A small African country of exceptional beauty and wildlife, Rwanda has shrugged off its tragic past and is now a country reborn: it has one of the highest proportions of women in government, national tree-planting days and has even outlawed plastic shopping bags.

Rwanda, known as The Land of a Thousand Hills, offers the natural history traveller a great deal, including classic savannah, conical volcanoes, tranquil lakes, terraced valleys and the largest area of montane rainforest in east Africa.

Often the main reason visitors come to Rwanda, the endangered mountain gorilla can be reliably seen and tops an impressive list of over a dozen primates including chimpanzee, golden monkey, colobus monkey and bush baby, making Rwanda one of Africa’s prime primate hotspots.

Rwanda certainly has plenty to offer in its own right and also combines very well with Tanzania if one wants a classic big game safari experience as well.