Rwanda

Rwanda is a landlocked country situated in central Africa. Also known as ’The Land of a Thousand Hills’, Rwanda has five volcanoes, 23 lakes and numerous rivers, some forming the source of the River Nile.The country lies 75 miles south of the equator in the Tropic of Capricorn, 880 miles ’as the crow flies’ west of the Indian Ocean and 1,250 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean - literally in the heart of Africa. The Altitude ranges from 1000m to 4500m above the sea level. Rwanda is bordered by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Rwanda has two rainy seasons, March – May and October – November, with an average rainfall of 110-200 mm per month. The average Temperature ranges from 24.6 to 27.6ºc, with the Hottest months being August, and September. The Main water bodies are Lake Kivu, Lake Muhazi, Lake Ihema, Lake Bulera, Lake Ruhondo, Lake Mugesera. Rwanda's Vegetation ranges from dense equatorial forest in the north-west of the country to tropical savannah in the east. Main National Parks/Animal Reserves are Akagera, Volcanoes and Gishwati-Mukura National Parks. In Rwanda the great animals of the wild are protected from poachers and roam free in the vast national parks. The Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga volcanic mountains with its high altitude forests is world famous for mountain gorillas - timid and passive family oriented giants. The Park is teeming with wildlife both large and small, while Lake Kivu to the west offers beautiful beaches, jutting peninsulas and an archipelago of islands.