Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda and it’s in the center of the country. It stretches across numerous hills, ridges and valleys and has got a vibrant restaurant and nightlife scene. The Kigali Genocide memorial documents the 1994 mass killings in Rwanda, associated with the country’s civil war. The city’s caplaki crafts village has stalls selling traditional handicrafts, including woodcarvings and the woven baskets.

Inema Arts Center

It was founded by a pair of brothers on a mission to tap the untapped potential of art in Rwanda, the inema Arts center has become the place to see contemporary art in Kigali since its founding was in 2012. The building’s exteriors are decorated out in colorful murals that make it impossible to miss. Inema arts center dedicated its interiors to galley space for 10 artists in residence. The tourists might see modern takes on traditional African crafts, abstract and expressive portraits, mixed media works depicting scenes of African life and some of the best artwork in Rwanda, depending on which mix of artists are on display during their visit.

 The Invitation to come and admire the work comes with no obligation to make a purchase, but should you wish to take something home, the center can help arrange shipping. In addition to the visual art, the inema Arts center also hosts weekly dance performances, art inspired yoga classes, gallery tours and the concerts.

The Rwanda Art Museum

The tourists can also check on Rwanda Art Museum which is an institution housed in the former presidential palace on the outskirts of Kigali. It’s one of the country’s eight national museums. It was opened in May 2018 and its only contemporary art museum in Rwanda. It showcases the breath of local creativity, as well as works from international artists. The sprawling space displays more than 100 works of art, including ceramics, sculptures, paintings and experimental pieces made in variety of mediums. The grounds of the museum also contain the debris from the presidential jet that crashed on April 6, 1994.

The Kimironko Market

This is Kigali’s largest and busiest market and makes for an incredible afternoon of sightseeing. Many of the vendors have set up shops in the massive ware house complex, hustling everything from bed sheets and the carved masks to a cornucopia of produce that is sourced from all over East Africa. You will walk single file through the tight pathways, ducking beneath hanging t-shirts and negotiating space with women carrying large baskets on their heads. If there is something that one might take home is the bespoke clothing. Shopkeepers here will help you choose vibrant and nice patterned fabrics from thousands of options on offer. You will also select from different styles of garments, anything from tank tops and wide legged pants to leggings and dresses.

 The Market has got fast tailors and in just 1 hour, you have a custom made to measure clothes to wear on the rest of your adventures around Kigali. Make sure you try them on before leaving the market, just in case you need adjustments.

Nyamirambo Women’s center

In case you want to shop for great heartwarming souvenirs, pass by the Nyamirambo Women’s center. The women founded organization was launched in late 2007 in an effort to address gender inequality and empower women. More so offering free education and vocational training, it employs women at fair wages to fill its intimate boutique with ethically made goods. The tourists can pick up beautiful printed tote bags, hand woven baskets in every shape and size, crocheted rugs, beaded jewelry, patterned place mats and the local inspired fashions.

This is one of the best shopping area in Kigali and you shouldn’t miss it. This group offers fascinating walks through Nyamirambo with guides who were either born in the nearby places or live here and these take the travelers through local hair salons, mosques, tailors and the agricultural business. This center also invites the tourists to participate in traditional cooking classes and basket weaving workshops. The experiences will give you an insider a view of Rwandan culture.

Amahoro Stadium

The Amahoro is the best place to see sports and entertainment in Rwanda. It sits in the stands with up to 3,000 excited spectators watching Rayon sports football club and Armee Patriotique Rwandaise football club take on opponents which is an unforgettable experience, pushing tourists into the heart of Rwanda’s fervor for soccer. The stadium also hosts rugby matches, live performances, marathons and many other events. Check the events listings in the local newspapers, or ask your hotel personnel about what’s coming up during your stay.

Amahoro which means peace is more than a sports center, though it’s a historical site. Over 12,000 people sought refuge at the stadium for weeks during the Rwandan genocide, trying to survive with little more than the clothes on their back under open sky. This stadium pays homage to the important piece of history with events of remembrance around the anniversary of the genocide.

Question Coffe Café

Coffee is a vital part of Rwanda’s economy, bringing millions of dollars into the country each year. But despite growing some of the finest beans in the world, Rwanda doesn’t have much of a local coffee culture. It exports all of its coffee. Question coffee is working to change that, it works directly with farmers to source the country’s best beans, improve the growing and roasting techniques and supporting local growers. The tourists can get a taste of this made in Rwanda product at Question coffee café in Gishushu. The Baristas serve variety of specialty espresso beverages, caffeinated drinks infused with unexpected ingredients like the tree tomatoes. In case you are looking for a deeper immersion into Rwanda’s coffee culture? Please check out Question’s roasting and cupping classes and the cooperative tours which will explain the entire process from beans to brew.

