By Foot: Rwanda Walking

Day 1: Kigali

We rendezvous this morning in a quiet corner of Kigali to spend the day visiting Rwanda’s capital city’s sights and neighbourhoods. After a short orientation, we make a stop at the Centre Caesar and meet with seamstresses of traditional Rwandan garb, then help with the preparation of a meal for disadvantaged children before enjoying our own lunch at Chez John. Of course, no full insight into modern Rwanda can be gained without the historical background of the dark days of the 1994 Hutu-Tutsi conflict, so this afternoon we set much of the context for our trip with a visit to the starkly moving Genocide Memorial Centre. Constructed above a mass grave, the Centre is a place for paying tribute to the victims and their families and, perhaps most importantly, educating the new generation of young Rwandans on the perils of ignorance and violence. Later in the day we continue the theme with a visit to the Hotel des Milles Collines, the real-life “Hotel Rwanda” from the film. Returned to its pre- 1994 premier quality, the Milles Collines will host us for poolside cocktails, where special guest and genocide survivor Solange will both shock and inspire us with stories from the dark days. Dinner will follow at the adjoining Panorama Restaurant—the name is well deserved—before we taxi back across town to our hotel for the night.

Day 2-3:

First thing the next morning we head to the airport for a short flight southwest to Cyangugu, on the shores of Lake Kivu. Our ultimate destination today is the stunning Nyungwe Forest, a vast national park that extends across the border into Burundi to the south. After check-in and lunch at our luxury lodge, we pay an afternoon visit to a nearby tea plantation for insight into the plant’s cultivation before an infusion tasting on the premises. This afternoon will include time to take advantage of our lodge’s treatment rooms, fitness centre, and heated outdoor pool, then we’ll reconvene for cocktails and a dinner serenaded by the surrounding rainforest. On our third day we bask in the natural wonders of Rwanda. Nyungwe, Africa’s largest protected highaltitude rainforest, features remarkable biodiversity. After a hearty lodge breakfast, we dedicate the morning to the Colobus monkey, a particularly interesting primate species that is abundant in the park. Existing in both black and white varieties, Colobus are friendly creatures, perhaps due their “socialization” behavioral habit—Nyungwe monkeys live and move in troops of up to 400! We return to the lodge for lunch, then those keen for further wildlife-viewing opportunities can join a forest-canopy walk in the afternoon. Dinner tonight is at the lodge.

Day 4-5: Lake Kivu to Gisenyi

Today is dedicated to exploring the islands and shores of Kivu, considered one of Africa’s “Great Lakes”; it is the continent’s sixth-largest and divides Rwanda from the Congo. After a morning drive to Cyangugu we’ll embark on a private powerboat toward lunch, further north at the Cormoran Lodge in Kibuye. After lunch we’ll motor out to Coffee Island for a firsthand lesson on one of the country’s cash crops and major economic drivers. In fact, our next few hours will be a field-to-cup exercise in coffee studies: on the island we’ll meet with growers and pickers, then we’ll cross back to the mainland to visit a coffee-washing station, and later we’ll sample a few cups of the local joe at a “cupping”event, akin to a caffeinated wine tasting. Between these stops, our boat will approach Napoleon Island—famous for its enormous bat colony. We’ll arrive at the lake’s northern end by late afternoon. Dinner this evening will be an open-air barbecue at our hotel, overlooking the lake The following morning we set out on foot for a spectacular coastal hike, straight from our hotel to Rubona, the major harbor for Gisenyi. We’ll stop at fish markets along the way, meeting with the fishermen we’ll see passing us by in their dugout canoes, then we’ll pause for lunch at lakeside Paradis Malahide. Afterwards we’ll head on to the Imbabazi Orphanage in Mugongo, which was originally begun by New York fashion designer Rosamond Halsey to house 400 children from the 1994 genocide. We’ll also take the opportunity here to stroll past views of the mountains we’ll be heading into tomorrow. Dinner tonight is back at our hotel, on the shores of Lake Kivu.

Day 6-7: Market Bounty and Gorilla Majesty

A short morning drive brings us to Ruhengeri and the entrance to the Virunga Volcanoes National Park. We will begin our hike at Karisoke Research Camp, which was made famous by the tireless efforts of the late Dian Fossey; our hike will take us past her grave and the gorilla cemetery. After our hike we will check into the lodge for a late lunch, after which there is time to rest and relax. Dinner tonight is in our lodge. We’ll rise early the next morning and in two groups, follow expert trackers to see family groups of Silverback gorillas, both of which are somewhat accustomed to human interaction. It may sound like a cliché, but a faceto- face meeting with these animals is a life-changing experience: a sight of the magnificent creatures— especially the young, when they make eye contact—is truly stirring. Because viewing permits are limited, we’ll be alone with them for a few precious hours. Our hike toward the gorillas is challenging as we literally make our own trails through the forest. After lunch back at the lodge, we have a slightly different and more traditionally B&R, active pursuit: we have arranged to join Rwanda’s National Cycling Team for a short, casual loop ride (mostly on dirt roads) and discussion, to hear their story from coach Jock Boyer, and learn of his “coffee bikes” initiative. This evening we will reflect on our adventures through Rwanda over dinner at the lodge.

Day 8: Farewells

We leave the mountains this morning and return to Kigali in time to make outbound flights home or onward. En route back to the capital we’ll stop at the Kinigi Cultural Centre, a project started by ex-poachers who have developed alternative methods of earning a living through weaving, tree planting and other sustainable activities.