Visit Rwanda

One of Africa’s smallest nations (around the same size as Vermont or New Hampshire) is also one of its most intriguing destinations. Thanks to Gorillas in the Mist, Rwanda is a mecca for those who want to visit the gentle giants in the nation’s cloud-shrouded highlands. But there’s so much more.

There’s the drop-dead gorgeous shoreline of Lake Kivu. The cloud forest of Nyungwe, one of the best places in Africa to spot (and photograph) rare primates like the golden monkey and black-and-white colobus. And Akagera National Park in the east, where visitors can now spot all of the Big Five (elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard) following landmark conservation efforts in recent years.

Thanks to a nationwide citizen cleanup staged the last Saturday of every month, Kigali is one of the world’s tidiest capitals. The city also boasts some pretty cool markets, indigenous art galleries, and poignant Genocide Memorial (Rwanda’s most visited attraction).