Hotel Des Mille Collines

This is one of the famous sites in Kigali and its located in the central business district, the hotel sheltered many people during the Rwandan genocide. These hid in groups of up to 10 in unnumbered rooms and depended on the pool for drinking water. The tourists may already be familiar with the story from the 2004 fictional film, Hotel Rwanda. This is still a luxury hotel and its one of the best places to stay in Kigali. Even though you book a room elsewhere, you can still experience a piece of this unique place at the hotel’s weekly cultural nights that are held every Friday. It celebrates Music of Rwanda and dance performances as well as the meals with all the local ingredients.

The camp Kigali Memorial

The camp is just a few steps from Kigali Serena Hotel and the Kigali Marriott Hotel, the camp is quiet, sacred space where 10 Belgian soldiers became some of the earliest victims of the Rwandan genocide. They had been sent by General Dallaire to guard the residence of moderate prime minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana. The presidential Guard soldiers captures the Belgians, seized their weapons and brought them to this spot in Kigali where they were killed.

The camp Kigali Memorial pays tribute to each of these victims with 10 solemn stone pillars, peninsular up min a circle from a platform of pebbles. Get to look closely at the horizontal cuts that are carved into each column, these represent the age of each solider. The top of the pillars is broken showing the soldiers brutal end. At the base of each stone, you will see the initials of each soldier. Just outside the memorial, there is a small museum, pierced with bullet holes from his important day. The camp Kigali Memorial is a sobering space to understand the horrors of what Rwandans went through in 1994. It gives the visitors a more intimate understanding of the genocide and greater appreciation for the actual unification of all Rwandans.

Lake Kivu of Rwanda

Rwanda’s western side is bounded by lake Kivu, one of the huge freshwater lakes which lie along Africa’s great Rift valley. It dominates the border between Rwanda and the DRC, Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s largest lake, and sixth largest lake in Africa. The great joy of this area is driving between the towns, and it’s a lovely option for a slower route between Nyungwe Forest National Park and Volcanoes National Park. The road curves back and forth as it weaves through the hills and mountains beside the lakes from Gisenyi all the way to Cyangugu, with Kibuye almost at its Centre point. Each and every corner offers another gorgeous view. The Eucalyptus trees line the road, while every inch of the hills seems to be terraced with bananas tended to by waving farmers. Lake Kivu’s three main towns are 3-4 hours apart from each other.

Gisenyi is a large town spread over several hills on the northern edge of Lake Kivu. Once a colonial beach resort of note, Gisenyi’s waterfront is lined with fading old mansions, some decent hotels including some of international standard, and the trendy bars on the lake shore, ideal for sundowner cocktail.  The area has got pleasant beach on Gisenyi’s lake shore but it can get quite busy, more particularly at weekends.

Kibuye is just 100km from Gisenyi and it’s probably the prettiest of Lake Kivu’s towns. It’s a luxuriant, tropical spot surrounded by hills covered in Eucalyptus and pine. In case you are to visit in August, you might catch thousands of yellow billed kites here flying over lake Kivu on their annual migration. Most of Kibuye’s hotels are in beautiful locations overlooking the lake and facing the sunset. You can take a boat trip on Lake kivu to nearby Islands: Napoleon island with its colony of fruits bats and Amahoro Island, which became more popular locally for the sundowner bar set up on the Island seasonally! You can also visit Kibuye genocide memorial church, with brightly colored stained glass windows, in a quiet location on a hill above lake Kivu. Despite a tragic history, it’s a place for peaceful contemplation.

Cyangugu or Ruzizi, this is an old border town whose fading facades tell of its past as a vital trading gateway. It makes for convenient base in case you want to combine a stay on Lake Kivu with Nyungwe Forest National Park, which is only 45 minutes away, although there are limited hotel options.

GENOCIDE MEMORIALS IN RWANDA

There are so many genocide memorials in Rwanda and some of these are detailed below;

Kigali Genocide Memorial

You can’t start to appreciate everything Rwanda has become until you understand the reasons behind the disturbing Rwandan Genocid, a conflict that killed some 800,000 people, most of whom were members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, in just 100 days. The Kigali Genocide memorial sheds light on the historical events that led to the genocide and horrifying realities Rwandans faced in 1994. A visit to the memorial is emotionally demanding and it gives tourists a very good foundation with which to comprehend this complex country. You will watch a short documentary film about the Rwandan genocide before making your way through three permanent exhibitions, filled with artifacts, timelines, photographs as well as historical information.

The main exhibit mainly focuses on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and moderate Hutus. It also explains how colonization affected Rwandan society and created divisions that didn’t exist between Hutus and Tutsis. You will see displays of powerful photographs, audio visual displays, artifacts, and many more that sparked the genocide.

