Best places to visit in Rwanda—ranked
1. Akagera National Park—my favorite place in Rwanda
2. Nyungwe National Park—the most atmospheric place in Rwanda
3. Volcanoes National Park—gorilla trekking, but not my #1
4. Lake Kivu—the biggest surprise
5. Kigali—home to the Kigali Genocide Memorial
6. Nyamata—an important but difficult stop
7. Nyanza—a look at Rwanda before 1994
Which places should I prioritize in Rwanda?
I spent roughly two weeks road-tripping around Rwanda, and my favorite places weren’t necessarily the most famous ones.
For a small country, Rwanda has a lot of variety—and the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills” starts making sense pretty quickly when you drive around. Akagera has safari and huge open landscapes; Nyungwe Forest National Park is all rainforest and mountains; Volcanoes is where most people go for the gorillas; and Lake Kivu is where I ended up spending 3 days doing almost nothing.
If you’re wondering where to go in Rwanda, my ranking is pretty clear. Akagera was my favorite place, Nyungwe was second, and Volcanoes National Park came third. Yes, I went to Rwanda mainly for the gorillas and still ranked Volcanoes #3.
These are the best places to visit in Rwanda based on my own trip, including how long I’d spend in each and which ones I’d prioritize if you don’t have two weeks.
If you’re looking for what to do in Rwanda rather than where to go, I cover the actual activities separately in my guide to the best things to do in Rwanda.
Rwanda has a lot more going on than gorillas. After 14 days, I had a pretty clear idea of which places were actually worth the trip
This is how I’d rank the best places to visit in Rwanda after spending 14 days traveling around the country:
1. Akagera National Park — 10/10
Best for: Safari, wildlife, landscapes
How long I’d stay: 2–3 days
2. Nyungwe National Park — 9.5/10
Best for: Rainforest, chimpanzees, hiking
How long I’d stay: 2–3 days
3. Volcanoes National Park — 9/10
Best for: Gorillas, volcano hiking
How long I’d stay: 2–3 days
4. Lake Kivu — 9/10
Best for: Relaxation, scenery
How long I’d stay: 2–3 days
5. Kigali — 8/10
Best for: History, modern Rwanda
How long I’d stay: 1 day
6. Nyamata — 8/10
Best for: Genocide history
How long I’d stay: Half day
7. Nyanza — 7.5/10
Best for: Royal history
How long I’d stay: Half–1 day
Read more about my travels in Rwanda.
Rwanda is easy to travel around, but planning the national parks properly will save you money, time, and a few unnecessary headaches
A few practical things made a big difference when deciding where to go in Rwanda and how much time to allow between places:
For the rest of the practical stuff, see my Rwanda travel tips and best time to visit Rwanda guides. If you want to see how I’d connect these places into one trip, I’ve also put together my 10 days in Rwanda itinerary.
I came to Rwanda for the gorillas, but Akagera somehow stole first place. And not just because of the zebras
Akagera National Park was my favorite place in Rwanda. I didn’t expect that before the trip, especially because I’d already been on safari elsewhere in Africa.
What put Akagera at #1 for me was the park itself. The landscape kept changing between savanna, lakes, wetlands, woodland, and hills. It was still surprisingly green when I visited in the dry season, and in some places I was looking across palms and lakes toward Tanzania rather than the endless flat grassland I’d expected from a safari in East Africa.
There’s also enough wildlife to make the detour worthwhile. I saw lions, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, hippos, and plenty more, but I wouldn’t come here on a rushed day trip from Kigali just to tick off animals. The park is long; you drive slowly, and I covered more than 200 km inside it.
Over 200 km of driving inside Akagera, and I still wasn’t bored. The buffalo probably had a less exciting day
Akagera is a detour east compared with the other main places to visit in Rwanda, but for me, it was absolutely worth it.
For the safari itself, including the routes I drove, hiring a guide, Lake Ihema, fees, and wildlife, see my complete Akagera National Park guide.
Nyungwe is the kind of place where even driving through the forest feels like an activity. Just bring a rain jacket
Nyungwe National Park was my second favorite place in Rwanda. What I liked most was that the whole area felt completely different from anywhere else on my trip.
Even getting there is part of it. The road cuts through mountains and dense rainforest, with mist, clouds, and tea plantations around the edges. Parts of the park sit at around 2,500 m, and it can suddenly feel surprisingly cold and wet for somewhere this close to the equator.
The forest is obviously the main reason to come. Chimpanzee trekking was one of my favorite wildlife experiences in Rwanda, and combining the canopy walk with the Umuyove Trail gave me a much better feel for Nyungwe than just crossing the famous bridge and leaving.
