Rwanda is naturally dictated to a central plateau made up of steep mountains and deep valleys. This has therefore renamed Rwanda as “Land of thousand hills”. The average elevation of the plateau is about 1.700 m.
Rwanda has got principal geographic feature on the western side of the plateau and these are the famous Virunga chain of volcanoes which extends towards Congo and the Ugandan border. It’s in the Virunga that one can find Rwanda ‘s most important tourist attraction: the mountain gorillas! The 3 towns eastwards; Gisenyi Kibuye and Cyangungu, offer a striking view on Lake Kivu .
Anyone who has seen this part of the country will agree that “Land of thousand hills” is simply an understatement. From Gisenyi, you can cross the border to Congo and visit the city of Goma, devastated by the Nyiaragongo volcano, one of the active Virunga volcanoes on the Congo side, which erupted the 17th of January 2002 Rwanda without doubt has more to offer;It has got Nyungwe National Park in the Albertine rift montane rainforest that has recently received the status of National Park. This rainforest has a unique dwelling and it’s only there that we have seen troops of more than 300 colobus monkeys moving around in trees! It has 25 % of the African primates. Nyungwe is sincerely a primate paradise!