You will also make your way through the children’s room, which displays a galley of life size portaits of the youngest victims of the genocide, some of whom were infants. It keeps the memory of the children alive through details about their favorite toys, food, sports, songs and more. The museum concludes with an exhibit on other genocides and massacres around the world, putting the Rwandan genocide into context and examining potential strategies for prevention and intervention. After your visit, head out to pay your respects to the victims in the Gardens of Reflection. The park like setting offers the right atmosphere for quiet contemplation on whatever you saw.

Murambi Genocide Memorial Site

Nyamagabe and the satellite town of Murambi was the site of one of the most unforgettable horrors of the 1994 genocide. The refuges flocked to Murambi, the location of a half built technical college, after being told that they would be safe there. It was merely a ploy though and on 21 April the army and interahamwe militia moved in and depending on whose doing the counting, between 27,000 and 40,000 people were killed here. This is far the most graphic of the many genocide memorials in Rwanda, as many of the bodies have been exhumed and preserved with powdered lime and appear as they did when the killers struck.  Visit starts with well-presented museum style information panels and short films. You then walk through rooms with larger than life photographs of some of the victims and accounts from some of the few who survived. You also pass by the mass graves and then over to what were once planned to be classrooms. Many of these contain wooden racks filled with many of preserved bodies. Passing through these rooms, the scene becomes more and more macabre, with many of the displayed corpses of men, women and children.

Nyamata Genocide Memorial site

Nyamata Genocide Memorial is based around a former church 30km south of Kigali in Rwanda, which commemorates the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The remains of 50,000 people are buried here. The memorial site is based around the former church which is about 30km south of Kigali in Rwanda, which commemorates the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The memorial is one of the six national memorial sites in Rwanda that honor the Rwanda Genocide. The others are the Murambi Memorial centre, Bisesero Genocide Memorial Centre, Ntarama Genocide Memorial Centre, Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Ntarubuye Memorial. There are over250 registered memorial sites that honor genocide in Rwanda.

 The genocide in Rwanda started in April 1994. Many Tutsi people gathered here as churches were considered a place of safety. Over 10000 people gathered and the people locked themselves in. The church walls today show how the perpetrators made holes in the walls of the church so that grenades could be thrown into the church. After this, all the people were shot or killed with machetes. The ceiling of the church shows the bullet holes and the altar cloth is still stained with blood. Most of the remains have been buried but cloths and identity cards are left.

Nyanza Genocide Memorial Site

Its situated in Kicukiro, a suburb southeast of the city Centre towards the airport, there is little to see at this memorial other than the tiled tops of four mass graves believed to contain the remains of the 4000 Tutsis who took refuge in the Ecole Technique officeelle grounds and many unmarked wooden crosses. Following the assassination of 10 Belgian soldiers at Camp Kigali and the subsequent withdrawal of Belgian troops, the Tutsis here were left unprotected and ultimately taken to Nyanza and killed.

Biseselo Genocide Memorial site

The Bisesero Genocide Memorial is just near Karongi Kibuye western Uganda, which commemorates the Rwandan genocide in 1994. 40,000 people died here and the memorial is on a hill at the small settlement of Bisesero which is about 60km by road from Kibuye, Rwanda. Rwandan Genocide started in April 1994 and the people here offered some defense and they appealed to French peace keeping troops for assistance. The troops had no mandate to intervene and they withdrew from the carnage. This memorial Centre is one of the six major centers in Rwanda that honors the Rwandan genocide. The others are the Kigali memorial centre, Murambi Memorial centre, ntarama genocide Memorial centre and many more.

Ntarama Genocide Memorial site

Ntarama Genocide Memorial centre is one of the six genocide museums in Rwanda. 5000 people were killed in a catholic church. Ntarama is located in Bugesera district and its an hour’s drive south of Kigali, the national capital and the largest city in the country. Ntarama’s former catholic church is now a memorial site, 5000 were killed on the 15^th of April 1994 during the Rwanda genocide. The memorial centre is one of the six major centers in Rwanda that commemorates the Rwandan genocide.

As you enter the church, there are shelves with skulls of the victims. The windows and the roof of the church are riddled with bullet holes and blown apart by grenades. The pews are empty and broken. On the altar, there are notebooks, weapons, rosaries and identity cards. The bodies in the church were stacked so high people could not see over them. Many people hid in a kitchen house behind the church.

Nyarubuye Genocide Memorial

The Nyarubuye killings is the name which is given to the killing of an estimated 2000 civilians on April at the Nyarubuye Roman catholic church in Kibungo province, 140 km east of the Rwandan capital Kigali. The victims were Tutsis men, women, and children were reported to have been indiscrimately killed, with the attacks allegedly using machetes, spears, clubs, hand grenades and automatic weapons. The local interahamwes, acting in concert with the authorities, used bulldozers to knock down the church building. The Militia used machetes and rifles to kill every person who tried to escape. The killing was part of the April July 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in which more than 1,000,000 people died.