Why you should choose Rwanda for your next bucket list adventure

Gorillas, luxury lodges, a new national park and sustainable tourism initiatives: what’s not to like, asks Mike MacEacheran

Early morning mist rolls over Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda (Getty)

The Land of a Thousand Hills, as Rwanda is often known, offers travel escapism of the most memorable sort. Think of the country from afar and it appears in the mind’s eye as a sweep of jungle green and dusty brown. There are guffawing mountain gorillas and chattering chimpanzees. Misty rainforests are cut through by sunbeams. Smoking volcanoes stalk the horizon. All sights that help restore the mind and make one feel alive.

A pipsqueak compared to bigger-hitting tourism rivals Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, Rwanda is one of the smallest countries on the continent. And yet utterly unforgettable, it more than makes up for its size, with pinch-yourself safaris, sustainable tourism and that rare thing: beer made from bananas.

Here’s why you should visit, now that it’s finally lifted its Covid restrictions and is fully reopened to tourists, regardless of vaccination status.