12-Nights Ultimate Gorilla Photo Expedition — CALL

Even in the best of times, Kigali, Rwanda's capital city, didn't have much for visitors to do, other than visiting its food market in the town center, enjoying the views (the city is built on a series of steep hills) or taking a walk.

These days, the market again bustles with activity. However, prices of imported goods are very high in this landlocked capital, where almost everything, apart from local produce, must be flown in or shipped from the distant coast. Visitors can buy local arts and crafts in Caplaki, a tourist market.

The city's most compelling and disturbing landmark is the Gisozi Genocide Museum situated on a site where at least 250,000 residents of Kigali were killed during the 1994 genocide. Another site is the Natural History Museum, housed in the former residence of the German explorer and zoologist Dr. Richard Kandt.

Kigali was established in 1907 as a small colonial outpost.

When conditions are stable, this is a marvelous area with thermal/volcanic attractions and wild game. Right now, we don't recommend a visit. Located on the eastern border with Uganda, the park covers 4,633 sq mi/12,000 sq km and stretches from Lake Kivu to Lake Edward. It's one of the oldest parks on the continent, home to lions, elephants (locally it's claimed they're the biggest in the world), antelope, baboons and hippos (more than 25,000—it's the best place to see them out of water). Keep looking at the air as well: African fish eagles, cranes and a multitude of butterflies can also be seen.

The Mount Ruwenzori "Mountain of the Moons" area provides a beautiful backdrop—or you can see the mountains up close on a five-day trip guided by park rangers (some speak English). Van operators can get you to Beni, where you'll have to arrange a ride to Mutwanga to start the trek. It's primitive and strenuous, but well worth it, especially if the major peaks (Ruwenzori is the third-highest in Africa) peek out from their cloud shroud.

The park also offers gorgeous lakeside scenery, and boiling thermal "paint pots" line some roads. Visit Vitshumbi village, a great place with lots of activity and delicious fresh and smoked capitaine (Nile perch).

Near the park is Mount Nyragongo, a volcano that erupted most recently in January 2002. Check locally about climbing conditions, and consider it only if you're in good physical condition. The trail begins at 4,000 ft/1,200 m and rises to 11,400 ft/3,070 m. No special equipment is needed, but the going gets tougher as you climb—not only is the air thinner in the higher reaches, but the trail becomes steeper, the footing worsens and there's less vegetation to grab to help you along.

The view from the top, however, is tremendous. In one direction, you're looking down on clouds, lesser volcanoes and the dramatic countryside of Virunga. In the other direction, you can look into the cauldron itself. When the volcano is active, you can see steam shooting through crevices and even pools of lava (should molten lava be present when you climb it, you may want to camp at the shelter near the top to watch the lava glow at night). Check conditions with local authorities, and be aware that anyone wishing to make the ascent must hire a local guide. 75 mi/120 km north of Bukavu.

This park, 15 mi/25 km east of Gisenyi, protects the Rwandan portion of the spectacular Virunga Mountains, which straddle the borders with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Virunga is not a mountain range in the normal sense of the word but rather a chain of isolated freestanding volcanic cones strung along a fault line in the Rift Valley. Sometimes also referred to as the Birunga or Bufumbira Mountains, the chain is composed of six inactive and two active volcanoes, all of which exceed 9,840 ft/3,000 m in altitude. The tallest are Karisimbi (14,783 ft/4,507 m), Mikeno (14,553 ft/4,437 m) and Muhabura (13,537 ft/4,127 m).

Few national parks in Africa can be explored on foot, but this park north of Ruhengeri offers a reward worth the hike through its dramatically beautiful, albeit rough terrain: the chance to observe a family of mountain gorillas, the rarest—and largest—of the four gorilla subspecies. About 700 mountain gorillas live in the wild (roughly half of them in Rwanda), and naturalists have habituated seven of the 20-odd families in this park to the presence of tourist observers. Many people regard visiting these gentle giants (up to 485 lbs/220 kg) in their natural habitat to be the single most-extraordinary wildlife experience in the world. The park can be accessed on organized gorilla-tracking tours, which are limited to seven groups of eight people daily. Gorilla-tracking permits cost US$500 per person in cash (including park entrance fees but not transportation and lodging) and should be booked as far in advance as possible.

Other activities include a visit to a habituated troop of golden monkeys (an endangered bamboo-eater whose range is essentially restricted to the Virungas), as well as day or overnight hikes to the various volcanic peaks and a day trip to Dian Fossey's grave at her former research center high in the misty mountains. As a precaution, armed soldiers accompany each tour.