Rwanda – Custom Made Journeys

Officially known as the Republic of Rwanda, the landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is often referred to as the “land of a thousand hills.” Dominated by mountains in the central and western part of the country, the highest peaks are found in the Virunga chain. With most of the country at a high elevation, the lowest being over 3,000 feet above sea level, the climate tends to be temperate to subtropical with two rainy and two dry seasons each year.

The area has been inhabited since hunter-gatherers settled there in the Stone Age, followed later by Bantu peoples. By the 15th century, clans had transformed into kingdoms and the Kingdom of Rwanda was established. As European colonization expanded in Africa, Rwanda became part of German East Africa in 1897 until it was taken over by Belgium in 1916. The country underwent several periods of civil unrest and atrocities in subsequent years until 1994 when the current system of government, a unitary presidential system with a bicameral parliament was put in place. Rwanda’s economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture to feed their own people. Coffee and Tea are the major cash crops for export, along with the mining industry which is an important contributor. Tourism has been the fastest growing economic resource in the past two decades.