About Rwanda – The Land of a Thousand Hills

Rwanda, warmly known as “the land of a thousand hills’’ is situated in East-central Africa.

It lies 121 Km South (75 miles) of the equator in the Tropic of Capricorn, 1416 kilometers (880Miles) west of the Indian Ocean and 1250Km (777Miles) east of the Atlantic Ocean – literally the heart of Africa.

Rwanda is bordered by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. The country has a temperate climate, with two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January).

Nature

The landscape is reminiscent of a tropical Switzerland. Its dominant feature is a chain of mountains of rugged beauty that runs on a north-south axis and forms part of the Congo-Nile divide.

From the volcanoes of the Virunga (Birunga) Mountains in the northwest—where the Karisimbi reaches 14,787 feet (4,507 metres)-the elevation drops to 4,000 feet (1,220 metres) in the swampy Kagera (Akagera) River valley in the east.

The interior highlands consist of rolling hills and valleys, yielding to a low-lying depression west of the Congo-Nile divide along the shores of Lake Kivu

Culture

The culture of Rwanda is varied. Unlike many countries in Africa, Rwanda has been a unified state since pre-colonial times, populated by the Banyarwanda people who share a single language and cultural heritage. Music and dance are an essential part of Rwandan ceremonies, celebration, social gatherings and storytelling.

Rwanda’s Popular Parks