Rwanda

Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift valley, where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge. It is located a few degrees south of the equator and bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its capital city is Kigali, very clean with a dialing code of +250. It totals an area of 26,338 km2 and the current population is 12.95 million (2020). It uses the Rwandan franc as a currency and it lies a few degrees south of the equator.

Rwanda is home to one of Africa’s last remaining high altitude tropical rain forests, situated in Nyungwe forest.

Tribes

Rwandan population is comprised of three main ethnic groups. These include;

The Hutus, which are also called the Bahutu or Wahutu, bantu speaking people of Rwanda and Burundi. Numbering about 9500,000 in the late 20^th century, the Hutu comprised the vast majority in both centuries but were traditionally subject to the Tutsi warrior-pastoralists of the Nilotic stock.

They have broad noses except when they have narrow noses. They are traditionally herders and farmers.

Tutsi tribe. They are also called Batutsi, Tussi, Watusi, or Watutsi. Ethnic group of probable Nilotic origin, whose members live within Rwanda and Burundi. The Tutsi formed the traditional aristocratic minority in both countries, constituting about 9% and 14% of the population respectively.

They characterized the Tutsi as a dangerous enemy that wanted to seize political power at the expense of the Hutu. By linking the Rwandan patriotic army with the Tutsi political party and ordinary Tutsi citizens, they classified the entire ethnic group as a homogenous threat to Rwanda

The split (difference) between the Hutu and Tutsi arose not as a result of religious or cultural differences but economic ones. Hutu people were people who farmed crops while the Tutsi were people who tended livestock.

The average height of the Tutsi is 5 feet, 9 inches (175 cm) although individuals have been recorded as being taller than 7 feet.

Twa tribe

The Twa people or (Batwa) can be considered the forgotten victims of the Rwandan original inhabitants of Rwanda, being related to other forest people of central Africa.  They are dispersed throughout the country in small groups. Historically, Twa communities in Rwanda were based in areas now dominated by volcanoes, national parks, the Nyungwe forest reserve, and the Gishwati forest. They have historically relied on hunter-gathering, living primarily off of forest resources. They are best known for the many pigmy groups scattered across equatorial Africa. They average about 1.5 meters (4 feet, 11 inches) in height.

They are people of mixed ancestry, probably descendants of the original inhabitants of the equatorial rain forests.

The Twa was used to refer to the people skilled in hunting, use of fire-making, guarding, etc.

Weather and Climate

Rwanda enjoys an agreeable tropical highland climate. Temperatures vary considerably between locations but vary little from month to month. Peak temperatures rarely exceed 30^o C (86^oF) in the daytime. And drop below 15^oC (59^oF) at night.

Rwanda has a fair climate season during which the long rainy (March-April-May). Seasons alternate with long dry (June-July-august) and short dry seasons (December-January-February).

There is no real winter or summer. There is a defined dry season from June to September but in volcanoes N.P and Nyungwe Forest that only means that it will rain less as these parks are wet throughout the year.

The warmest month is August with an average maximum temperature of 27^oC (80^oF) and the coldest month is July with an average maximum temperature of 24^oC (75^oF).

Best Time to visit

The best time to visit Rwanda is during the drier period from June to September when you have the best chance of spotting the country’s undoubted highlight: the mountain gorilla.

The rainy seasons from March to May and November are the optimum times for tracking chimpanzees

Visiting Rwanda in October – November tends to bring quick bursts of rain that clear to reveal blue skies. It’s an excellent time for photographs and the ideal period to admire Rwanda’s beautiful mountain scenery.

National Parks

• Volcanoes National Park
• Nyungwe Forest National Park
• Akagera National Park
• Gishwati Mukura National Park

Popular Destinations

• Beautiful parks housing gorillas in the mist.
• A high altitude tropical rainforest
• Kigali Memorial Centre Genocide memorial
• The Congo-Nile trail
• The Savannahs of Akagera National Park
• Mount Bisoke
• The exploding Lake Kivu
• Tea plantations and the Pfunda Ten factory