The beginning of an 8-day journey
After our time in Abu Dhabi and the Liwa Desert, JJ and I flew to Kigali to start another bucket list adventure. Our safari with Kazinga Tours was called ‘Primates of Rwanda’. Highlights of the itinerary included seeing mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in the wild.
GETTING AROUND RWANDA
Kazinga was a great tour operator who arranged everything for us including transport, accommodation, national park fees and gorilla permits. The staff in their Kampala office were really helpful when I had questions and super-fast at responding to emails. I highly recommend this company if you’re ever thinking of heading to Rwanda, their guides are reliable, friendly and local. Our driver/guide for the 8 days, Nicholas, was lovely and so knowledgeable about all the different communities, flora and fauna that we saw.
Our route map
KIGALI DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY (+ FINAL DAY 8)
We only spent one full day in Rwanda’s capital, which was our first day in the country. We had plans to visit the city’s largest market and discover the rumoured abandoned amusement park. However, our plans were foiled by full-on torrential rainstorms the entire day – not ideal for outdoor activities 🙂 It was nice to have a chill day reading and hanging out at our hotel instead.
JJ and I stayed at Hôtel des Mille Collines, which was the filming location for 2004 movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’. The hotel’s quite modern and well located with comfortable clean rooms, but I have to be honest, the food was terrible. No doubt there are better accommodation options. On a more positive note, views of the city from La Terrasse (breakfast restaurant) were pretty great.
View of Kigali from Hôtel des Mille Collines
On the final day of our tour we had time to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial and Kimironko Markets before catching our outbound flight. I was grateful we were able to make up for the time we spent indoors on our first day ‘cos of the wet weather.
The Genocide Memorial is definitely worth a visit. Of course any genocide story is extremely harrowing, but I felt it important to understand more about that part of Rwanda’s history. It certainly makes you think about the most horrifying aspects of human nature. I was saddened by the tragedy many Rwandan people have experienced and in awe of their capacity to move on from devastation. The memorial aims to educate visitors and help prevent future mass atrocities, in Rwanda and the world. We can only hope.
Wall of Names, Kigali Genocide Memorial
Kimironko is the largest market in Kigali. The huge central covered area had an array of fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, dried beans and dried fish. There’s also an outside area that had live chickens and pigeons for sale. Nicholas (our guide) said he regularly shops at Kimironko because you can find absolutely anything and everything there. Hardware, clothing and hairdressing are just some examples of what’s on offer. The sights, sounds and smells of this enormous marketplace could be overwhelming if you’re not prepared for it, but I loved it.
Amazing variety of fresh produce
NYANZA DAY 2 – THURSDAY
Our second day in Rwanda was the official first day of our tour and the longest day of driving – about 6 hours. To break up the drive time we stopped at the Kings Palace Museum in Nyanza-Rukali (halfway between Kigali and Nyungwe Forest).
The main displays centre around a replica pre-1931 king’s palace. Included in the ticket price was a guided tour that helpfully explained some of the features inside the royal compound, as well as the different roles of the staff who lived there.
Entrance to the replica king’s palace
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- Inside the royal palace
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- Entrance to the milk hut
Inyambo cattle
Behind the royal compound are the inyambo (sacred cows) with their crazy-long horns. Some of the cows have horns that exceed 2.5m in length! In the past, these animals were decorated with expensive jewellery and paraded at royal functions. The cattle were unbelievably placid and didn’t seem to mind one bit when we were taking photos with them.
On top of Nyanza hill is the modern royal residence of King Mwami Mutara III Rudahigwa. This colonial-style home served as the royal palace from 1931 until King Mutara died under suspicious circumstances in 1959. Most of the furniture and gifts Mutara received from visiting dignitaries were stolen during the genocide, but it’s still an interesting site to explore. Mutara III was the first Rwandan king to convert to Catholicism and the country’s last king.
Modern King’s Palace
After Nyanza-Rukali, we had a tasty lunch in the university town of Huye, before continuing on to Nyungwe. Driving through Rwanda we were struck not only by the beauty of the scenery but also by how immaculately clean the country was. There was no litter in sight, I thought mostly due to Rwanda’s strict ban on plastic bags. We later found out that on the last Saturday of every month, all citizens between the ages of 18 and 65 are required by law to participate in a community clean-up. Clearly this environmental initiative is working.
Entrance to Nyungwe National Park
At the end of the day, JJ and I arrived at the entrance to Nyungwe National Park. Read all about our wildlife encounters there below.
More posts from this trip:
Nyungwe National Park – Chimpanzee tracking
Kibuye, Lake Kivu – Christmas Eve celebration
Volcanoes National Park – Gorilla trekking
7 Days on Unguja Island – Exploring Zanzibar, Tanzania
3 Day stopover in the United Arab Emirates
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I so want to do this trip. Rwanda is super high on my list. but driving for 6 hours on second day is so long. Glad you took a break to see Kings Palace Museum in Nyanza-Rukali. Looks great.
The second day of driving didn’t feel as long as 6 hours. We stopped a few times and saw a lot of interesting things along the way. You’d love it.
Africa is on my bucketlist. I so want to go on a safari! I love the idea that everybody has to participate in clean up. Thats the perfect way to keep it clean and dissuade people from littering.
I agree, such a good initiative!
Really wanted to visit Rwanda on my last African trip but sadly run out of time. Love the clean up initiative, wish they would introduce that here in Malta.
I thought the cleanup was a great idea too! Good to bring people together and an incentive to be constantly mindful of how household waste is dealt with.
What a lovely view from your hotel! I’m sorry the food was disappointing. The market place would overwhelm me, thanks for that heads up! I like the palaces, those would both be neat to see.
The palaces were really interesting for sure, our guide was great which always makes the experience.
Reading this made me realise that, soon i should be planning a trip to Africa in the post pandemic world. There is a rawness in the beauty of Africa that i really want to experience, and something that you have managed to capture perfectly through your photos.
Thanks Arnav, Rwanda is truly beautiful. I hope you include it in your itinerary 🙂
We had followed a similiar route when we visited Rwanda a couple of years ago. We were really surprised with the beauty of Rwanda. The Genocide Memorial is a place that evoked sadness and the Palace was fascinating. Did you visit the Canopy Walk in Nyungwe National Park and also do the Gorilla trek at Volcanoes National Park?
We certainly did Sandy, sounds like we pretty much did the same trip!
Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much of Africa. As a female solo traveller, I’m a bit hesitant for different reasons. However, it’s amazing to read about Rwanda – which is still in the memories of many due to the horrific conflicts.
I wouldn’t travel in Rwanda without a guide, mainly due to transport infrastructure and language difficulties. We loved it and I think even as a solo traveller, with the right guiding you’d be very happy you chose to visit Rwanda – the nature is amazing.
I’ve never been to Rwanda but I did spend three weeks in Burundi, which has a similar history to Rwanda. The thing is: the history is barely history. People are suffering the consequences to this day; everyone has loved ones who died or suffered in other ways. Yet they get on with their lives because they have no other choice. I think when terrible events are further away in time, we tend to lose sight of the pain that was caused.
We did have to transit through Bujumbura, but otherwise didn’t spend time in Burundi. I’d be interested to explore more of the rift valley countries.