in Africa famous for the endangered mountain Gorillas. This park covers about 13000 hectares and is also known for the golden monkeys.
The golden monkeys have a bright golden color and can be found in Nyungwe forest although recently they have been recorded in PNV.
It is only during the recent few years that researchers are starting to put together a detailed picture of their lifestyle and routines.
The Golden Monkeys live mainly in the bamboo thickets and are smaller and harder to spot and Prosper Uwingeri, the chief warden at the park says that it is a perfect environment for the survival these animals.
He asserts that Rwanda is lucky because Kinigi is one of the few places where these primates were saved from extinction while there still were enough to be saved.
Uwingeri also says that the over 200 bird species thought to be harbour in the forest is another feature that makes Kinigi stand out as an exemplary touristic town.
During the 1990s Gorillas we a major source of income for Rwanda. This was halted by the 1994 genocide but later came to life again in 1999.
There are roughly only 600 mountain gorillas left in the world, approximately half of these live a few metres away from Kinigi town.
One will spend most of the day out on the field and you will not need much effort to see these world attractions, you just have to be in Kinigi.
