Rwanda

Book Synopsis: Now into its eighth edition and written by Philip Briggs, the world’s leading author of African guidebooks, Bradt’s Rwanda has been the go-to guide for visitors to the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’ for more than 20 years. Still the only standalone guide in English to this increasingly popular destination, it remains in a class of its own for in-depth information. With fresh research into developments across the country, Bradt’s Rwanda includes expanded coverage of Gishwati-Mukura National Park, which opened to tourism in 2021, and up-to-date details of rapidly modernising Kigali, considered Africa’s cleanest city. Rwanda continues to change and develop at an unprecedented pace – no country has a higher proportion of female parliamentarians – and there’s hardly a more accessible part of Africa. It’s no less intriguing for the convenience, however, and Rwanda’s superlative natural attractions constantly improve, with growing animal populations, as in Akagera National Park, where Africa’s Big Five (rhino, lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo) can be seen.

This new edition also includes extensive maps and natural history information, while details of kayak and canoe excursions on Lake Kivu and the Mukungwa River complement advice about staying on tea plantations at Sorwathe or Gisovu. It contains everything you need to know about tracking mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park (workplace of primatologist Dian Fossey of Gorillas in the Mist fame) and chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park (East Africa’s largest surviving montane forest, harbouring numerous endemic birds and primates) and Gishwati-Mukura (which is also the only location for the rare golden monkey outside the Virunga mountains). Also covered are Nyanza, with its hilltop Rukari King’s Palace Museum, and the Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda, the top cultural site in Butare (Huye). A chapter on nearby cities and national parks provides key necessary information to take an excursion into neighboring DRC, including how to see lowland gorillas. As not only the most in-depth guide available in English, but also the guide with the longest history in the country itself, Bradt’s Rwanda is the indispensable companion for visitors, including wildlife enthusiasts and Africa aficionados.