Kigali · Rwanda
January
Short dry season — reasonable gorilla trekking conditions and pleasant highland temperatures.
Strong option
#5 of 12 months
There are better months for Kigali — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
26°C
Low
15°C
Rain
62mm
Sun
6.8hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How January scores in Kigali
Weather
Very good
Value
Good
Crowds
Good
Events
Average
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in January
- ↑January falls within Rwanda's short dry season (December–January), offering some of the year's better trekking conditions: the Volcanoes National Park trails are drier than the rainy season months, and the mountain gorilla families are more predictable in their ranging patterns. Permit availability is better than the June–September peak.
- ↑Kigali itself is at its most pleasant: the highland altitude keeps temperatures around 26°C despite being near the equator, and the dry air makes the city's hillside geography easy to explore on foot. The Kigali Genocide Memorial is accessible and uncrowded.
- ↑Nyungwe Forest National Park chimpanzee trekking operates reliably in January — the canopy walk (one of Africa's longest suspension bridges through forest) and tea estate surroundings are vivid and accessible.
What you sacrifice
- ↓January is not peak dry season. The trails in Volcanoes National Park are passable but can still be muddy from December rains. Gorilla trekking involves genuine physical effort: treks range from 2–8 hours through steep bamboo forest and volcanic terrain regardless of conditions.
- ↓International visitor numbers are moderate — permit availability is reasonably good, but the $1,500 USD gorilla permit price is fixed year-round regardless of season or demand.
How January compares to June (best month)
| Factor | January | June ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 7 | 9 |
| Value | 6 | 5 |
| Crowds | 6 | 4 |
January in other destinations
Lisbon (13.6°C)Barcelona (13.2°C)Tokyo (9.8°C)Bali (30.2°C)Santorini (13.4°C)Paris (7°C)New York (3.3°C)Marrakech (17.3°C)Amsterdam (5.6°C)Maldives (30.1°C)Rome (11.6°C)Bangkok (31.1°C)Istanbul (8.7°C)Vienna (3.2°C)Seoul (1.1°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (30.9°C)Kyoto (9.2°C)Phuket (31.5°C)Cape Town (26.1°C)Prague (2°C)Amalfi Coast (12°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (31°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (24°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (29°C)Miami (24.1°C)Florence (9.2°C)Queenstown (22°C)Madrid (9.4°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (4°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (6°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (18°C)Osaka (9°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (30°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (13°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (29°C)Havana (26°C)Split (10°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (33°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (4°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (28°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (18°C)Jordan (12°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (19.8°C)Cairo (19.1°C)Kenya (26.8°C)Jaipur (22.2°C)Las Vegas (13.9°C)San Francisco (13.2°C)Madeira (19.5°C)Vancouver (6.9°C)Muscat (26.4°C)Lima (26.2°C)Cinque Terre (11°C)Kotor (10°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (30°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (5.8°C)Penang (31.5°C)Lombok (30.8°C)Cape Verde (26.2°C)Fez (13.8°C)Kerala (31°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (-1°C)Auckland (24°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Kigali, not across destinations. Methodology →