There are some things that I never expected to do or see in my life. One of those was exploring Rwanda. But hot damn, when things present themselves, you just can’t say no.
And my gosh, getting to spend 11 days winding my way through their hills, forests, and all the best things to do in Rwanda was mesmerizing.
This will go down as one of the most incredible trips I’ve ever taken. I’ve really started to love wildlife photography, and getting the opportunity to photograph gorillas, primates, and big game blew me away.
If you are in the early stages of planning a trip, I hope this guide helps. However, if you just want to browse through all the pictures, thank you for being here.
My Top Things To Do in Rwanda on Your Trip
I had the best time in Rwanda and believe that if you focus your time on the majority of these things to do in Rwanda, you will too!
1. Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park
There are many reasons to visit Rwanda, but the biggest one is trekking to see rare mountain gorillas. They are found only in one area, the Virunga Massif, which is split between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. Due to regional issues, Rwanda is the safest place to visit and see gorillas.
The first thing to know about trekking for gorillas in Rwanda is that it is not cheap. Each permit costs $1,500 per person. This helps fund conservation efforts and support the local community. (15% of the cost goes back to the area; 10% for infrastructure, and 5% direct monetary transfer. This helps show that keeping gorillas alive is better than poaching them.)
I know the price is steep and likely cost-prohibitive to many. But if you have the resources, this is a must-do. Forty years ago, many people expected the mountain gorilla to be extinct. As of 2025, there are now over 1,000 thanks to conservation efforts across the region.
Yes, it’s pricey, but this is hands down the most memorable thing to do in Rwanda. It’s 1000% worth it and will create lasting memories.
What else to know:
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- 12 groups see gorillas each day
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- 8 people max per group
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- Trackers follow them daily, and a guide takes you to them each morning
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- You only get 1 hour with them
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- Everyone must wear a mask around the mountain gorillas
2. Safari in akagera national park
It might surprise you, but Rwanda offers a Big Five Safari.
After the genocide, some of the Big Five were poached and killed due to human/animal conflict. However, since 2010, they’ve refocused on conservation and reintroduced lions and rhinos. A good way to think about Akagera National Park is to think of it as a baby safari that is still trying to find its legs after years of neglect.
This was my first safari, and I had a blast, though it was slightly overwhelming at times. Due to it being the end of the dry season, parts of the game drive were totally empty. Maybe that’s standard anywhere, but I figured we’d be constantly seeing things.
While we didn’t get to see all five, we did see elephants, lions, and Cape buffalo. We also saw hippos, giraffes, zebras, and baboons.
3. Ziplining in nyungwe national park
Prior to this trip, I had done some low-key ziplining. But I had never done ziplining.
In Nyungwe National Park, on the western side of the country, they have a brand new ziplining course that is seriously awesome.
Starting from the visitor center/meeting place, the course has three increasingly longer experiences. The first time I launched off was a little nerve-racking. The second was much more fun. But once you come to the third, the distance starts to get into your head.
It’s more than half a mile of soaring over the lush green forests hundreds of feet below. Invigorating is an understatement. Just keep your momentum, or else you’ll end up drifting towards the center, as one of my friends did. (Don’t worry, they eventually got him.)
4. Canopy walk in nyungwe national park
After your ziplining, head over to the three canopy walks 200 feet above the valley floor. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the forest and see the beautiful sights of Rwanda’s rolling hills.
To reach the canopy walk, you’ll have about a mile walk down and up. It’s pretty steep, and because you’re at altitude (around 7,500 feet), you’ll be breathing heavy.
You don’t have to do the ziplining beforehand, but I recommend it! If you’re here, might as well get the whole experience.
5. Visit the King’s palace museum
Let’s step back into Rwanda’s past. The King’s Palace offers a fascinating history lesson on past Rwandan Kings, both before and during colonialism.
It’s a really well-done tour, with parts of it taking place both outside and inside. You’ll get to see what traditional houses (huts?) were like, visit the Royal Cows and see their massive horns, and then transition into more modern times with the palace from the 1950s.
It was a nice place to stop and break up the drive to Nyungwe National Park, where we could learn more about the country’s history.
6. Pay your respects at the kigali genocide memorial
Boy. This was heavy – as expected.
It’s a fantastically done memorial and museum. Over 250,000 people, a chilling number, have been laid to rest on the grounds, most of them unnamed.
