RWANDA

Valleys, ridges and peaks define the topography of Rwanda – including the capital, Kigali, sprawled across four main hills at an altitude of 1,567 metres (5,141 feet). Stroll the clean, safe, palm-lined boulevards of Kacyiru district – with its government buildings, embassies and modern architecture – and it is hard to imagine the horrors of the 1994 slaughter of the Tutsi, commemorated at the city’s Kigali Genocide Museum.

Three decades on, Rwanda is focused on a brighter future based largely on wildlife tourism. In Volcanoes National Park, mountain gorillas are the big ticket on treks that might also include encounters with golden monkeys. Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to chimpanzees, colobus monkeys and L’Hoest’s monkeys, while sightings of the iconic Big Five are possible in Akagera National Park. Lake Kivu has tranquil waters safe for swimming, plus lagoons, dreamy lakeside villages and pine-clad slopes reminiscent of the Alps, best viewed on a boat excursion.