Kigali City is the capital of Rwanda found in its center a country and commonly known for being clean, beautiful, with well-maintained streets as compared to most cities in Africa. Kigali city shares bittersweet experiences due to the different memorial sites in remembrance of the 1994 Rwanda genocide with some more lively spots around Kigali where tourists can experience the culture, hospitality, beautiful scenery in the city and tastes of the Rwandan cuisine.

The city’s wide tree-lined boulevards and immaculate squares are safe to stroll, where outsiders are generally left to their own devices unless they need assistance, in which case they will be greeted with warm hospitality.

No visit to Rwanda would be complete without a visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial which, through education and peace-building, honours the memory of the more than one million Rwandans killed in 1994. The three permanent exhibitions and burial gardens form part of a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and provide a powerful educational tool for visitors

Kigali Genocide Memorial: In 1994, over one million Rwandans were killed in a period of one hundred days. Today, the Kigali Memorial Center stands as a monument of remembrance to all those who perished. The Center was built on the tenth anniversary of the genocide by the UK-based Aegis Trust in partnership with the Kigali City Council. It continues to serve as one of the most important and popular visitor destinations in all of Rwanda. Over 250,000 genocide victims are buried in mass graves, which surround the Center.

Many of their stories are also documented in the Center’s exhibitions. Let a genocide survivor take you on a tour through the Center and hear their own personal stories of suffering and survival. See the photographs of the faces of many of the victims that have been put up by remaining family members. Understand the history behind the genocide and witness the progress that has been made since.

To date, more than 100,000 visitors have come to the Center, including Rwandans and foreigners alike. It serves as a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide, as a place for people to grieve those they lost, and as a warning of the cost of genocides around the world. A visit to the Kigali Memorial Center is an unforgettable and moving experience that no visitor to Rwanda should miss.

Camp Kigali Memorial: also called the Blue Beret Museum is the venue of the massacre of 10 Belgian UN Blue Berets on the first day of the genocide in 1994. Under the command of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire, they were deployed to guard the house of moderate Prime Minister Agatha Uwilingimana. After the violence began, Presidential Guard soldiers invaded the home, disarmed the Belgians and transported them to Camp Kigali where they were killed. Today, the Camp is a Belgian commemoration site that hosts a small museum and provides you with a first introduction to the horrible events of 1994.

Kandt House Museum: a German-born doctor, soldier, poet, scholar, naturalist and avid explorer, Dr. Richard Kandt became the first European who lived in Rwanda since 1907. He was appointed the first Resident Governor of Rwanda and saw his administrative residence expand into a series of twenty commercial houses. It was, in fact, the country’s commercial capital until Belgian rule began in 1921.

During his time in Rwanda, Kandt dedicated his life to researching the natural environment of the country. He was the first to determine the source of the Nile in Nyungwe National Park and arguably the first to introduce coffee farming to the region. It has been over one hundred years since Kandt first moved to Rwanda, but his accomplishments remain no less impressive. Today, Kandt’s former residence on Nyarugenge Hill in Kigali has become the Museum of Natural History of Rwanda. It is a tribute to Kandt’s explorations and naturalist research and serves to depict the evolution of the region’s environment and wildlife. Inside the museum are exhibitions dedicated to the country’s geology, mining, volcanoes and more. A visit to the Kandt House offers visitors a rewarding look back at both the country’s colonial and natural history.

Kimironko Market: it is located in the Kimironko neighborhood of Kigali, is the busiest market in town. Vendors here sell produce from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while locals from all over the city head here to stock up on fruit, vegetables, fabric, clothing, shoes, and general household necessities. This is the place to experience Rwanda at its liveliest.

Kigali Convention Centre: The landmark Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) is the first and largest Convention Centre in the region and the leading destination for events in Rwanda. Its unique design integrates all the facilities and functional technology with a clear reference to the culture and traditions of Africa. The KCC is the no.1 event venue in Kigali and throughout Rwanda, offering a premium environment for regional and international conventions, exhibitions, festivals, meetings and other events.

