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RWANDA TRAVEL TIPS

The Rep of Rwanda is a landlocked in Equatorial Africa, located on the eastern part of the Albertine Rift, a western arm of the Great Rift Valley, on the watershed between Africa's two largest river systems: the Nile and the Congo. The greatest part of the country's 26,338 km2 is remarkably mountainous, the highest peak being Karisimbi (4,507m) in the volcanic Virunga chain conserved by the Volcanoes National Park. The largest body of water is Lake Kivu, but there are more lakes around the country, especially Burera, Ruhondo, Muhazi and Mugesera, some of which have irregular shapes after the contours of the steep mountains that surround them.


ECONOMY:
Mainly the country depends on agriculture for its economy; Rwanda nevertheless produces for export some of the best tea and coffee in the world. More industries include sugar, fishing and flowers for export.          

GETTING THERE:
Every international flight reaches at Kigali International Airport, about 10 Km from central Kigali. International flights reaching in Kigali are with SN Brussels, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Burundi and Rwandair Express.
There are two direct flights from Brussels by SN Brussels Airlines. At the moment, Rwandair Express has introduced two flights a day from Nairobi (Kenya) and Entebbe (Uganda), and two per week from Johannesburg. Rwandair also has every day flights to Bujumbura and 3 flights weekly to Kilimanjaro. With effect from January 9th 2009, Rwandair Express will fly three times a week to Rubavu (Gisenyi-Rwanda) every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.


PASSPORT AND VISAS:
In order to travel to Rwanda, you need to have a valid passport plus a visa. In view of the bilateral agreements, nationals of the following countries are allowed to visit Rwanda without visa for a period up to 90 days: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sweden, Mauritius, South Africa and Hong Kong. Visas can be applied for online or bought upon arrival.

MONEY:
The unit of legal tender is the Rwanda franc. The US dollar is the hard currency of preference. It is quite difficulty to exchange travellers' cheques away from the capital. Credit cards are often only accepted at the major hotels in Kigali.

LANGUAGE:
A part from the local language of Kinyarwanda, French and English are official languages. French is commonly spoken in the entire country. In the capital and other tourist centres, several people speak English.


PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
In Rwanda, we have public holidays like Good Friday and Easter Monday, which fall on variable dates, are respected in Rwanda. More public holidays are:
1 January (New Year's Day);
1 February (National Heroes Day);
7 April (Genocide Memorial Day);
1 May (Labour Day);
1 July (Independence Day);
4 July (National Liberation Day);
15 August (Assumption Day);
1 October (Patriotism Day);
25 December (Christmas Day), and
26 December (Boxing Day).

WHEN TO VISIT:
You are free to visit Rwanda at any time of the year. Gorilla trekking and other forest walks are not very difficult to participate in during the drier months. The European winter is the most appropriate time for birds, as Palaearctic migrants supplement resident species.

WHAT TO WEAR:
You are free to Dress codes the way you like but its better to dress formerly. Daytime temperatures are usually warm, so carry lots of light clothing, supplemented by light sweaters for the cool evenings and heavier clothing for the Parc des Volcans and Nyungwe. In case you are tracking gorillas, wear sturdier clothing to protect against stinging nettles, and solid walking shoes. A hat and sunglasses give protection against the sun, and a waterproof jacket may come in handy in the moist mountains.

 WHAT TO BRING:
Binoculars will greatly enhance game drives and forest walks, as will a nice field guide to East African birds. Carry a camera and an adequate stock of film. Print film is accessible but transparency film is not. Toiletries and additional essentials can be bought in the cities.

COMMUNICATIONS:
Rwanda has an exceptional cell phone network covering almost the whole country country.
International phone calls can be made quickly. Suitable SIM cards for the network are readily available everywhere, also in remote towns, and cell phones can be bought or rented from major shops in Kigali. The majority of towns of any size will have a number of Internet cafes and computer centres.

GETTING AROUND:
Rwanda has perhaps the best roads in East Africa. The greatest number of Rwanda guest who have booked through a tour company will be provided with nice private vehicles, especially 4-wheel drive. Every the major centre is connected with local and luxury bus services. Air charter services are present anywhere in the country.

HIKING AND BIKING:
The nice road network, with less traffic, provides beautiful opportunities for long bicycle trips across the verdant hills and valleys. Mountain biking and you may get pleasure from hiking on the thousands of kilometers of excellent rural trails connecting remote villages, criss-crossing the whole country.

GORILLA PERMITS:
You may acquire Gorilla Permits if you get in touch with a travel operator, or you can be purchased it directly through the Office Rwandaise du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN) / The Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks, at the headquarters in Kigali, or at their office in Musanze.


SAFETY AND HEALTH
In order to come into Rwanda, you need a certificate of yellow-fever vaccination. The greatest part of Rwanda is situated at too high an elevation for malaria to be a main concern, but the disease is present and prophylactic drugs are usually recommended. It is better not to drink tap water. Bottled mineral water can be bought in all towns. Hospitals are situated in all major towns.


SEASONS AND CLIMATE
A combination of tropical position and high altitude ensures that the greatest part of Rwanda has a temperate year-round climate. Temperatures not usually stray above 30 degrees Celsius by day or below 15 degrees Celsius at night throughout the year. The outstanding ones are the chilly upper slopes of the Virunga Mountains, and the hot low-lying Tanzania border area conserved in Akagera National Park. In the entire the country, seasonal variations in temperature are slightly insignificant. The greatest part of the country receives in excess of 1,000mm of precipitation annually, with the driest months being July to September and the wettest February to May.

 

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