Extend Your Rwanda Adventure to Lake Kivu and the National Museum

Gorilla trekking is often the first thing that comes to mind when people start planning a trip to Rwanda. And for good reason! Standing in the forest just a few feet from a mountain gorilla is an experience that is difficult to understand unless you experience it. But there is so much more to Rwanda than its famous gorillas.

One of the things many people enjoy about traveling through Rwanda is how much can fit into a relatively small country. You can spend a morning walking through the forests of Volcanoes National Park and, not long afterward, be sitting beside Lake Kivu or exploring the streets of Kigali. If you're looking for things to do in Rwanda beyond gorilla trekking, there are plenty of ways to plan an itinerary that is truly spectacular.

What Else Can You Do In Rwanda Besides Gorilla Trekking?

Gorilla trekking may be the highlight of the trip for many visitors, but it doesn't have to be the only adventure. Rwanda has lakes, forests, wildlife, cultural sites, museums, and cities that each show off a different side of the country.

How much you can see depends on how long you have. A shorter trip might leave room for one or two experiences outside Volcanoes National Park, while a longer stay gives you the opportunity to travel farther south and west. Either way, adding something beyond gorilla trekking can make the trip feel much more complete.

If you're still deciding how to structure your trip, our guide to what to expect on a Rwanda gorilla trekking trip is a good place to start. Once you know how much time you'll want to spend with the gorillas, it's easier to see what else can fit into your itinerary.

Spend Some Time Along Lake Kivu

After spending time in the mountains, Lake Kivu feels like a completely different part of Rwanda. Here, the lake stretches along the country's western border, with green hills dropping toward the water and small towns scattered along the shoreline. Exploring the area is one of the top things to do in Rwanda.

Gisenyi and Kibuye are two of the best-known places to experience Lake Kivu. You can take a boat onto the lake, walk along the shoreline, visit a coffee farm, or simply slow down for a day. After several days of early mornings and active excursions, that slower pace can be exactly what you need.

Lake Kivu is also a good reminder that Rwanda isn't just a destination for wildlife travelers. The scenery around the lake is beautiful in its own right, and spending time here gives you a chance to see another side of the country.

Visit The Ethnographic Museum In Huye

If you want to understand more about Rwanda's history and culture, make time for Huye. The city is home to the Ethnographic Museum, one of the country's most important cultural museums.

The museum's collections cover traditional Rwandan life, including clothing, tools, crafts, agriculture, and the history of the country's monarchy. It is the kind of place where a couple of hours can add context to many of the things you see during the rest of your trip.

Huye is in southern Rwanda, so whether it makes sense to visit will depend on your route and the things do in Rwanada listed on your itinerary. On a longer trip however, it can be a worthwhile stop between other destinations rather than simply another place to check off a list.

Explore Kigali And Learn About Modern Rwanda

Most trips to Rwanda begin or end in Kigali, and it's worth giving the city more than a quick overnight stay. Kigali is clean, lively, and surrounded by hills, with markets, restaurants, galleries, and neighborhoods that give you a chance to experience contemporary Rwanda.

The city is also an important place to learn about the country's more recent history. Visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial is a quiet and reflective experience, but it is an important part of understanding Rwanda and the events that shaped the country.

This isn't a sightseeing stop in the traditional sense. Give yourself time to take in what you are seeing and learning rather than trying to fit the memorial into a busy afternoon between other activities. The Kigali Genocide Memorial provides additional information about the memorial and its role in remembering the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

What Wildlife Can You See Beyond The Gorillas?

Rwanda's wildlife experiences don't end when you leave the gorilla habitat. The country's national parks protect a surprising variety of animals, and a longer trip gives you the chance to experience several different ecosystems.

Nyungwe Forest is particularly interesting for travelers who want to spend more time in the forest. Here, chimpanzee trekking is one of the main things to do in Rwanda. Chimpanzee trekking takes you into a completely different environment from the mountain gorilla habitat, with dense forest, high canopies, and the possibility of seeing several species of primates.

