INTRODUCTION TO RWANDA: A COUNTRY OF THOUSAND HILLS
RWANDA is one of the smallest countries in Africa. It is also one of the most beautiful. Known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, it has mountains, forests, lakes, and waterfalls, as well as a seemingly endless variety of plant and animal life. Dominating the mountainous region that borders Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west and Uganda to the north are the formidable Virunga Mountains. Mount Karisimbi, the highest in this range, is a dormant volcano some 14,700 feet [4,480 m] high, which is often capped in white because of sleet and hail. Lower down, the slopes of these mountains are covered with thick bamboo growth and rain forest, where endangered golden monkeys swing effortlessly among the branches and vines. And it is here, too, in this luxuriant environment, that one of Rwanda’s greatest treasures is found—the mountain gorilla. Exotic plants and lush vegetation extend down to the shores of Lake Kivu and to the Nyungwe Forest. In this forest live chimpanzees, black-and-w