Chimp trekking was one of my favorite experiences in Rwanda. These guys alone made Nyungwe worth the detour
But I’d rank Nyungwe this highly even beyond those individual activities. Akagera felt bigger and more varied, which is why it stays at #1, but Nyungwe was the most atmospheric place I visited in Rwanda. I liked simply driving through it almost as much as some of the things I did there.
Downside: Nyungwe gets expensive once you start adding park entry and guided activities, and the weather can make hiking harder than expected. I’d also stay as close to Uwinka as your budget allows. Driving another 30–60 minutes before an early start gets old quickly.
If rainforest, hiking, and primates don’t interest you, Nyungwe is a substantial detour to make. For me, it was one of the must-visit places in Rwanda and easily justified the journey south.
For the actual activities, permits, trails, and what chimp trekking was like, see my Nyungwe National Park guide and chimpanzee trekking guide.
The rangers know exactly where the gorillas are. Your job is to survive the hike and keep up
Volcanoes National Park is probably the most famous of all the places to visit in Rwanda. It was also the main reason I came to the country. And I still rank it third.
Seeing mountain gorillas from just a few meters away in their natural habitat was awesome, and if you’re coming to Rwanda for the same reason I did, Volcanoes absolutely belongs on your itinerary. But USD 1,500 is still a huge amount of money for one hour with gorillas, and I actually enjoyed the park more once I added other parts of it.
Mount Bisoke was the highlight for me after the gorillas. It’s a proper volcano hike through the Virunga landscape, and I unexpectedly saw gorillas again on the way. Golden monkey trekking was much easier and more relaxed, but I’d treat it as an extra rather than a reason to come here on its own.
What keeps Volcanoes at #3 is that I preferred the destinations around those headline experiences. Akagera gave me much more variety, while Nyungwe had an atmosphere I liked more. Volcanoes is still one of the must-visit places in Rwanda—I just wouldn’t automatically put it at #1 because it has the gorillas.
One hour with these guys costs USD 1,500. Worth it? Yes. Enough to make Volcanoes my #1 park? Apparently not
Downside: This is where Rwanda gets seriously expensive. Once you start combining gorilla trekking with other permits and activities, the costs add up very quickly. If gorillas aren’t a priority for you, I’d put Akagera and Nyungwe ahead of Volcanoes. If you’re doing several early starts, I’d stay close to Kinigi rather than adding unnecessary driving every morning.
For the actual experiences, see my Volcanoes National Park guide, gorilla trekking guide, Mount Bisoke guide, and golden monkey trekking guide.
Three days at Lake Kivu doing almost nothing. After two weeks of safaris, hiking, and early mornings, I’d earned it
Lake Kivu was the biggest surprise of my Rwanda trip. I expected the national parks to be the places I’d remember most, but I’d happily come back here and stay longer.
The main decision is where on Lake Kivu to stay, because the lake stretches along much of Rwanda’s western border and the different areas don’t feel the same. The south is more rural, with fishing villages and fewer tourists. Karongi (Kibuye) was my favorite—quiet, mountainous, dotted with islands, and exactly where I wanted to be after several days of early starts and hiking. Rubavu (Gisenyi) in the north has more hotels and nightlife and makes more sense if you want an easy stop around Volcanoes National Park.
For me, Karongi is the place I’d choose again. The combination of the lake, mountains, islands, and very little going on was exactly the point. It also breaks up a Rwanda road trip nicely between the more intense national park stops. If you’re looking at Lake Kivu holidays rather than a full Rwanda road trip, Karongi would still be my pick.
Traditional fishing boats, little islands, and not much happening. Exactly why Karongi was my favorite part of Lake Kivu
Kigali is clean, modern, and surprisingly organized. I still preferred taking taxis over driving myself
I wouldn’t come to Rwanda for Kigali alone, but I definitely wouldn’t skip it. After road-tripping around the country, I found the city most useful for understanding the Rwanda I was traveling through rather than for sightseeing itself.
The Kigali Genocide Memorial is the obvious place to start, but I also found the Campaign Against Genocide Museum worth visiting. Our guide’s personal story there stayed with me much more than another room full of museum panels. Kandt House adds some colonial history, while the Convention Centre shows a completely different, modern side of Kigali.
Kigali’s memorials aren’t exactly light sightseeing, but understanding Rwanda’s history is just as important as visiting its national parks
That mix is why I think Kigali deserves a place on a Rwanda itinerary. It gives you context that you simply don’t get from the national parks and Lake Kivu.
Downside: I wouldn’t take time away from Akagera, Nyungwe, Volcanoes, or Lake Kivu to stay longer in Kigali. Driving there was also more annoying than useful because of parking and frequent security checks—I preferred taxis.
For the individual sights and how I’d plan the city, see my guide to the best things to do in Kigali.
