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Rwanda Travel Directory and Safaris informationTHE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA BACKGROUND INFORMATION Rwanda Tour Operators Rwanda, located in Central Africa is reffered to as the ‘ Land of a Thousand Hills ‘. The Landlocked country lies 1,270km West of the Indian Ocean. This is a landlocked country located about 120 South of the equator in the Tropic of capricon and 2,000km east of the Atlantic, located in the heart of Africa. The Country is surrounded by Uganda in the north, Burundi in the south, Tanzania in the east and Zaire to its west and northwest. Rwanda Safaris and Tours Rwanda has 5 Volcanoes, 23 lakes and numerous rivers, with a Land Area of 26,340 km (less than half the land area of scotland). The mountaneous topography is due to the country's position in Eastern rim of the Albertine Rift, and the Volcanoes are a result of the Rift valley formation.The Riftvalley escarpment through western Rwanda serves as a watershed between the Nile and the Congo. The country has vegetation which consists of Bamboo forest, open moorland PRACTICAL DETAILS: Currency: Rwandan franc GEOGRAPHY: Capital: Kigali HUMAN STATISTICS: Language:Kinyarwanda, French,English and swahili
are also spoken. ADMINISTRATION/POLITICS: President: Major General Paul Kagame
WHEN TO VISIT: Rwanda can be visited at anytime of the year. June to September is the long dry season and is the best time for tracking Gorillas and hiking in Nyungwe since the ground should be dry.Rwanda can however be visited any time of the year since the vegetation is greener ,the sky is less hazy and Gorrillas can be trekked. GETTING THERE AND AWAY: Rwanda has several Airlines flying in and out of the country. Most tourists travel to Rwanda by Air.The International Airport lies 10km from central Kigali. Rwanda Flights
The Sabena Ailines from Brussels runs direct flights to Kigali. Air Tanzania from Dar-es-Salaam, Air Burundi from Bujumbura, Kenya Airways from Nairobi, and Ethiopian Airlines from Addis-Ababa also run direct flights to Kigali. An Airport tax of US $ 40 is levied, now collected on the ticket at the time of issue so one doesn’t have to hand over cash. Taxis are available at the Airport to town. Remember to confirm your return flight atleast three days in advance, via an airline office or Airline office in Kigali inorder to avoid inconviniences later. AIR TICKETS: Rwanda has several Tour and travel companies which offer Airline tickets and also offer other services. OVERLAND: Four countries boarder Rwanda. These include Uganda to the North, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi to the South. The Boarders are all open, and regular Buses link Rwanda-kigali and Bujumbura. Direct Buses and Mini-buses -taxis connect Kampala and Kigali. These take 10-12 hours and cost around US $ 15. There are several Mini-buses -taxis along the roughly 50km road between Kisoro in SouthWest Uganda and Ruhengeri in northwest Rwanda. It is also easier to travel between Kabale the largest town in Southwest Uganda and Kigali.Tanzania is also connected to the boarder through Ngara town which is connected to Rusumo by Mini-buses and taxis. There are buses from Ngara to Mwanza on lake Victoria . Mwanza is a lasrge port with accommodation and other facilities with links to Dar-es-Salaam and Arusha in northwest Tanzania. Gorilla Safaris and Tourism
VISA AND PASSPORT GUIDELINES Before travelling to Rwanda, your passport should be valid and wont expire atleast six months of the date you intend to leave Rwanda. It would be better to travel with photocopies of your important papers so that incase your passport is stolen, it would be much easier to get a replacement. Visas are required by all visitors except Nationals of the USA, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. Visas can be acquired at the Kigali Airport on arrival in the country. The cost is US $ 35 upwards depending on the place of issue.Incase you are travelling overland, it would be best to acquire your visa in a neighbouring country. There are Rwandese Embassies in Kampala (Uganda), Bujumbura (Burundi), Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) There are also embassies in Cairo, Washington
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