But in the past 16 years the country has been transformed and this is finally being mirrored in the rising number of tourists willing to visit. With such a horrific recent past, it's unsurprising that Rwanda is far from being a tourist hot spot. One Rwandan woman is so overcome with grief watching a video of the aftermath of the killings, she lies sobbing quietly on the floor. It's a heart-stopping reminder of the scale of the violence in 1994 when more than 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were massacred in just 100 days in a campaign of organised violence, carried out largely by the majority Hutu population.Īlongside an explanation of the history that led to the genocide (where the blame is squarely placed on colonial "divide and rule" tactics), one room documents the chilling fate of child victims: their names, ages and favourite foods carefully noted beside the brutal ways they were killed. Here, we wander through carefully tended gardens and flowering trellises to the concrete-covered mass graves of a quarter of a million genocide victims new bodies are brought in every year. There are few unmissable sites in Kigali and the genocide memorial centre is one of them. Our motorcycle ride is a shot of holiday euphoria after an emotional morning. Whizzing past waving children, robed dancers and a church choir, we smile in delight at the postcard-perfect scenes of rural life. With my sister bumping over the potholes on a motorbike next to me, we drive along a steep mud road up the hill after which the city is named, Mount Kigali. We arrive in mid-December - the tail end of the rainy season when bougainvillea and frangipani flowers stud the green hills. We say it is a place for retired people." Sure enough, it doesn't take long for the shiny banks and tangled market streets to give way to lush farms and neatly dressed office workers to women toting bananas on their heads. One woman from the Ivory Coast who I met on the plane confides ruefully: "People stay at home with their families at night. Officially the most densely populated country in Africa, Rwanda's small size (about half that of Scotland) means even its capital has the peaceful air of a village. Kigali, with its population of a million, creeps up four of the emerald ridges that give the country its nickname, "the land of a thousand hills", before sinking into the mist-filled valleys between. When I respond to Imaani's pleas and look around, I find the scenery is enough to distract even the most nervous passenger. Wearing a helmet that bounces off my head at every bump, and with my eyes shut, I cling to the back of one of the two-wheeled taxis that ply the capital's streets. On my first day in Rwanda - and Africa - on my first ever motorbike ride, I am terrified. 'You cannot fall off and if you do, I will catch you," Imaani lies cheerfully. You can also help by spreading the word about the importance of conserving these animals and their habitat.Magic mountain. One way is to support organizations that are working to protect gorilla habitat. There are many ways that you can help silverback gorillas. This is a major threat to the survival of the species. Although it is illegal to hunt gorillas, they are still hunted and sold on the black market. In addition to habitat loss, silverback gorillas are also killed for their meat. This leaves less and less room for gorillas to live and find food. Humans are continuing to encroach on gorilla territory as we expand our own settlements and farms. The primary threat to silverback gorillas is habitat loss. If you’re lucky enough to see a silverback gorilla up close, you’ll likely find them to be gentle giants! Threats to Silverback Gorillas In the wild, they typically only become aggressive if they feel threatened in some way or if they are trying to protect their families. No, silverback gorillas are not naturally aggressive animals.
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