Rwanda Things to Do

  Gorilla Baby
by MikeAtSea
 
  • Gorilla Baby
      Gorilla Baby
    by MikeAtSea
  • Gorilla in the wild
      Gorilla in the wild
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  • The experienced ranger
      The experienced ranger
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  • The Silverback
      The Silverback
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  • Gorilla in the wild
      Gorilla in the wild
    by MikeAtSea
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

GENOCIDE MEMORIAL CENTRE - KIGALI

by DAO

You are looking at the final burial place of 250,000 people in just 4 photos. The Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre is set in gardens about the full dimensions of an American football ground or European soccer pitch. Most of these people were killed in a few days when the Rwandan Genocide occurred in 1994. Today the Centre is much more than a mass grave. It is a working centre of learning as well as a heart-breaking museum to educate future generations of the nightmare that occurred. It is also working hard to help ensure that genocide, anywhere in the world, does not happen again. Sadly it has happened in so many places across the world. The Centre is completely free and you will be offered an audio guide or sometimes even a human guide to take you through the exhibits and grounds. Starting downstairs are exhibits detailing the history of Belgian colonial rule and how they divided Rwanda...

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THE EYE SEES ALL - WELL NOT EXACTLY

by DAO

I first discovered the FREE Eye Magazine in Uganda. Absolutely fantastic. Great descriptions of restaurants and reviews, current music or art events, even shopping tips. Well Rwanda has the EYE, but it does not cover all that it could. It does have some good maps of Kigali and a few other major cities, some good stories, useful Kigali Airport information and lots of business listings. It even has information about the national parks. Sadly it lacks informative restaurant and hotel descriptions and impactful reviews of restaurants. It is still free, and it is still developing. Given time I am sure it will be more useful than it already is. There is lots of helpful information – especially if you are going to be here for a while.It is available in all the better hotels in Kigali like the Hotel des Milles Collines.

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BUTARE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL OF RWANDA

by hanspeter_W.

Butare is a city (population: 77,000 as of August 2002) in the South Province of Rwanda and capital of Huye district. It was the capital of the former Butare Province, Rwanda, that was dissolved on January 1, 2006.Butare has the National University of Rwanda, which like all educational institutions in Rwanda is bilingual, speaking both French and English. It also held the prestigious Nyakibanda Seminary, the Rwandan National Institute of Scientific Research, the Ruhande Arboretum and a cathedral.The city of Butare has long been regarded as the intellectual capital of the country, while Kigali holds most political power. The Belgian colonial rulers named the city Astrida in honor of Queen Astrid of Belgium. The first Catholic mission in 1900 in the country was only a few kilometers from the town center, at Save Hill.The National Museum of Rwanda was built in the early 1990s and is a good...

VISIT KIBUYE

by hanspeter_W.

Kibuye, at the shores of Lake Kivu, has been considered as a competitor of Gisenyi in terms of tourism industry. This is not entirely accurate. Although Kibuye's position at the lake might be slightly more spectacular, as the shores form many bays, Gisenyi is superior for its beaches and architecture, and places to go out and meet the locals. Kibuye is a small village with few buildings around the bus station, which effectively makes a centre there. Many good hotels, which used to be good value, have closed. Yet, there are still a few that operate in the area, which are also the spots to 'go out', eat and party

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visit gisenyi

by hanspeter_W.

Gisenyi is a city in Rubavu district in the West Province of Rwanda. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The population of the city is about 106 000 (2009).[1][edit] Description Shoreline at GisenyiThe city features a resort on the shores of Lake Kivu, with several hotels and three sandy beaches. The area is also known for water sports. The northern shore of the lake on which Goma and Gisenyi lie is a flat plain featuring lava formations from the eruptions of nearby Mount Nyiragongo. Gisenyi but not Goma escaped the lava flows of the 2002 eruption which destroyed between 15 and 40% of the latter. The centre of Gisenyi lies at the foot of hills in the north-east corner of the lake, and low-density expansion is taking place in the hills which should be safe from any future eruptions.Gisenyi is also home to Bralirwa, the only...

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Remembering murder: Kigali memorial centre

by husain

The Kigali memorial centre was built to mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide. It contains ten mass graves- a site of burial for almost 250,000 victims, who were killed in the Kigali region. After the genocide, as mass graves were being discovered around the city, it was decided that a single monument/ burial place should be created, where the victims could be laid to rest with dignity.The memorial houses a children's section, a particularly powerful experience to read about the children- how they lived, and how they died. Amongst other things, it traces how things came to being so bad, how the ideology of genocide emerged, how the tragedy could have been averted, and how the world ignored the signs and warnings repeatedly.Some of the survivors of the genocide have been trained as guides at the centre.

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The Masacre!

by Squinchez

Many Tutsis took refuge in churches and mission compounds. These places became the scenes of some of the worst massacres. In one case, at Musha, 1,200 Tutsis who had sought refuge were killed beginning at 8 a.m. lasting until the evening. Hospitals also became prime targets as wounded survivors were sought out then killed.In some local villages, militiamen forced Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbors or face a death sentence for themselves and their entire families. They also forced Tutsis to kill members of their own families.By mid May, an estimated 500,000 Tutsis had been slaughtered. Bodies were now commonly seen floating down the Kigara River into Lake Victoria.The church is now a tourist attraction.

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Genocide Rwanda - Church

by Squinchez

Beginning on April 6, 1994, and for the next hundred days, up to 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutu militia using clubs and machetes, with as many as 10,000 killed each day.The killings only ended after armed Tutsi rebels, invading from neighboring countries, managed to defeat the Hutus and halt the genocide in July 1994. By then, over one-tenth of the population, an estimated 800,000 persons, had been killed.

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Mountain Gorrila Safari

by Squinchez

A Mountain Gorilla Safari is the pinnacle of all the wildlife experiences available in Africa and Rwanda is with no doubt the best place for this. The visits has a limited time of one hour and expect to hike for four hours to see them.These incredible primates are divided into four groups that have been habituated over the decades, its a thing not to miss in Rwanda.

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BUTARE

by nsbm

The university town of Butare houses the great national museum of Rwanda. It is close to the Nyungwe Forest and the Murambi Memorial. The town is attractive and easily traversed by foot. Definitely worth a few days.......The Palace at Nyanza is on the way to Kigali, but close enough for a day trip........SEE BUTARE PAGE...................

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Top 3 Hotels in Rwanda

Kigali Serena Hotel  Kigali

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LAICO Umubano Hotel  Kigali

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Questions and Answers

kikili profile photo

Q:  Hi I'm unsure f this is the right forum..but I iwsh to see the silverbacks in rwanda or uganda next march.. Which is a better... 

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A: Hi kikili, Rwanda is the better place to see gorillas, but no matter which country you go, there is no such thing as a budget option when it comes to seeing the... 

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