Rwanda is built around one extraordinary experience — trekking to see mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, one of only a handful of places on earth this is possible at all. The permit is genuinely expensive by regional standards, but it funds the conservation work that's brought the species back from the brink, and a single trek is what most visitors build their entire trip around.
Kigali itself is worth more than a stopover — consistently ranked one of Africa's cleanest and safest capitals, with a real food and art scene and the sobering, essential Kigali Genocide Memorial. Lake Kivu's shoreline adds a relaxed extension for travelers staying longer than the trek alone requires.