Nyamata was one of the hardest places I visited in Rwanda. Not a pleasant stop, but an important one for understanding what happened here in 1994
Nyamata was one of the most difficult places I visited in Rwanda. It’s an easy stop south of Kigali rather than somewhere I’d build a day around. I wouldn’t call it a must-see in the usual travel sense, but if you want to understand what happened here in 1994, it’s an important place to visit.
The Nyamata Genocide Memorial is inside a former church where thousands of people were killed during the genocide against the Tutsi. Victims’ clothes remain inside, and being in the actual place where the killings happened affected me differently from visiting a museum.
I’d visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial first because it explains the history, then come to Nyamata to see one of the places where it actually happened.
Downside: This is a tough place to visit. I wouldn’t bring young children here, and it’s not somewhere I’d recommend if you know this kind of experience will be too much for you.
Rwanda’s royal history comes with traditional palaces and cattle with ridiculously huge horns. Nyanza was worth the stop for both
Nyanza is worth stopping in if you’re traveling between Kigali and Nyungwe. I wouldn’t make a big detour for it, but it showed me a side of Rwanda’s history I hadn’t seen elsewhere.
The King’s Palace Museum was my favorite historical stop in Rwanda. You see the reconstructed traditional royal residence, the later colonial-era palace, and the long-horned royal cattle. The cattle were the part I remembered best. The traditions around them also gave me a glimpse of local culture that I hadn’t really seen elsewhere on the trip.
These aren’t your average cows. Rwanda’s Inyambo cattle were bred for royalty, and their horns are pretty hard to ignore
Most of my other historical stops focused on the genocide or colonial period. Nyanza goes further back, and I liked seeing that different side of the country. Rwanda’s history didn’t begin in 1994.
Downside: I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Nyanza. It makes most sense as a stop when you’re already passing through southern Rwanda.
If I had to pick just one place in Rwanda, Akagera would win. Crocodiles, birds, safari animals, and enough variety to keep me busy for days
If you can only visit one or two national parks, I'd choose based on what interests you most. Akagera would be my first choice for a varied safari experience, wildlife, and landscapes. Nyungwe is better if you love rainforest, hiking, and chimpanzees, and I personally found chimp trekking much better value than gorilla trekking.
But if seeing mountain gorillas is your main reason for visiting Rwanda, prioritize Volcanoes National Park despite its $1,500 gorilla permit. It's an exceptional experience—just not my favorite park overall.
If you don’t have time for every place on my list, this is how I’d narrow it down:
With 7 days:
With 10 days, add:
With 14 days, add:
Rwanda looks small on the map, but I wouldn’t try to cram more places into each version. You’ll just end up spending too much of the trip driving.
For the exact route and how I’d connect these places, see my Rwanda itinerary.
Already visiting King's Palace Museum in Nyanza? Huye is another stop worth considering on your way to Nyungwe National Park
I’m leaving Huye (Butare) out of my personal ranking because I don’t have enough firsthand experience there to give it a meaningful score. I’d rather rank seven places I actually know than make up an eighth rating to fill the list.
That said, Huye is worth considering if you have extra time in southern Rwanda, particularly because it fits naturally between Nyanza and Nyungwe. The main reason to stop would be the Ethnographic Museum, and the surrounding region also works well if you’re interested in Rwanda’s coffee-growing areas.
I wouldn’t add Huye at the expense of Akagera, Nyungwe, Volcanoes, or Lake Kivu. But on a slower two-week trip, it’s one of the easier additional stops to work into the route.
I went to Rwanda for the gorillas and left with Akagera as my favorite place. Not quite the ranking I expected, but I’d do the same trip again
For me, the best places to visit in Rwanda are Akagera, Nyungwe, and Volcanoes, and those are the three I’d build a trip around. I’d add Lake Kivu in between to slow things down. Kigali, Nyamata, and Nyanza are shorter stops, but they show you parts of Rwanda you won’t get from the national parks.
The biggest surprise for me was Akagera. I came to Rwanda mainly for the gorillas and left with a safari park as my favorite place in the country. Lake Kivu was the other place I underestimated and would happily return to.
That’s the route I’d choose again. For what to do once you get there, see my separate guide to the best things to do in Rwanda, where I rank the actual experiences rather than the places.
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Best places to visit in Rwanda—ranked
1. Akagera National Park—my favorite place in Rwanda
2. Nyungwe National Park—the most atmospheric place in Rwanda
3. Volcanoes National Park—gorilla trekking, but not my #1
4. Lake Kivu—the biggest surprise
5. Kigali—home to the Kigali Genocide Memorial
6. Nyamata—an important but difficult stop
7. Nyanza—a look at Rwanda before 1994
Which places should I prioritize in Rwanda?
Hi, I’m Jan. I travel fast and intensely, whether I’m exploring the buzz of Tokyo in 3 days or road-tripping through mountains and beaches on a 3-week Thailand adventure. And no matter where I am, you’ll always find me in a comfortable hotel at night and eating the best food.
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