Category: Destinations

About Rwanda Rwanda is a unitary republic in central and eastern Africa. Uganda is to its north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. While the country is landlocked, it is noted for its lakes. Despite being close to the equator, the climate is temperate due to the altitude. The highest point is Mount Karisimbi. Tourism is important due to wildlife, including the mountain gorilla. Kigali, Gitarama, and Butare are the largest cities. Since the end of the Rwandan Genocide, the country has been socially and politically stable. As a result, agriculture, roads, mining, and tourism have developed. There are still a large number of people that live in poverty. The president, Paul Kagame, and his party, the RPF, firmly hold power in the country. History Humans migrated to what is now Rwanda after the last ice age. Hunter gatherers settled the area in the late Stone Age and were followed by early Iron Age settlers. These were ancestors of the Twa, a group of Pygmy hunters who still remain in Rwanda. Additional migrations took place between 700 BC and 1500 AD. This divided society into three groups which are the Hutu, Tutsis, and the original Twas. There are several theories regarding the origins of these groups. Oral history indicates the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded on Lake Muhazi’s shore in the 14th or 15th centuries. By playing its larger neighbors against each other, the kingdom flourished and expanded. The Banyoro invaded in the late 16th or 17th century, which forced the kings west. In the 17th century, a new dynasty was formed by King Ruganzu Ndori. The conquest of Bugesera began the Rwandan kingdom’s dominance of the area. The kingdom extended into modern day DRC and Uganda at its