Time Difference: EST + 6 hours Current Time and Date in Rwanda
Currency: Currency Converter – Rwandan Franc RWF
Travel Advisory: State Department Report Rwanda
US Embassy in Rwanda: rwanda.usembassy.gov
Rwanda is a sovereign state in central and east Africa. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
Health: CDC Rwanda
What to pack
Weather: Rwanda Weather
Communications: Dial 011 followed by country code 250
Travel Requirements
- Passport
- Visa is NOT required for all US Passport Holders, If you are not a US Passport holder, please consult the embassy in your region.
- Proof of Immunization (Yellow Fever)
Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of Rwanda
Embassy of Rwanda in Washington, DC.
Embassy of Rwanda in London
Embassy of Rwanda in England
CLIMATE
Warm season: January to February, average daily high temperature above 82°F.
Cold season: April to May, an average daily high temperature below 79°F.
Language: French and English
Place of Interest
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu covers a 2,700 square kilometer area. Situated at an elevation of 4,790 feet above mean sea level, Lake Kivu eventually empties into the Ruzizi River flowing southwards into Lake Tanganyika. A part of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Kivu is largely surrounded by majestic mountains. Featuring several settlements along its shores like Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu on the Rwandan region, Lake Kivu is equally elegant within Congo on the western side.
Volcanoes National Park
The great volcanic massif of the Virunga Mountains straddles the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC, covering a huge area of over 8,000km², and encompassing six active and three extinct volcanoes. Much of this is protected by national parks, including the Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans) on the Rwanda side, which was made famous by Dian Fossey’s work, and the film Gorillas in the Mist. More than half of the world’s last mountain gorillas live here – about 350 of them – and at present it’s probably the best place in Africa for a mountain gorilla safari. Even without the mountain gorillas, this park would be fascinating. Its altitude ranges from about 2,500m to the peak of Karisimbi, at 4,500m, resulting in extensive bamboo forests, and some of the last remaining afro-montane forest habitat on the planet. Quite apart from the mountain gorillas, it harbours a spectacular array of rare and endangered animals and plants. There is a variety of other primates, including the endemic golden monkeys, plus forest elephants, buffalo, giant forest hogs (Africa’s largest swine), bushpigs, bushbucks, black-fronted duikers, spotted hyenas, and around 200 species of birds. On the higher slopes you’ll find an almost otherworldly habitat of thick moors with endemic giant lobelia and groundsel.
Akagera National Park
Akagera National Parc is located in the east of Rwanda. Kibungu is the city that is nearest to the park and the best starting point. The park covers over 2500 sq km of savannah west of the Kagera River, which denotes the frontier with Tanzania. The park has a variety of wildlife and is a habitat for over 500 different species of birds. There are accommodation facilities on the edge of the park at Gabiro, 100km (60 miles) to the north. It is best not to visit the park in the rainy season (December, March and April) since many of the routes become impassable.
Nyungwe Forest
Nyungwe rainforest is placed in the southwestern Rwanda, at the border with Burundi, south, and Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Nyungwe rainforest is probably the best preserved rainforest in the mountains throughout Central Africa. It is located in the watershed between the basin of the river Congo to the west and the basin of the river Nile to the east. From the east side of the Nyungwe forest comes also one of the branches of the Nile sources. Nyungwe Forest National Park was established in 2004 and covers an area of approximately 970 km² of rainforest, bamboo, grassland, swamps, and bogs. The nearest town is Cyangugu, 54 km to the west. Mount Bigugu is located within the park borders.
Ethnographic Museum
The Ethnographic Museum formerly the National Museum of Rwanda Kinyarwanda: is the national museum of Rwanda. It is located in Butare.
It was built in the late 1980s and is a good source of information on the cultural history of the country and the region. It is also known as the site of the murder of Queen Dowager Rosalie Gicanda and several others during the Rwandan Genocide.