RUHENGERI/ MUSANZE DISTRICT
Ruhengeri / Musanze District : Ruhengeri which is also known as musanze is the capital city of musanze district which is among the highly visited cities in the town with a number of tourism destinations that can be seen and a number of attractions that will make your visit to the district quite memorable. Today the city is mostly referred to musanze because of the policy of renaming the different cities in Rwanda to forget about the dark period of the 1994 Rwanda genocide where a number of people lost their lives which brought about bad memories as a way of moving on the country renamed a number of cities and this is why some people can be hard calling Ruhengeri musanze.
Ruhengeri is the gateway to volcanoes national park one of the most rewarding national parks in Rwanda that you should visit once you book for your Rwanda tour because of a number of wildlife that can be seen when you participate in the primate safaris in Rwanda, wildlife safaris in Rwanda and you choose volcanoes national park. However, there’s a lot more to Ruhengeri that can be seen when you participate in the different activities in to make your Rwanda safari quite memorable when you visit Ruhengeri/ musanze district include;
Gorilla trekking
You can visit musanze district and miss out on participating in gorilla trekking in Rwanda which will give you the opportunity to track the endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda. It should be noted that Rwanda is home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla trekking in Rwanda which will give you more chances to take part in gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park. for tourists to access the habituated gorilla families in Rwanda, they will have to hike the Virunga mountains in Rwanda because the mountain gorillas live in high elevations of about 8000-13000 feet.
During the activity, you will get to see a number of interesting attractions like the endemic Albertine bird species like the long-crested eagle handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Batis Dusky turtle love, paradise flycatcher, archer’s ground robin, African Rwenzori, double collared sunbird, marsh harrier, Ruwenzori turaco, common moorhen Ruwenzori night jar, grey throated tit, the dusky crimson wing, red-faced woodland warbler .You will get to see the twin lakes in Rwanda, you will get to see numerous primate species like the dent’s monkey, golden monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, the vervet monkey and many amazing attractions that will make your activity quite memorable.
When you get to the habituated gorilla families in Rwanda, you will have the chance to spend one hour with the gorillas observing their behaviour in the wild. With the help of the knowledgeable guide, he will give you all the relevant information about the primate species in the wild for instance you will get to understand and watch the dominant silverback of the gorilla family who is the overall seer of the gorilla family, interesting about how the dominant silver back in the group is the fact that they will challenge a dominant silverback to a fight and this involves making eye contact with the silverback, thumping its chest and once the challenge is accepted the winner becomes the dominant silver back and the loser is chased away and given a few adult females for him to start his own gorilla family among other interesting features of the primates in the wild to make your gorilla trekking experience in Rwanda quite memorable while you visit Ruhengeri / Musanze District .
Hiking the Virunga mountains
Once you visit Ruhengeri, you can participate in hiking the Virunga mountains in Rwanda that will give you the most rewarding experience while you visit Ruhengeri. There are five Virunga mountains in Ruhengeri namely; mount gahinga, mount muhabura, mount gahinga, mount karisimbi, mount bisoke and mount sabyinyo. As you hike the Virunga mountains in Rwanda, you will come across a number of attractions like numerous primate species like;
dent’s monkey. Mona monkey. Silver monkey, black and white colobus monkey, Hamlyn’s monkey, grey cheeked Mangabey, vervet moneky and many more
You will also have the opportunity to see numerous bird species like the long-crested eagle handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Batis Dusky turtle love, paradise flycatcher, archer’s ground robin, African Rwenzori, double collared sunbird, marsh harrier, Ruwenzori turaco, common moorhen Ruwenzori night jar, grey throated tit, the dusky crimson wing, red-faced woodland warbler , you can also get the chance to see rewarding views when you visit the crater lakes on top of the mountains, you can also get perfect picnic spots and perfect spots for photography to ensure that you have an amazing experience in volcanoes national park.
Golden monkey trekking
In musanze district, you can take part in golden monkey trekking which is also another interesting activity you should not miss out on when you visit Ruhengeri. The golden monkeys are endemic to the Albertine rift and these can also be seen in Virunga national park and Mgahinga national park. golden monkey trekking in Rwanda involves tourists hiking the Virunga mountains because they can be found along the slopes of the Virunga mountains and once you get to the habituated troops, you will get the chance to spend one hour observing their behaviour in the wild, take pictures and also film them to make the activity quite rewarding and memorable for an amazing experience in Ruhengeri town thus Ruhengeri / Musanze District .
Dian Fossey grave
Participate in hiking dian Fossey’s grave that can be seen in Ruhengeri in volcanoes national park which will give you the opportunity to understand more about dian Fossey’s works in Rwanda and how she spearheaded gorilla trekking in Africa. It was Dian Fossey that started the research on the mountain gorillas in Rwanda and through her work she was able to understand a number of problems faced by the gorillas in Rwanda like poaching, she was able to understand how to communicate with the gorillas and this also helped to habituate the mountain gorillas and this can also be seen when you participate in gorilla habituation in Uganda in Bwindi impenetrable national park.
While hiking to dian Fossey’s grave, you will understand more about her legacy in the park like how she was able to control poaching I Rwanda by looting poacher’s villages, destroying their traps among other measures that she exercised to ensure that the gorillas were well protected of however a number of the gorillas lost their lives and she was also killed in her cabin and was buried at the gorilla cemetery that can be visited and also get the chance to see the grave of her favourite gorilla digit which was also killed by poachers to make your gorilla trekking experience quite memorable.
Umuzabibu mwiza
The umuzabibu mwiza is a non-profit organize that was established to support widows and orphans by teaching them a number of skills and providing basic essentials to ensure that they have a normal life. It should be noted during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the at the organization, a number of orphans have been provided with shelter, scholarships, food supplies, counselling to ensure that they have a safe and an amazing livelihood. Therefore, once you visit Ruhengeri town, you can pass by the Christian organization and empower someone by either donating, buying a number of items from their crafts business to take home as souvenirs.