Caplaki Craft: Village Caplaki, one of Rwanda’s largest craft markets, is also known as the ‘Village des Artistes de Kigali’. Located just outside the center of Kigali, Caplaki features products from East and Central Africa and, of course, a wide variety of Rwandan handicrafts. Stalls display diverse goods including jewelry, masks, spears, idols, carvings, and paintings. Caplaki is the perfect place for visitors to do their souvenir shopping and try their hand at bargaining.

Kigali Business Center (KBC): is a commercial building that has existed since 2003. It
was the biggest shopping center around the Kacyiru, Kimihurura, Nyarutarama and
Gishushu neighborhoods at the time. In 2016, KBC went through a major facelift to match the beauty of the other surrounding buildings such as the Kigali Convention Center and Kigali Heights. Today, the building is a business complex with many stores that include banks, cafes, and shops among many others.

Primatures: The old Prime Minister’s Office is the oldest remaining high-rise building in
Kigali located right across the KG1 Roundabout in Kimihurura Sector. It was constructed
in 1972 by the first President of Rwanda, Grégoire Kayibanda and was meant to be the State House. It also served as the headquarters of former president, Juvenal Habyarimana’s National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND) ruling party in 1975 before becoming the Prime Minister’s Office from 1991 to 2019. The area it’s located is also home to other government institutions such as the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Trade & Industry.

Sainte Famille Parish: It is the oldest Catholic Church in Kigali. Constructed in 1913, the
building is also one of the largest churches in the city. During the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, thousands of people took refuge in the church and many were massacred from there before the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) soldiers carried out a rescue mission on the night of 16th -17th May 1994 that saved over 1000 lives.

Kigali city center: It is where several corporate offices, major banks, airline offices, tour operators and shopping galleries are located. Most known mixed use buildings in the area include the Makuza plaza, Pension plaza, Kigali City Tower, Centenary House and Kigali Investment Company (KIC) complex. These buildings host several fast-food outlets, boutique shops, banks as well as hotels and cafes with spacious terraced areas overlooking Kigali’s busy shopping streets.

Hotel de Mille Collines: It is one of the renowned 4-star hotels in Kigali. It became famous after 1,268 people took refuge in it during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The rescue operation at Hôtel des Mille Collines during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was the result of diplomatic negotiations between the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) and the then Rwandan Government facilitated by United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). The negotiations led to the exchange of pro- government leaders and civilians who were in Amahoro Stadium for the targeted civilians trapped at Hôtel des Milles Collines and, who up until the time of the rescue, were forced to pay to survive. The exchange took place at the main roundabout in Kimihurura and was supervised by UNAMIR. Those rescued by the RPA were transported to Kabuga. Featured in the popular “Hotel Rwanda movie”, the hotel was a UN Safe Zone during the genocide.

Mount Kigali: It is a sacred mountain where ancient Rwandans used to come and request
their God the ‘Rwandan spirit’ (to remain Rwandan, not alienated). It is for this reason many Rwandan Kings came to live there and their royal cottages (ibigabiro) are still visible to date. Like the Statue of Liberty for Americans or Mount Sion for the Jews, Mount Kigali is the symbol of the “Heart of Rwanda” (where the “Heart of Rwanda Museum” will be built). King Cyirima I Rugwe named Kigali as the country’s capital in the 14th century. Mount Kigali is the highest peak (1,850m) around the city. It is an ideal place for hiking and can be hiked from Nyamirambo. When visiting the mountain you will enjoy spectacular views of the city, Kamonyi district and other hills which surround the city. On the same hill, Fazenda Sengha offers horse-riding lessons for youth and children, along with an archery range, trampoline, ziplines and an open space for children to play.