The unguided tour, if you want to call it that, is broken into two parts. An outdoor section, which includes visiting the mass graves, and then an inside section which delves deeper into pre-genocide, the build-up, the three months of horror, and life after the Rwandan genocide.
My words simply won’t do justice. Like any site honoring the lives of those lost, you have to visit to truly feel the power and grief that it holds.
7. Chimpanzee trekking
I’m recommending it, but I’m not sure it’s one you’ll want to do for reasons I’ll cover below.
Chimpanzees are humans’ closest cousin, sharing 98.5% of our DNA. While I was more excited for the gorilla trek, I was looking forward to seeing how chimps would act in the wild.
And I’m still looking forward to that day.
The original chimpanzee trek we were supposed to do got canceled because the group got into an altercation with another group. So, that was a bummer. However, we got another one scheduled two days later. Unfortunately, the one available/closest to us was a smaller, more shy group.
Since our hotel wasn’t as close this time, we had a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call to head into the forest. We hiked for about 30 minutes before seeing them…for two minutes. They quickly scampered off, and we trekked after them – up and down ravines on hardly more than a game trail. But we never caught up to them.
Sadly, I only got blurry photos through the branches and leaves. (I kick myself because I had one good opportunity and missed.
So, should you do this? Well, that depends. Do you like risks?
It costs $200, and you will likely work very hard to find them. And there’s also a good chance you’ll never see them. Some people say they have the best time, while others never even get a chance.
Honestly, this is one you can probably skip unless you get good intel that they are behaving well and won’t scare easily.
8. Trek to see Golden monkeys
I’m not sure if there’s a 100% success rate, but our experience with the golden monkeys was just about perfect.
We walked about a mile through farmland into Volcanoes National Park and almost immediately had dozens of Golden Monkeys zipping around the trees and on the ground. I’d consider the walk to be pretty straightforward. We had approximately 300 feet of elevation gain overall, but the terrain wasn’t particularly challenging.
It was a fun and beautiful experience. There was even a baby in the group that mom held onto every so tightly.
9. Trek to see black and white colobus monkeys
This is definitely one of the best things to do in Rwanda. It’s not too pricey, only $100 per person, and you get the same one-hour experience with the monkeys. They were adorable and playful. And their two babies stole the show.
Take a look at the video below. Your heart will melt!
As for the trek, we drove into the hills and walked a mile through tea leaf farms before heading down a steep slope. Fifty yards down, we stopped, and right in front of us were a family of Colobus Monkeys.
10. Visit the Ellen degeneres campus of the Dian fossey gorilla fund
The day before our gorilla trek, we had the opportunity to take a tour here. It’s a remarkably well-done exhibit, highlighting Dian Fossey’s life and the work that she and those after her have done to protect mountain gorillas.
They’ve even recreated the house that she lived in for a decade in the mountains during her gorilla research—a truly incredible story and place.
I would recommend either reading Gorillas in the Mist or watching it.
11. Spend an afternoon at the red rocks cultural center
It was nice to have a low-key morning to explore a local village and marketplace, and see the Red Rocks Cultural Center.
Here, they offer a variety of local experiences to help you better understand Rwandan culture. We took part in the banana beer-making process. We peeled the bananas, squashed them, and filtered them. (Obviously, we didn’t wait days for it to ferment).
At the end, they brought out previously made banana beer. It… had an interesting taste and one I’m sure requires getting accustomed to. But seeing the process was fascinating, and the entire center gets my strongest recommendation!
12. Take a boat cruise on lake ihema
On our final day of the road trip, after our morning safari, we took a boat wildlife tour on Lake Ihema. It was about 75 minutes long, getting us out onto the water. It’s definitely one of the best things to do in Rwanda.
We were lucky to have a solo elephant hanging out 25 feet from shore. S/he was a good photography subject, just hanging around, letting us soak up the views. Once it wandered back towards shore, we continued with the trip out to an island.
Here, we got up close to various birds, baby Nile crocodiles, and then, at the end, a giant adult croc. Eighteen months earlier, I had the chance to see Australian saltwater crocodiles. Which, thanks to some research, are even bigger than these African ones.
After going most of my adult life without seeing crocs, getting a chance to see two of the world’s largest reptilian species is pretty cool!