Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour

Our 1 -Day Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda tour is a somber, educational site commemorating the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, where over 250,000 victims are buried.

The tour covers the history of the 100-day atrocity, featuring exhibitions, survivor testimonies, and a children’s memorial, aiming to promote peace and prevent future atrocities.

Morning: Remembrance and History

0900 Hours – 1200 Hours: Kigali Genocide Memorial (Gisozi)
Visit: Begin your day at this central memorial, the final resting place for over 250,000 victims
Experience: The tour typically starts with a background film followed by three permanent exhibitions documenting the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, a room dedicated to children, and a global look at other genocides.

Gardens: Conclude with a quiet walk through the Memorial Gardens, including the Garden of Unity and the Wall of Names.
Details: Admission is free, though audio guides are available for roughly $15–$30. It is open daily from 0900 Hours to 1700 Hours (last entry 1600 Hours), except on the last Saturday of the month (Umuganda), when it opens at 1300 Hours. 

Afternoon: Culture and Local Life

1200 Hours – 1330 Hours: Lunch at Café du Memorial or Nyamirambo. You can eat at the on-site Café du Memorial, which supports the site’s maintenance, or head to the Nyamirambo district for traditional Rwandan dishes.

13:30 Hours – 1530 Hours: Historical and Artistic Insights

Kandt House Museum: Visit the former residence of Kigali’s first colonial governor to learn about life in Rwanda before and during the colonial era.
Inema Art Center or Niyo Art Gallery: Explore Rwanda’s thriving modern art scene through galleries showcasing local painters and traditional dance performances.

1330 Hours – 1700 Hours: Shopping and Interaction, Kimironko Market: Experience the city’s largest and most vibrant market. It is an excellent place to see local trade and purchase hand-woven baskets (Agaseke) or tailored clothing. 

Evening: Modern Kigali and Scenic Views

1500 Hours – 1830 Hours: City Landmarks and Viewpoints
Kigali Convention Centre: Stop to admire the iconic architecture of this illuminated dome, a symbol of Rwanda’s modern progress.
Mount Rebero or Mount Kigali: End your day at one of these high points for panoramic sunset views of the city’s “thousand hills”.

Important Tips for Visiting

Dress respectfully (covering shoulders/knees) and behave quietly
Photography is allowed, but not on the mass graves

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour is a visit to the Rwanda genocide memorial Museum also known as Kwibuka Museum – Kwibuka means ‘remember’ in Kinyarwanda, Rwanda’s language. About 800,000 people died during a mass slaughter over 100 days.

Every year Rwanda commemorates the horrific events of 1994, which in Rwanda are officially called the Genocide against the Tutsi. Kigali Genocide Memorial is located in Gisozi, 10 minutes drive from the centre of town.

Today most visitors to Rwanda come here to pay their respect at the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Center. They learn how it happened in Rwanda – the exhibits have been tastefully assembled.

The museum is open from 0800 hours to 1700 hours (last entrance is at 1600 hours).  The museum is open 7 days a week (except last Saturday of each month, on Christmas and New Year).

A tour of the entire memorial takes approximately 2 hours and could take longer, depending on the size of your group.

You will learn about the genocide that happened in Rwanda back in 1994, you will get an in depth of different stories from individuals, groups and the whole story first hand.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

0900 Hours: Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Rwanda Tour begins with pickup from your hotel/residence after breakfast, followed by a transfer to the genocide memorial centre in Gisozi.

Once at the museum, you can either have a guide or purchase an interactive media presentation to guide you through the Center. Some of the local guides are survivors of the Genocide and therefore offer a more personal account of the events.

The tour begins with a short film that provides general background information about the Genocide. The main piece of mind-boggling information is that over 250,000 bodies are buried at the Memorial.

The exact number is not known, as many remains are still unidentified. You need to remember that whole families were killed, so there may not have been anyone left to look for a lost relative.

The next stop is the Museum – and it’s a very good exhibition that takes the visitor through Rwanda’s history, from colonial times to the present. The captions are in Kinyarwanda, English, and French.

There are a lot of photographs, some of them showing dramatic images, and TV screens on which you can watch survivors’ testimonies.  One could easily spend an hour and a half reading through a lot of text, but it is definitely worth taking your time.

At the end, there are 3 rooms which are extremely disturbing: one with dozens of photographs of children who perished (donated to the Memorial by their family members), one with human skulls and bones found at the site of the Memorial, and one with clothes, also uncovered there.

Here, you will find enlarged photos of just a few children who represent all those who were killed. Their names are printed in huge letters above the pictures, mostly showing smiling toddlers and happy kids, and in front of them are plaques with some information about each child.

It says what they were like (quiet? talkative? full of energy?), what their favorite food was, what their favorite games were, what age they were at the time of death, and how they died.

After this emotionally exhausting tour, you walk out of the building into the gardens. It’s beautiful and peaceful there, very green and well-maintained, but then you realize that those huge slabs of concrete are the mass graves.

There is a Wall of Names, which looks a bit strange, as if it hasn’t been finished, as there are certainly not 250,000 names on it. And that’s precisely it: it’s not finished because the bodies are still being identified. Some may never be identified. But at least they found a beautiful resting place.

The Genocide is very much alive in people’s minds, so getting to know this part of their history is very important. Especially that it’s one of the biggest, most shameful stains on the international community’s conscience, as it could have been prevented.

Photography is permitted outside but not inside. Refreshments are available from the Memorial Cafe. The cafe offers a wide range of food and drinks, and proceeds go towards supporting the memorial’s work.

Later, we transfer you back to the hotel/ residence.

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour Prices  Rates Include

✓ Bottled water, Snacks
✓ Duration at the museum – 2 hours
✓ Visit the Genocide Museum to learn about the history
✓ Entry/ Admission Fees to Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum
✓Pick up and drop off at your hotel/ residence in Kigali, Rwanda

Notes

* Do not step or walk on the mass graves
* Children under the age of 12 are not permitted to visit
* Eating/ drinking is not allowed in the gardens or in the memorial exhibition. You are invited to visit the memorial cafe, where you can enjoy a range of meals
* The Kigali Genocide Memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. We kindly ask you to maintain respectful behavior and a dress code

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour Prices  Rates Excludes:

* Lunch
* Laundry
* Rwanda Visa
* Personal Insurance
* International Airfare
* Any other item not mentioned above
* Personal shopping bills and cigarettes
* Gratuity to the local guide at the museum

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