Rwanda, Africa travel resource.

Rwanda,Africa.

It's safer now to travel to Rwanda, called the "land of a thousand hills," but not much. The Volcanoes National Park, home to rare mountain gorillas, has reopened, and travelers can once again visit the gentle giants Dian Fossey made famous, although armed guards must accompany each tour. The country's main attraction, the mountain gorillas, have miraculously survived -- even thrived -- during a devastating civil war that brought poachers, settlers and rebel soldiers into their rugged park refuge. The war, which attracted worldwide media attention, resulted in the massacre of more than one million people in 1994 when one ethnic group turned on another. Although overt warfare has ended, there are still sporadic attacks on civilians, tourists and foreign aid workers from bands of extremists who fled to neighboring countries.
Besides the human tragedy, the ongoing violence in Rwanda is also an ecological tragedy. The instability threatens not only the mountain gorillas but also other wildlife in the country, the last haven of the world's largest primate and a nature-lover's paradise. There are signs of positive change and reconciliation, however. Local as well as international tribunals are judging perpetrators of the genocide. The country held its first elections in 1999. United Nations peacekeeping efforts are under way in the Congo. Yet, despite international assistance and political reforms, it will take a while longer for anything resembling normalcy to return.