Exploring luxury safaris in Rwanda

A lighthearted story of a luxury Safari in Rwanda

Coming to Rwanda on a luxurious safari vacation has a little bit of pompous arrogance. Not in an overbearing manner, but rather in the calm awareness that you have picked somewhere unique, I hope. Rwanda does not openly brag about itself. It does not have to. While you search for your sunglasses, it just gets along with being gorgeous, perceptive, and somewhat life-changing.

Many visitors come for the gorillas; yes, they truly are that amazing. Hiking through hazy bamboo forests to get to a mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park seems less like sightseeing and more like being respectfully tolerated by an aristocracy. You make eye contact with a silverback, and then your deadlines, emails, and vehement views on coffee beans become quite absurdly useless. I started to wonder whether the gorillas were judging me, and if so, whether their judgment was fair. Most likely they were.

Luxury lodges in this region of Rwanda are a surprise treat between hikes. Think crackling flames, exquisite cuisine, and employees who show up only when you need them and disappear before you have a chance to feel uncomfortable. This is the kind of location where you drink good wine while ruminating deeply on how quickly you could adjust to this while listening to rain on the roof.

Eastward, Akagera National Park provides a more traditional safari experience with a Rwandan spin. Often with very few other vehicles visible, lions, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos roam across the savannah and marshes. In the greatest way, it seems special, as though the park had been waiting just for you. I spent one early morning game drive acting as if I were a professional wildlife photographer, then gave up and simply took pleasure in the view.

Southwest's Nyungwe Forest has quite different feelings. Ancient rainforest, chimps moving far quicker than you'd want, and a canopy walkway gently testing your attitude toward heights. It's exhilarating and somewhat humiliating to stroll above the trees with birds darting by and mist rising below. On the outside, I confidently held the railing, but on the inside, I was silently panicking.

Rwanda's most surprising feature for me was how the luxury never overshadowed the country itself. The country seems to be quiet, neat, and determined. Kigali is a welcoming city that quietly fascinates you while you are not looking. Yes, you leave feeling spoiled but also intelligent.

Though you will see a lot, a luxury safari in Rwanda is about more than simply what you observe. It's about being present, slowing down, and sometimes chuckling at yourself when a gorilla steals the show. To be quite honest, I am OK with that.