A Rwanda safari to Musanze Caves in Rwanda takes you on a drive of about 90 minutes to Ruhengeri town in the northern western direction from Kigali Rwanda.

Ruhengeri is a safari Rwanda tourism hub given its one of the last major towns you find before making it to the beautiful Volcanoes National Park as well Virunga National Park in Congo which are famous for its epic gorilla safari experience.

Musanze caves are so important to Rwandese as they played a very important role as a hiding place to many people who were fleeing their homes during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. T

These caves are a perfect natural work of art as they span 2km of underground tunnels.  These caves are a result of the natural process of volcanicity and were formed about 65 million ago when the natural processes of faulting and volcanicity were shaping the land of East Africa.

These tunnels were pathways for lava as these ranges erupted. Fast forward to today, these caves are habitats for numerous big bat colonies and are pitch black inside.

Because of this nature, these caves have been described by many visitors as the secret chambers where Bruce Wayne became batman from.

Given their natural beauty, the Rwanda development together with Rwanda’s army have modified the caves to these caves by creating permanent walkways and installation of a few lights along these paths and all this has been done to add these caves to the growing Rwanda gorilla safari tourist product portfolio.

Ever since their addition to the ever-widening tourist portfolio, these caves have realized an increase in the number of tourists which is now over 1000 guests annually.

Just like the Musanze caves the tourism industry of Rwanda is experiencing growth in general with visitor numbers increasing always increasing and in 2017 the country recorded 1.2 million tourists visiting Rwanda.

Many of the visitors have come to indulge in a spectacular gorilla trekking process in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and this has also resulted in the rapid development of accommodation facilities especially in the Musanze region to cater for ever the increasing tourist inflows in this region some of the new hotels and safari lodges that have been developed.

Rwanda safari lodges include;

1. Bisate Lodge is one of the premium luxury lodges in Kinigi
2. Amokoro Songa Lodge
3. Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
4. Mountain gorilla nest lodge
5. Sabyinyo silverback lodge
6. Hotel Muhabura
7. Gorilla Solution Lodge
8. Musanze Caves Hotel

Business at most of these safari lodges and hotels is booming, and workers happily complain about how they are increasingly finding themselves overwhelmed with the volumes they now need to cater to.

The growth of tourism has been a growth pattern in the economy of Rwanda with many businesses opening up to tap into this lucrative sector.

Many locals have found work in constructing these hotels, others in staffing them. The hotels are also a ready market for locally grown agricultural produce — potatoes and cabbage — allowing farmers to earn more than they could before when they had to travel long distances to find urban buyers.

Because the caves are part of Rwanda’s efforts at renewing its image and drawing in foreign travelers and investors, the government has also built roads and other infrastructure here that is lacking in many parts of the country. This, in turn, helps locals transport goods to markets.

The Musanze caves have also made their own fair share of contributions to the economic growth of Rwanda by sparking a rise in the number of hotels being constructed in the area and opening up opportunities for local craft shops to sell their wares.

While local tourists are few, most foreign tourists visit the caves with local guides and drivers, giving rise to a parallel hospitality industry catering to these relatively lower-earning Rwandans.

Gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda is a luxury adventure with each gorilla tracking safari Rwanda permit costing 1500USD and this makes it the most expensive gorilla permit on the market given that Uganda gorilla trekking safari permits cost 800USD less than that of Rwanda and Congo gorilla trekking safari to Virunga National Park cost 1000USD less than those of Rwanda.

In case you can’t afford a gorilla trekking permit don’t give up on your hope of having an encounter with these magnificent creatures of the wild as you can opt to undertake a relatively cheaper Uganda gorilla safari that costs 800USD less as compared.

Uganda gorilla trekking safari takes place in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and also Mgahinga gorilla national park. A gorilla safari in Uganda to any of these 2 parks leads to an encounter with any of the 19 gorilla families that are found here.

You can also visit Congo for a Congo gorilla safari to Kahuzi Biega National Park for an encounter with the lowland gorillas and Virunga National Park Congo to see the mountain gorillas. here are some gorilla and wildlife packages in Uganda and Rwanda.