Joseph Birori, from Primate Safaris, inspires us to travel to Rwanda and meet the mountain gorillas

When I came back to Rwanda in 1994, I found a devastated country stripped of its humanity by the genocide of Tutsi. This is the same country that my family and I had fled from after another genocide which occurred in 1959.

We'd escaped to Burundi where I attended school, but life was tough and I sought for greener pastures in Kenya where I studied at a tourism school. After, I worked as a hotel manager in Mombasa for 15 years. This is where I assumed I would make my home and raise my family.

Homeland calling

All this time, I was thinking of Rwanda and how I'd never known my homeland. When the genocide broke out in 1994, I decided to join hands with my birth country to bring an end to the madness and help heal and rebuild the country.

In July 1994, I returned and was stunned by its beauty. I pitched my tent and decided to help restore the image that had been tarnished by media coverage during the violence. I vowed never to abandon my country again and I opened up Primate Safaris, which has now grown into the leading tour operator in Rwanda.

Mountain gorillas

Tourism is booming in the land of a thousand hills and our visitors help benefit the preservation of rare primates and mountain gorillas by contributing to park fees and local incomes.

I wouldn't exchange living here for any other country in the world; but who would once you've seen the stunning beauty of its landscape, unique wildlife and its people?

Itinerary

Primate Safari

• This beautiful east African country, named 'The Land of a Thousand Hills' supports a diversity of flora and fauna. Its mountainous landscapes are home to the famed mountain gorillas, featured in Gorillas in the Mist , the adopted home of Dian Fossey.

• Experience the majesty of the mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, columbus monkeys and red tailed monkeys. Visit the enormous and traditionally-constructed dome of the Kings' Palace at Nyangza, and the Ngungwe Forest Reserve, the largest mountain forest remaining in east Africa , home to colourful orchids, giant lobelia and 13 species of primate.

• Enjoy a stay at the base of the volcanoes that tower through the mist at the Volcanoes National Park before spending the morning in the forest tracking the gorillas.

Primate Safari - Prices from £2799 per person

View more information on Rwanda holidays, Rwanda safaris or Rwanda hotels.

My Africa

Read other inspirational Africa features in our 'My Africa series': Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania