Rwanda

Home to five of the eight Virunga volcanoes and roughly half of the world's remaining mountain gorilla population, Volcanoes National Park is one of the most emotionally affecting wildlife destinations on earth. Trekking with a habituated gorilla family — watching a silverback move through the forest, infants tumbling in the undergrowth — is consistently described by visitors as the single most profound wildlife encounter of their lives.

One of Africa's oldest and largest montane rainforests, Nyungwe protects 13 primate species including chimpanzees and the rare Rwenzori black-and-white colobus, which forms troops of up to 400 individuals. The park's canopy walkway — suspended 50 metres above the forest floor — provides a bird's-eye view of this ancient ecosystem and the opportunity to see dozens of the forest's 310 bird species.

One of Africa's Great Rift Valley lakes, Kivu sits at 1,460 metres on the Congo border, its shores lined with terraced tea plantations, fishing villages, and the colourful town of Gisenyi. The lake's islands — Idjwi and the smaller Napoleona — offer exceptional tranquillity after the intensity of gorilla trekking, and the evening light over the water from a private resort terrace is among Rwanda's finest views.

Built on the site where 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide are buried, the Kigali Memorial is one of the most important and moving memorial sites in the world, presenting a comprehensive account of the genocide, its causes, and Rwanda's extraordinary journey of reconciliation and reconstruction. A visit here is essential to understanding the country Rwanda has become.

Rwanda's only savanna national park, Akagera was devastated in the 1990s but has been spectacularly revived through a partnership with African Parks, including the reintroduction of lions in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017. Today it offers a genuine Big Five experience in a lush papyrus swamp and woodland landscape that is entirely different from East Africa's typical dry savanna parks.