Tourist Places to Visit in Ruhengeri, Musanze, Rwanda, Africa

Tourist Places to Visit in Ruhengeri, Musanze, Rwanda, Africa

Ruhengeri is the capital city of both Musanze District and Northern Province in Rwanda, located between 1°30′ S latitude and 29°38′ E longitude. It is located in the northern part of the country, around 90 km southwest of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Although the city holding few tourist attractions, Ruhengeri’s nearness with the twin lakes, Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo and Volcanoes National Park, has made Ruhengeri popular among tourists. Especially, the Volcanoes National Park is noted for typical gorilla visits, which bring tourists in larger proportion, especially between June and September.

How to reach Ruhengeri?

Ruhengeri holds an airport but flights are not scheduled. So, international tourists are needed to reach the country’s prime airport, the Kigali International Airport, which is located in the national capital Kigali, around 100 km southeast of Ruhengeri. Including the world cities like Brussels, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Dubai, Istanbul and Doha, the airport covers many African cities as well.

Buses are frequent between Kigali and Ruhengeri and its number substantially increases during peak season. Buses generally take 2 hours and costs around 1,800 Rwf from Kigali to Ruhengeri. Kigali Bus Service and Virunga Express are the prominent bus companies serving this route. To move within Ruhengeri, moto-taxis are widely used that cost around 400 Rwf.

Food and Shopping in Ruhengeri:

Plenty of shops and restaurants serve visitors coming to the city of Ruhengeri with both traditional and modern specialties. Volcana Lounge is a nice restaurant in Ruhengeri, offering a variety of mouthwatering pizzas at reasonable prices. Lava Café is famous for coffee and other nice drinks.

Things to do in Ruhengeri:

Mountain climbing
Gorilla visits
Golden monkey visits
Visiting nearby lakes

What to see in Ruhengeri?

Volcanoes National Park:

The Volcanoes National Park is one of the big names in Rwanda’s tourism industry, especially recognized for mountain gorillas that are abundant in number, available for tour for visitors and to do a lot of fun. Gorillas can be hired either from Rwanda Tourism Board or tour operators. The park is also famous for Golden monkey visits, Karisimbi volcano climbing and its rich vegetation. The park is located few kilometers west of Ruhengeri.

Lake Ruhondo:

The Lake Ruhondo is an enthralling lake, situated on the outskirts of Ruhengeri, near another famous lake in the region, Lake Burera. Water sport lovers frequent to the lake throughout the year.

Lake Burera:

Together with the Lake Ruhondo, the Lake Burera is called twin lakes, located near the border of Uganda with Rwanda and to the east of the town of Ruhengeri.

Ruhengeri Airport:

The Ruhengeri Airport is a well constructed modern airport, situated within the city premise, at an elevation of 1,860 meters. Currently the airport receives no flights, although, it receives visitors for its nice construction and pleasant surroundings.

List of other places of interest in and around Ruhengeri includes:

Dian Fossey
Lava caves and tunnels
Bisoke volcano
Karisoke Research Center
Muhabura Volcano
Volcano Gahinga
Sabyinyo Volcano

When to visit Ruhengeri?

The best time to visit Ruhengeri is from June to September when everything will be favor of visitors, including gorilla visits.

Where to stay in Ruhengeri?

Being a gateway to many top tourist destinations in the country, Ruhengeri houses plenty of upgraded hotels with top class amenities to make visitors’ tour memorable. Apart from general facilities, some hotels in Ruhengeri also conduct day tour for their guests. Here are some reputed hotels in Ruhengeri: