Passport/Visa Requirements: Passports required for all visitors. Visas are not required by holders of passports from the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Canada, U.S., Hong Kong, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda (for stays of less than three months). Citizens of most other countries do need visas but these can be bought on arrival (around US$60) at any international border or at the Kigali Airport. Reconfirm travel document requirements with your carrier before departure.
Population: 9,907,509.
Languages: French, Kinyarwanda, English.
Predominant Religions: Christian, traditional, Islamic.
Time Zone: 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (+2 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is not observed.
Voltage Requirements: 220 volts.
Telephone Codes: 250, country code;
For More Information
Rwandan EmbassiesU.K.: The Embassy of Rwanda UK, 120-2 Seymour Place, London W1H 1NR. Phone 20-722-49-832. Fax 020-772-48-642. http://www.ambarwanda.org.uk.
U.S.: The Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda, 1714 New Hampshire Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. Phone 202-232-2882. Fax 202-232-4544. http://www.rwandaembassy.org.
Rwanda currently does not have diplomatic representation in Australia, Canada or the U.K.
Foreign Embassies Serving Rwanda
British Embassy, 1131 Boulevard de l'Umuganda, Kigali. Phone 250-585-281. Fax 250-580-588. www.britishembassykigali.org.rw.
Canadian Embassy, 1543 Rue de l'Akagera, Kigali. Phone 250-573-210. Fax 250-572-719.
U.S. Embassy, Boulevard de la Revolution. Mailing address: B.P. 28, Kigali. Phone 250-505-601, -602 or -603. Fax 250-570-319.
Australia does not have diplomatic representation in Rwanda.
Additional Reading
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch (Picador). An award-winning account of the 1994 genocide.
Season of Blood by Fergal Keane (Penguin). Written by the BBC's "man in Rwanda" as the genocide unfurled around him.
Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey (Hodder & Stoughton). Still a good read more than 20 years after it was published.
In the Kingdom of Gorillas by Bill Weber and Amy Vedder (Simon & Schuster). Award-winning account of gorillas and other forest wildlife by the American couple who pioneered gorilla tourism in Rwanda.
