Formula 1 and gorilla trekking in Rwanda: Rwanda recently placed its bid to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix. This is a huge achievement for the country given that Africa as a continent last hosted Formula 1 competitions in 1993, and it was even its first time hosting. Formula 1 is a prestigious car racing competition held in different countries across the world.
Open-wheel one-seater Formula 1 racing cars with speeds of up to 231 miles per hour or 372.5 kilometers per hour race on well-crafted racing tracks. Formula 1 cars are not like other ordinary cars as these are specially designed for Formula 1 racing as they are light compared to other vehicles and with unimaginable speed.
Formula 1 was started in 1950 and slowly, over the years, has grown into a top racing sport where top brands and companies such as Mercedes Benz, Ferrari, and Red Bull, to mention but a few, compete. Rwanda plans to construct a racing track for Formula 1 at Bugesera outside the city of Kigali, close to the new airport. Bringing Formula 1 to Rwanda is an incredible chance for the country to develop, given the traumatic events that shape its future.
Located in the East African region, Rwanda is termed the land of a thousand hills that offer a unique wildlife experience unlike any other. Rwanda is among Africa’s prime tourist destinations that attract millions of people to explore its fabulous landscapes, rich cultures, and biodiversity. Rwanda has experienced numerous sociopolitical changes and challenges that have significantly shaped the country.
The worst challenge that the country recently faced is the Rwanda 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, which claimed over a million people. The 100 days of this genocide critically crippled the economy of the country and its citizens. The years that followed after the genocide were for the resilient building of the economy right from scratch. The first step was to build a peaceful nation that was hospitable and welcoming to everyone.
This opened doors for numerous visitors from across the world to come and explore the opportunities and build the country. It is on this account that the tourism sector in the country has skyrocketed since the country has impressive landscapes and attractions. The most notable and major tourist activity in the country is gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda
Rwanda worldwide is known as a gorilla trekking nation since it harbors the endangered mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas in the whole world are found in only three countries: Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. Their rareness and elusive from other parts of the world earned them a place on the list of critically endangered species in the world. The Virunga conservation area is the remaining habitat of the endangered mountain gorillas. This conservation area has an incredible rugged topography of high mountains that favor the mountain gorillas to grow and multiply.
The conservation area of Virunga includes protected areas of Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Our focus will be on Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park as the gorilla trekking destination in the country.
Volcanoes National Park is among the best places where you can track gorillas in East Africa. It was established in 1925, making it one of the oldest protected areas in the world. The park hosts over 300 mountain gorillas scattered across its 160 square kilometers of land mass. The park also houses 5 of the 8 Virunga mountain ranges, including Mount Gahinga, Mount Bisoke, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Muhavura, and Mount Sabyinyo. Gorilla trekking refers to encountering mountain gorillas in their natural habitats after traversing through the dense vegetation and spending an hour with them. Mountain gorillas live in groups known as gorilla families, and each gorilla family is headed by a silverback.
Volcanoes National Park has about 13 gorilla families, and among these, only 10 families are habituated and trekked. Gorilla trekking begins with a short briefing of visitors where they are taken through the rules, regulations, and expected code of conduct. After this briefing, visitors are then grouped into categories of 8 people and given a guide to lead them through the dense forests to the habitat of these endangered primates. Visitors then enjoy an incredible jaw-dropping experience with the primates as they feed, rest, and roam their young as they play. All this while unfolding right before the visitors’ eyes and can take pictures with the primates for memories.
What else is there to do in Rwanda?
Rwanda’s spanning beauty and features are not limited to mountain gorilla trekking adventures but also other awe-inspiring tourist activities, as unmasked below.
Game drives
Game drives are also major activities in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, the only savannah park in the country. The park hosts Africa’s Big Five animals: lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos. Game drives are done in the park on safari 4×4 vehicles that traverse the park’s corners to encounter the savannah species. Other animals to spot on a game drive in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park include giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck, reedbucks, warthogs, and hyenas, to mention but a few.
Birding
Birding is also an exciting adventure in Rwanda done across the country in different national parks like Akagera, Volcanoes, and Nyungwe Forest National Parks. These national parks have designated birding trails that help with the birding experience. Rwanda has over 702 bird species, and among these, 22 species are endangered. Rwanda also has 17 of the 24 Albertine Rift Valley species. The bird species in Rwanda include booted eagle, western reef heron, red-faced barbet, marsh owl, blue-shouldered robin chat, pin-tailed whydah, brown-throated white eye, saddle billed stock, piapiacs, African darter, eastern plantain eater, Doherty’s bush shrikes, African jacanas, bar-tailed trogons, long-crested eagles, hammerkops, African finfoot, black bee-eater, etc.
Chimpanzee tracking
Nyungwe Forest National Park is Rwanda’s chimpanzee tracking hotspot. The park is located in the southern part of the country, close to the border with Burundi. Chimpanzee tracking is very similar to gorilla trekking, though it shifts focus to chimpanzees. Visitors, after the pre-tracking briefing, embark on their adventure through the dense forest of Nyungwe, looking for the playful chimps, and spend an hour in their presence upon locating them.
