[Post-Edit Note: All pictures and written content in this post was originally created in 2015.]

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The third instalment of my great East Africa adventure comes five years late because, like the things that mean the most to you, sometimes it takes a little too long before you finally feel ready to pick up pen and paper – or in this case, keyboard.

When I turned 18, my brother made me sit through all 122 minutes of Hotel Rwanda. I had little inclination towards anything that wasn’t a chick flick or a cartoon then, so at first I was bored. Then somewhat intrigued. An hour in I became very disturbed. And when it finally ended, horrified.

It was a gruelling night and from the second it ended, I found myself -involuntarily- brewing a new-found resolution to visit Rwanda. It was far-fetched, ridiculous, and completely arbitrary – what exactly was I hoping to find? A country still at war? Roads still covered with dead bodies? An apology from Kofi Anan? I don’t know what triggered this inexplicable enthusiasm for a country that didn’t exist to me until then, but thanks to the movie and also my brother, this was when I found myself slowly traipsing into a whole new world of pasts.

I fell in love with history, became overly fascinated with wars and genocides, mapped out timelines, chased DMZ trails, and hated one-too-many dictators and U.S. Presidents. I was passionate about borders (the bookstore too, once upon a time), and never gave up the cheap thrill of placing one foot in one territory and the other in another, and announcing to everyone around me who would listen that, “Look! I’m in two places at once!” A class act which, by the way, I topped in Uganda when I found myself in two hemispheres at once.

But that’s a story for another day.

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“20 years after the genocide, Rwanda is a beacon of hope.”
– Tony Blair

I’ll confess on behalf of anyone else in the world who’s ever taken a remote interest in this tiny landlocked dot: as far as Rwanda goes, few see past its ominous history. And when they do, no one looks past the gorillas. They’re predominantly fascinating – I must say so myself (the gorillas, not the genocide) – but it’d be silly to miss out on its other great glories as a results; such as its incredible people and extraordinary nature.

Rugged and dramatic, Rwanda’s iridescent hills and faraway setting make a strong appeal to those drawn by peace, solitude, and a dash of adventure – in fact, it feels like it should be the whole point of any Rwandan journey. With a history as dense and tangled as the shrubland that swathes its hillsides, much of the country remains inaccessible to the average traveller – but perhaps it is this very inaccessibility that has preserved the flavour of this tiny little country.

Against such a backdrop, everything feels like a million miles away from where you are, and life moves at such a soporific pace with a hypnotic out-of-time, off-map allure. It’s like walking through a painting of vast horizons: mystical, climatic, and exhilarating all at once; and this visual feast comes complete with exotic honey-coloured towns comfortably nestled in the foothills, hiding a spirited line-up of local markets, provision shops, and family-run eating houses.

An amble offers the best glimpse into the Rwandan culture: there’s a gentle rhythm to each day, a living, bustling landcape inhibited by a nation of people united by a haunting past. It’s literally a soul-powering lesson in forgiveness and recovery, right smack in the absolute middle of nowhere. Just close to three decades ago, this was a nation ravaged and traumatized by a 100-day genocide which severely annhilated their population from 1.2million to just 400,000. Some 800,000 people had been killed, over 300 lives lost every hour, and millions more displaced from their homes. 

Today, it is a an incredibly united nation with  strong patriotism and belief in the government. The social effects of the genocide are still being felt – this is no fairytale –  but communities are still trying to build liveable peace with a fragile trust. It is illegal to talk about ethnicity in Rwanda now: the the primary concern is to guarantee that the extreme ethnic divisions which caused the genocide would never resurface. And while some say this has prevented the possibility of more bloodshed – others believe it prevents true recovery.

Either way, the country’s come a long way, and it’s come a long way fast. When you think of where it was in 1994 and look at where it is now, even the most discerning pundit is hardpressed not to laud the speed and effort of public reconciliation. There was no precedent for the situation it was in, but there was a conviction that by uniting its people behind a common cause of progress, that the country could construct a new national identity.

Not Hutu, not Tutsi. Just, Rwandan.

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In Rwanda, the vintage ‘East African’ romance has been pared down as much as it has been ramped up. There’s something decidedly alternative about this forgotten corner of a forgotten continent, and it takes time for people to understand what Rwanda is all about, gorillas and genocide aside. Beyond the boundaries of Kigali, the country’s capital, all signs of modernity tail off and its natural wilderness reasserts itself in its rugged relief of deep valleys and monumental hills, an equation that invites existential shivers. It’s a scene emblematic of all that it’s been through and where it is now: a place of hard living counteracted by havens of verdant beauty.

Coming in from Kenya and Uganda, Rwanda appeared to me cleanest, brightest, and most crisp. Apart from the Kigali Genocide Museum, there is literally no hint of the holocaust that once was. No one talks about it. I don’t presume anyone’s forgotten their harrowing past; rather, you get the feeling that they don’t want to be defined by it. Those who lived through the genocide know all too well the cost of ethnic division, and those born after has inherited a clean slate for a better future. Foreign aid might have contributed to the recovery of this country, but most certainly, it has been the Rwandans themselves who have made immeasurable strides when it comes to healing their nation from within.

They say wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. For a country who hasn’t been designed to showboat or dominate its setting, I must admit, Rwanda succeeds.

And it succeeds brilliantly.

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Enjoy Rwanda.

I know I did.