Kigali City tour

Kigali City tour : For every guest coming to Rwanda, the Kigali city tour is a must do and usually recommended as the first stop before the actual national park visits. Rwanda welcomes up to 1.63 million arrivals at the Kigali International airport on a yearly basis and these visitors are usually international visitors looking to partake in the tourism of the country or investors looking for an investment opportunity. The visitors that enter Rwanda usually spend 2 to 90 days or even more in the country all depending on their interests.

A Rwanda tourist visa is valid for 30 days and is costed at 70 USD for all foreigners. With this Rwanda tourist visa, guests can access a number of tourist points in the country. Rwanda is a small landlocked country but a very gifted in terms of the tourism. Rwanda is a home to the endangered mountain gorillas and this is one of the biggest attractions of the country. There are 4 national parks in Rwanda and these are the Volcanoes national park, the Gishwati Mukura national park, the Nyungwe forest national park and the Akagera national park.

All the four national parks have a unique attraction that guests visit looking for. The Volcanoes national park is the most visited national park in Rwanda and offers the mountain gorilla trekking experience as well as the golden monkey experience, the Nyungwe forest national park is commonly visited for the chimpanzee trekking experience and the 90 meter highly suspended canopy walk way. The Volcanoes national park and the Nyungwe forest national park are the most sought after national parks of Rwanda and these both offer primate safaris.

The Gishwati Mukura national park is commonly visited for the primate treks as there is a habituated chimpanzee family that guests get to visit and the Akagera national park is the only wildlife park of the country and offers game drives in the vast savannah lands. Get to spot the big 5 all in one national park on your Rwanda safari.

Ahead of your visit to any of these parks, you could take some time to visit a few hotspots in Kigali and some sites that tell the history of Rwanda from the ancient days to today. Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda and is the base of the Kigali International airport where most of the arrivals in the country land. A few of these spots are listed below

Kigali Genocide memorial grounds

The Kigali Genocide memorial grounds are a popular stop for the Kigali city of most guests. The Kigali Genocide memorial grounds hold a special places in the hearts of the Rwandan people and on your visit to this site is when one can get a deeper understanding of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. This Rwandan genocide is one of the worst recorded ever genocides in the entire world as people of the same race turned against each other and brutally murdered one another using the most brutal methods by stoning, machetes and spears.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial ground is located in Gisozi and was established as a tourist site in 2014. It is a home to over 250,000 victims of the guerilla and this site also offers a deeper insight in how the events unfolded and how the country has overcome these dark times.

With Rwanda being one of the fastest growing economies, this would a great stop to see how this country has managed to achieve this success in the shortest time. Rwandan people also pay pilgrimage to this site to remember the fallen Rwandan people. There is a wall with most of the names engraved on it.

Kimironko market

The Kimironko market is a great stop over for the Kigali city tour as it gives guests a chance to interact with the Rwandan people and also support a local business. The Kimironko market is the largest market in Rwanda has a diverse number of stalls selling local produce. You also get a chance to purchase some Rwanda art pieces that you nay keep as souvenir to take back home.

The Kimironko market also has some local produce from the farmers’ markets and you can get to enjoy some fruits on your visit.

The beauty about visiting the Kigali Genocide memorial grounds and the Kimironko market is that these are both free and this will be a complimentary option on your visit and no extra charge will be asked for the two visits.

Kigali has other hot spots that you may visit while in Kigali like the Kandt Museum that was built in honor of Dr. Richard Kandt, the very first German colonialist to reside in Rwanda. Take some time to visit the Ihema Arts center for a treat of the Rwandan artists work and support an artist.

If you are looking for a more active and engaging visit, you may opt to hike the Mount Kigali or the Mount Jali and have the view of the busy city from the top. If you may not have time on the first day of your Rwanda safari, the Kigali city tour can be done on the last day as you await for your late night flight out of the country. We look forward to hearing from you once you are ready to explore the land of a thousand hills.