Warm and friendly, Rwandans are also respectful, thoughtful and committed to the idea of progress, starting from the grass roots and running all the way to the top. From the ancient kingdom to the modern day, creativity is something to be celebrated, whether through traditional dance, unique architecture or works of art.
The finest displays of Rwanda’s dynamic traditional musical and dance styles are performed by the Intore Dance Troupes. Founded several centuries ago, the Intore, (The Chosen Ones) who performed exclusively for the Royal Court, were given military training and taught the technique of jumping which forms a significant part of the dance. Performed wearing grass wigs and clutching spears this dance is a true spectacle of Rwanda.
A reconstruction of the traditional royal residence, the King’s Palace is a beautifully-crafted thatched dwelling shaped like a beehive.
At the back live a few long-horned Inyambo cattle, descended from the king’s herd, whose keepers carefully tend and sing to them, keeping alive a unique tradition.
A gift from Belgium’s King Badouin in the late 1980s, the Ethnographic Museum now houses one of Africa’s finest ethnographic collections.
Rwanda has one of the highest bird counts on the continent despite being one of the smallest countries in Africa.
The prime birdwatching destinations are Nyungwe and Akagera National Parks, although enchanting sightings are common across the country.
Rwanda is renowned for its gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park, but the country is also home to chimpanzees as well a host of monkeys – colobus, golden, L’Hoest’s, owl faced, Dent’s, blue and vervet – alongside olive baboons, and the nocturnal potto and bushbabies.