The Weather and Climate in Rwanda – Best time to travel to Rwanda
The weather and climate in Rwanda – Rwanda boasts an agreeable tropical climate that’s not too hot or too cold. Though it’s located just south of the equator, the country’s high altitude helps keep temperatures moderate throughout the year. The country’s weather and climate are also characterized by frequent showers during the better part of the year and about 40 inches of annual rainfall on average.
It’s especially rainy in the northeastern corner of the country, steeped in the rainforest. Average daytime temperatures in Rwanda hover around 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the lower mountains, and a much cooler 55 degrees Fahrenheit along the higher mountains, while nighttime temperatures average in the 60s.
In Rwanda, there are two rainy seasons, the first from January to April and the second from October to mid-December. In between the two rainy seasons is a short dry season characterized mostly by sunshine and some light clouds. Even during the dry season, there is occasional light rainfall in Rwanda. This plentiful rain supply in spite of Rwanda’s short distance from the equator is due to its high altitude.
Rwanda national parks and reserves
Volcanoes National park.
Located in northwestern Rwanda, Volcanoes national park is Rwanda’s first stop center for primate trekking. The park is home to 10 habituated mountain gorillas hence the best stop center to visit and interact with the endangered mountain gorillas.
Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Home to the highest population of chimpanzees, Nyungwe forest is a must visit on your Rwanda primate safari. Unlike gorillas, chimpanzees are lively and constantly move jumping across trees at high speeds while shouting at each other as a form of communication.
Akagera national park.
Akagera is almost unrecognisable today compared to just 20 years ago when it was on the verge of being lost forever. While peace was finally restored in the 1990s after the 1994 Genocide, Akagera’s demise was just beginning. Refugees returning to Rwanda after the genocide were still battling for their own survival and turned to the forests for timber, wildlife for protein and the wild savannas for their livestock. Lions were hunted to local extinction, rhinos disappeared, and the park’s wildlife was displaced by tens of thousands of long-horned cattle.
Gishwati Mukura national park.
This is Rwanda’s newly opened national park located in western Rwanda shared by Ngororero and Rutsiro districts. The forest is home to numerous white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, blue monkey, and some wild chimpanzees. Contact Great Adventure Safaris to know more about the weather and climate in Rwanda and book safaris holiday for your family.