You can learn more about what that experience is actually like in our guide to chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest. For travelers who have more time, adding Nyungwe can turn a gorilla-focused trip into a much broader wildlife adventure.

How Much Time Do You Need To See Rwanda?

A five-day trip and a ten-day trip through Rwanda are going to look very different. With only a few days, you'll want to focus on the experiences that matter most to you rather than trying to see every corner of the country.

A shorter trip could combine gorilla trekking with time in Kigali and Lake Kivu. With ten days, you have more flexibility to travel farther south, visit Huye, spend time in Nyungwe Forest, and add other cultural or wildlife experiences along the way.

We explored this difference in more detail in our travel journal article about exploring Rwanda on a 5-day or 10-day tour. It can be helpful to look at both options before deciding how much time you want to spend in the country and to understand all the things to do in Rwanda.

When Is The Best Time To Visit Rwanda?

Rwanda is a year-round destination, but the weather can affect what you experience once you're there. This is particularly important if gorilla trekking is the main reason you're visiting, since you'll be spending several hours walking through mountain forest.

The same is true for the other things to do in Rwanda. Road conditions, hiking conditions, and wildlife viewing can all be influenced by seasonal rainfall. There isn't necessarily one perfect month to visit. The best time depends on what you want to do once you arrive.

Before choosing your dates, take a look at our guide to the best time to visit Rwanda for gorilla trekking. You can also browse our Rwanda trip tips for more ideas on planning your adventure.

Why Combine Gorilla Trekking With Other Rwanda Experiences?

There is something satisfying about a trip that changes pace as you travel. You might begin in the mountains looking for gorillas, spend the next day beside a lake, and then find yourself learning about Rwandan history in Kigali or Huye.

Those changes are part of what make traveling through Rwanda so interesting. Gorilla trekking gives you an unforgettable encounter with one of the world's most remarkable animals, but the time between trekking days gives you a chance to understand the country where those gorillas live.

That's the idea behind our Rwanda Gorillas, Chimps & National Parks Adventure. The itinerary isn't built around one experience and everything else as an afterthought. It combines gorilla trekking with chimpanzee trekking, national parks, cultural experiences, and time to get to know Rwanda along the way.

What Makes Rwanda Such An Interesting Country To Explore?

Rwanda is a relatively small country, but it has an incredible amount of variety. Volcanoes, rainforest, lakes, cities, villages, and national parks are all within a journey that is manageable compared with many other African destinations.

And that's why it's important to think of Rwanda as more than a place to go gorilla trekking. The gorillas may be what gets you there, but the rest of the country gives you plenty of reasons to stay a little longer.

There are cultural experiences, wildlife encounters, beautiful landscapes, and quiet moments along Lake Kivu that you simply won't get if you rush from the airport to the gorilla habitat and back again. If you're researching things to do in Rwanda, give yourself enough time to experience some of those other parts of the country.

You can also get a taste of Rwandan food and culture in our travel journal, including our article on how to make isombe, a traditional Rwandan dish made with cassava leaves.

For additional destination information, the official Visit Rwanda tourism website is a useful resource for exploring national parks, cultural attractions, and other destinations throughout the country.

Plan Your Rwanda Adventure

Gorilla trekking may be the experience that brings you to Rwanda, but it doesn't have to define the entire trip. Lake Kivu, Kigali, Huye, Nyungwe Forest, and the country's other national parks give you plenty of opportunities to see a different side of Rwanda.

Whether you have five days or ten, the trick is not trying to fit everything in. Pick the experiences that interest you most and give yourself enough time to actually enjoy them. That's when a trip through Rwanda starts to feel less like a checklist and more like an adventure.

Ready to start planning your adventure in Rwanda? Download our travel brochure to see what's included in our Rwanda Gorillas, Chimps & National Parks Adventure.