Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour

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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 pick up from your hotel/ residence after breakfast followed by a transfer to the genocide memorial centre in Gisozi.

Once at the museum, you can have a guide or purchase an interactive media presentation that will 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 which gives you some 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 dating back to colonial times all the way to the present. The captions are in Kinyarwanda, English and French.

There are a lot of photographs, some of them showing drastic images, and TV screens on which you can watch testimonies of survivors.  One could easily spend spent 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 that 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, their favorite games, and 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 has a wide range of food and drinks on offer and proceeds go towards supporting the work of the memorial.

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

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Rwanda Tour Prices  Rates Includes

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 behaviour 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
* Gratituity to the local guide at the museum

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