Once just viewed as a bit of an add-on to a Kenya or Tanzania safari for those looking to go trekking for the mountain gorillas in the impressive rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda has been very busy building some fantastic and luxurious lodges over the last few years. It now offers a very exciting variety of experiences that make for an extremely luxurious safari without the need to tag on a more traditional safari in Kenya or Tanzania (although they still connect very well for a longer safari or a trip to the coast of East Africa).

Obviously, trekking to spend an hour with the mountain gorillas remains the main highlight of any trip to Rwanda and it is definitely an experience that will stay etched on your memory like an incredible dream for ever. There are some additional hearty treks for those keen on hill walking to look for the golden monkeys and also to visit Diane Fossey’s grave.

However, you could spend a few days further south in the Nyungwe Forest which is a mesmerising mixture of Afromontane forests, bamboo thickets, open woodlands and waterfalls. You can choose to be as active or relaxed as you want here. There are plenty of beautiful hiking trails and you can trek for chimpanzees and colobus monkeys in the lush and well-preserved forest, and you are very likely to see many other species of monkeys along the way. For those with a good head for heights you can do a canopy walk through the trees (some 200 different varieties); and bird lovers will not be disappointed as the forest is home to approximately 300 bird species, 27 of which are endemic; and tea lovers can explore the plantation and test your tastebuds with the local tea.  Or if that all sounds too much like hard work, you can soothe your aching leg muscles in the wonderful lodge spa here which is worth the trip alone.

If that’s not enough then you can add on a more traditional wildlife safari in the eastern part of Rwanda, in Akagera National Park, where there is just one lovely tented camp overlooking the lake. The park is Central Africa’s largest protected wetland and the last remaining refuge for savanna-adapted species in Rwanda and you will hardly see another soul there. The variety of terrain results in some very good and varied game viewing and including (but not limited to) zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos and crocodiles and hundreds of bird species. It has been a very impressive conservation effort to bring it back to its former state since the 1994 genocide had such a negative impact on the area. Of course, no trip to Rwanda would be complete without a guide to show you around the moving Kigali Genocide Memorial.