Masjid Al-Fatah: It is the largest and oldest mosque of Rwanda located in Nyamirambo.
It is nick-named the Green Mosque, for its green and white minarets and has been a
fixture in Nyamirambo since the Muslims merchants first came to Rwanda and started
settling as traders in the 1930s. Kigali’ Muslims set up shops in Nyamirambo, and have
carried on the tradition to date. The Green Mosque is a symbol of peace, with a history of
providing a safe haven for many Rwandans during the genocide. A number of Tutsis in
the area survived the 1994 atrocities because many Muslims opened their homes for them
to hide while they were hunted.

The Nyamirambo Women Center (NWC): It is a Rwandan NGO that was established
in 2007 by 18 women who were mostly genocide survivors that came together to support
each other in addressing gender based violence, inequalities and discrimination as well as
discussing issues like health, family planning, education and unemployment. It has since
been expanded to include a sewing cooperative and provides practical training and skills
for disadvantaged women as well as employment. While visiting the center, tourists are
treated to a cooking lesson in one of the ladies’ home. They teach how to cook traditional
Rwandan cuisines such as potatoes, beans, banana and cassava. Also taught at the center
is the making of traditional Agaseke baskets by expert weavers.

The Kigali Golf Course: is Rwanda’s state of the art nine-hole golf course that is currently under expansion to become an international 18-hole golf course. Set in the valley, an attractive green corner, the course offers great entertainment and a fair test of golf to members. It has all facilities and amenities available to visitors including swimming pools, restaurant, squash room, changing rooms for golfers, a fully-fledged health club, children’s playground and a car parking yard.

Kigali Arena: With 10,000 seats, the Kigali indoor arena is meant for indoor sports such
as basketball, volleyball, and tennis, as well as concerts and conferences. It also boasts of
13 cafeterias and restaurants, six changing rooms for teams, two rooms for the coaching
staff, one fitness center, a media hall, and a modern doping control room. The construction of the arena took only 6 months, with construction starting in January 2019 and completed in June 2019. Kigali Arena is among the top 10 best indoor sports venues on the continent, and the biggest in the Eastern Africa region. It is a great addition to the country’s sports infrastructure.

Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ): It is located in Masoro-Munini, and Kagarama-
Musave at the outskirts of Kigali city, just a few kilometers from the Kigali International
Airport along the Central Transport Corridor. It was set up through the merger of former
Kigali Free Trade Zone and the Kigali Industrial Park projects. KSEZ is designed to address domestic private sector constraints such as availability of industrial and commercial land, availability and the cost of energy, limited transport linkages, market access and reduced bureaucracy and availability of skills. It provides designated, serviced land for small and large scale industrial development, as well as reliable, quality infrastructure, competitive fiscal and non-fiscal regulations and streamlined administration procedures. SEZs provide the opportunity to cluster anchor tenants with suppliers and other service providers, thereby creating jobs in skilled sectors and encouraging knowledge transfer thus acceleration the country’s economic activities in general. KSEZ is a “Mixed Use” Zone that accommodates heavy and light manufacturing industries, large scale users industrial plants, commercial wholesalers, chemical,
pharmacy and plastic, warehousing, tourism and service industry, ICT and logistical
investments.

How to get to Nyungwe National Park

Drive from Kigali to Nyanza to Huye and finally Nyungwe National Park. The drive takes approximately 5 hours depending on your stopovers.

Alternatively you can fly using the services of Akagera Aviation.

Safari lodges and camps near Nyungwe National Park

The accommodation around Nyungwe National Park is limited to about 3 places. You can alternatively choose to spend the night by Lake Kivu in Cyangugu where you might find several alternatives to the otherwise 3 accommodations of

• One & Only Nyungwe House
• Nyungwe top view lodge
• Gisakura guest house
• EAR Guesthouse
• Emeraude Kivu Resort (located in Cyangugu)

What to bring for the chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest

• Sun hut
• Insect repellent
• Wear trousers and long sleeved shirts
• Sunscreen
• Water proof hiking boots