Eight Wonders of Rwanda

Our survey of the Eight Wonders of the world's countries continues with a look at the next Richard Bangs Adventures destination, Rwanda. The country is best known for its mountain gorillas (and social turmoil in the early 1990s), but Julia Romano has found that there's a lot more to this small Central African country. 

1) Nyungwe Forest

Rolling across Rwanda's southeastern hills, Nyungwe Forest is one of Africa's oldest stretches of forest, dating to before the last ice age. The rainforest's varying elevations allow an array of creatures to thrive.  More than 120 species of butterflies dip between Nyungwe's petals and leaves, as well as nearly 300 species of birds. Antioch's Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation has a report.

2) Virunga Mountains

The Virungas form a natural border between Rwanda and the

Democratic Republic of Congo. Eight active volcanoes once raged along this mountain chain, emptying lava flows into the western branch of Africa's Great Rift Valley, spilling across the plains, and damming rivers to create great lakes.  Two of the volcanoes are still active — and still deadly. Mount Nyiragongo erupted as recently as 2002. Though dormant, Mount Karisimbi is the highest volcano in the chain. See what Wikipedia has to say.

3) Mountain Gorillas

The Virunga Mountains are home to the endangered eastern mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei), made famous by the work of Dian Fossey. Volcano National Park, which stretches across three countries (Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo), was established as a sanctuary by the Belgian colonial government in 1925. Although Rwandan civil war, drought and famine have threatened the lives of the great animals over the last 80 years, the celebrity brought to the area by the film Gorillas in the Mist has done much to save them from extinction.

4) Rwandan Coffee

Some 500,000 farmers grow coffee in Rwanda's lava-forged, mineral-rich soil. Most of the plots are small, with only 200 trees. Since Rwanda's catastrophic civil war, groups of Rwandan farmers have banded together to form economic and social cooperatives.  The alliances provide growers with more bargaining power in the world's markets, and help fund health and education programs. Read the BBC story on their project.

5) Hotel Rwanda

During three months in 1994, conflict between Rwandan ethnic Hutus and Tutsis left 800,000 dead, mostly Tutsis.  In Kigali, Rwanda's capital, hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina saved the lives of 1,268 refugees.  As the world averted its eyes from the slaughter, Rusesabagina opened the doors of Hotel des Mille Collines, and in doing so put his life and the life of his family at great risk.  Rusesabagina's story is captured in the award-winning 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, and the hotel is again open for business. 

6) Akagera, Land of a Thousand Hills

A Belgian decree created the boundaries of Kagera National Park in 1936, and its name today, Akagera, Land of a Thousand Hills, serves a common nickname for Rwanda itself.  Akagera is home to Africa's big game — giraffe, hyena, lion, and 11 antelope species.  The area's dozen or so lakes also support some of the highest concentration of hippos anywhere in Africa.  The Akagera River, the natural border between Rwanda and Tanzania, is the most remote headstream of the Nile, and the largest tributary of Kenya's Lake Victoria. See the Rwanda Tourism page on Akagera.

7) Lake Kivu

Though beautiful, Lake Kivu is potentially dangerous.  One of Africa's unusual "exploding lakes," it is prone to sudden, deadly eruptions of carbon dioxide. A so-called limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in Cameroon left nearly 2000 people dead in 1986. Lake Kivu is overdue for "overturning" — and the eruption could be far more devastating, given Kivu's size. Wikipedia weighs in on the lake.

8. The Virgin of Kibeho Road

In November 1981, the Virgin Mary appeared to seven young Rwandans traveling along Kibeho Road.  As news of the sightings spread, believers began making the pilgrimage to Kibeho, and during the following eight years, there were frequent reported sightings of both Mary and Jesus.  On several occasions, witnesses were struck with visions of bloodshed and massacre, visions that made frightening sense when a genocidal civil war ravaged Rwanda, taking the lives of several of the original visionaries.  Even though no sightings have been reported since 1989, Kibeho Road remains a road to salvation for those who believe.