Kwita Izina Rwanda

2018 Gorilla Naming Ceremony In Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the blessed countries in the world that is home to one of the most endangered primates, mountain gorillas. Due to the existence of the mountain Gorillas in Rwanda the number of visitors interested to visit Rwanda is on the rise, just for the purpose of trekking this amazing human-like creature.

It is recognized worldwide that Rwanda is the best destination when it comes to trekking the endangered mountain gorillas because of the ease to access the country (Rwanda) and the well maintained infrastructures like roads, hotels, restaurants among other factors.

In Rwanda, mountain gorillas can only be trekked in the volcanoes national park which is located in the northern part of the country just some few kilometers from Kigali airport. Rwanda owns a great advantage over Uganda and D. R. Congo because the country has its own flag carrier that offers direct flights from Europe to Kigali, meaning visitors can fly direct from London to Kigali in one day just to experience gorilla trekking.

Due to the increased demand by visitors and high contribution of the gorilla activities to the economy of Rwanda, the country has taken upon themselves to honor the mountain gorillas with a special day that is to show love to these engendered species and the is recognized as the Kwita-Izina gorilla naming ceremony. The ceremony was lunched way back in 2005.

The Gorilla naming ceremony or sometimes called the Kwita Izina is the biggest tourism event in the entire east and central Africa.This year 2018, the ceremony is taking place on 7th September 2018at Kinigi just at the foothills of the Volcanoes national park.

This event will see all the gorilla babies that were born since September last year up to September 2018 being given their wonderful names. This year 19 gorilla babies are expected to be named from the Volcanoes national park.

Since this event was launched in 2005, over 216 mountain gorilla babies have been named in a very gracious celebration of nature with the local communities that also give their time in conserving these lovely creatures.

The event always bring a lot of tourists, conservationists and dignitaries who come to celebrate successful conservation with the locals who protect the volcanoes national park. The event is to raise awareness of the importance of conserving the gorillas and the habitats at international, regional, community and national levels.

The gorilla naming ceremony in Rwanda is absolutely a unique event which is not only to celebrate newly born mountain gorilla babies but also serves to last Kwita Izina and some of the memorable events including;

Mountain Gorilla Baby Twins

This is not a surprise for the rare endangered mountain gorilla to have the twins’ celebration because animals also give birth to twins. This is an adorable experience during the party. This has happened for 3 times in Rwanda. First pair was in 2005 and the second one was in 2012. This is a true blessing on the conservation efforts.

The celebration of the Kwita Izina week features a lot of cultural performances and renditions from most local entertainers. The ceremony is awesome for tourists to have the experience of the mountain gorillas.