Best time to visit Rwanda, The number one question that pops in minds of first-time travelers to Rwanda is “when is the best time to visit?” The answer is that Rwanda can be visited all year round, because all tourist activities are conducted from January to December. However, the destinations you visit, your personal interest and reason for traveling can change your perception on when the best time to visit is.
Although Rwanda can be visited all year round, the best experience for most activities (gorilla trekking, mountain climbing, game drives, chimpanzee tracking and many others) can be achieved when you visit during the dry season. Generally, there are two seasons in Rwanda-the dry season that appears twice a year as well as the rainy season that also appears twice a year.
Dry season
There is a short and long dry season but the latter is in the months of June, July, August, September and early October while the short one is in December, January and February. However, some showers may be experienced although not as much as in the rainy season. These months are ideal for safaris in Rwanda because you are likely to experience easier hiking conditions, drier and less slippery trails as well as Park roads in addition to having lowest malaria risks. Also, tourists planning to visit Akagera National Park for game drives can visit during this time because wildlife tend to gather around water drinking points thus offering perfect viewing opportunities.
Therefore, for mountain climbing, gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, chimpanzee tracking, game drives and nature walks/hiking, best/memorable experiences are attained if you visit in the dry season. The dry season is also the peak season where safari Lodges are fully booked and gorilla permits (for travellers interested in gorilla trekking ) are few thus safaris have to be booked in advance to guarantee availability of permits and places to stay.
However, given the limited food for the animals during the dry season, they tend to range far thus becoming difficult to spot chimpanzees and mountain gorillas.
Wet season
There are also two wet/rainy seasons in Rwanda-the first being March to May and second season from October to early December. This season is characterized by lush vegetation thus offering enough food for the animals including primates hence making them stick to the lower slopes and easier to spot especially for tourists planning to undertake chimpanzee tracking and gorilla trekking. This season is ideal for bird watching because migratory species are in abundance and also, given the fact that it is also a low season, the Park is less crowded.
With this season, expect heavy downpours especially within the mountainous areas of Volcanoes and Nyungwe Forest National Park, making gorilla trekking, volcano climbing/hiking and chimpanzee trekking quite challenging with muddy and wet conditions.
In conclusion, the best time to visit Rwanda depends on the activity and destination to be visited whereby with chimpanzee tracking it is perfect in the wet season where chimps have abundant food but you will have a challenge of slippery and muddy trails. Birding during the wet season offers chances of seeing the migratory birds but gorilla trekking is best done in the dry season hence peak season for the activity.