Rwanda Tourism counting down towards Kwita Izina 2012

KWITA IZINA SET FOR SATURDAY 16TH JUNE
The clock is now ticking down relentlessly towards the 08th edition of Kwita Izina, the Rwandan festival of the naming the young born mountain gorillas, which is taking place in less than three weeks time.
Conservation friends from across Eastern Africa and in fact the entire world are coming together outside Musanze / Ruhengeri on Saturday 16th of June to celebrate Rwandas extraordinary conservation efforts, when each and every gorilla baby born during the last 12 months is formally named.
The annual festival is also an opportunity to formally commission the many projects financed with the 5 percent share to the communities neighbouring the Parc de Volcanoes from the tracking permits, which have been selling at a rate of 500 US Dollars per person per trip into the mountainous forests on the slopes of the 5 volcanoes dominating the Virunga mountain range.
A colourful ceremony on the day will be kicked off by a community gathering the night before, when the days formal opening by RDB and local administration staff of water projects, additional class rooms and other material benefits for the villagers will have put the efforts of RDB Tourism and Conservation into the spotlight, showing that participatory conservation and protection of the gorillas actually pays off for everyone living in the area.
The arrival since the 2011 festival of three more airlines in Rwanda, namely Qatar Airways, South African Airways and Turkish Airlines has added much needed seats into the country, further supported by the expansion drive of RwandAir, making it easy to fly to the Land of a Thousand Hills, take a drive from the airport of just over 3 hours to the west of the country and then enjoy the spectacular experience of spending an hour with these gentle giants of the volcanic mountains after tracking them down in their natural habitat.
Expect live updates from Rwanda as the clock is ticking down towards Kwita Izina 2012.