Gorilla Guardians Village

While most of the focus of Volcanoes National Park falls squarely onto the animals, this ‘cultural village’ puts the spotlight back onto the people. Visitors get to experience Rwandan village life by grinding seeds, firing bows and arrows, taking part in a traditional intore dance and even partaking in the marriage of a king to […]

Nkotsi Village

Nkotsi village (also known as Muko) is a small village 7km southwest of Musanze. It’s home to the Red Rocks camping and hostel, which, through the Hands of Hope organisation and Amahoro Tours, organises a lively and interesting package of cultural activities open to all. These range from basket-weaving demonstrations (free) to learning how to […]

Rubona Peninsula

The neighborhood is on the Lake Kivu lake-shore, about 4 kilometres (2 mi), south of the central business district of Gisenyi, Rubavu District, in the Western Province of Rwanda Roughly 6km south of town (about RFr1000 by moto-taxi), along a lovely lakeshore road, the Rubona Peninsula is Lake Kivu at its finest. Hills rise steeply from […]

Akagera National Park

Akagera is Rwanda’s answer to the savannah parks of Kenya and Tanzania, and is utterly different in landscape to anywhere else in the country. Prior to the genocide, when much of the wildlife was slaughtered or driven over the border, this was considered one of the better parks in East Africa. Today, thanks to outside […]

King’s Palace Museum – Rukari

Situated on a hill 2km southwest of town, this fascinating museum is less about ancient history and more about royal residences. The displays centre on a replica king’s ‘palace’. Inclusive in the ticket price is a guided tour that helps explain some of the architectural idiosyncrasies inside the royal compound, including why the royal beer […]

Murambi Genocide Memorial

Nyamagabe (formerly called Gikongoro) and the satellite town of Murambi was the site of one of the most unforgettable horrors of the 1994 genocide. Refugees 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 […]

Ethnographic Museum

Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda This outstanding museum was given to the city as a gift from Belgium in 1989 to commemorate 25 years of independence. While the building itself is certainly one of the most beautiful structures in the city, the museum wins top marks for having one of the best ethnological and archaeological collections […]

Nyungwe Forest National Park

Nyungwe Forest National Park is Rwanda’s most important area of biodiversity and has been rated the highest priority for forest conservation in Africa. Despite its huge biodiversity, Nyungwe is little known outside of East Africa. Nyungwe’s strongest drawcard is the chance to track chimpanzees, which have been habituated over the years to human visits. Another […]

Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park, which runs along the border with the DRC and Uganda, is home to the Rwandan section of the Virungas. Comprising five volcanoes, the Virungas are utterly spellbinding and few would argue that this is not one of the most exciting national parks in Africa. We probably needn’t remind you, but of all […]

Kigali Genocide Memorial

In the span of 100 days, an estimated one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were systematically butchered by the Interahamwe army. This memorial honours the estimated 250,000 people buried here in mass graves and also has an excellent exhibition that tries to explain how it was that the world watched as the 1994 genocide unfolded. […]