Rwanda

Kigali

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Market in Kigali ❘ Kalahari Stuart/Alamy
Volcanoes National Park ❘ Bert de Ruiter/Alamy
Kigali, Rwanda ❘ Dereje Belachew/Alamy
Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre ❘ Renato Granieri/Alamy
Black rhinoceros at Akagera National Park ❘ Xinhua/Alamy
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An eco-conscious gateway to safaris and national parks.

In Kigali, history happily coexists with modernity, often in surprising blends.

People traveling to Rwanda often treat Kigali as no more than a stopover, a place to enter the country and meet their tour guides before heading elsewhere in the tiny, mountainous nation. But the city deserves much more than a few hours, and curious travelers will find plenty to love about Rwanda’s artsy, culturally rich capital.

Kigali's transformation from a city in the shadow of the 1994 civil war to one of Africa's most sustainable and culturally influential metropolises is nothing short of remarkable. In the last 30 years, the government invested in tourism training, teaching former poachers and soldiers to become naturalist safari guides, and creating cultural centers where local artists can sell directly to tourists.

A new generation of artists and designers based in Kigali are reinventing traditional crafts with modern influences, such as fashion house Moshions, which showed traditional Rwandan prints on international runways. The government has earmarked land for national parks, invested in green energy projects including hydroelectric dams, and will soon break ground on Africa’s first sustainable and climate-resistant affordable-living community in downtown Kigali. In 2008, it introduced an effective plastic bag ban, and it became one of only a few countries in the world to reverse deforestation. Monthly community clean-up days known as umuganda keep the city’s streets exceptionally tidy and pollution-free.

Silverback mountain gorilla in Volcanoes National Park ❘ Ibrahim Suha Derbent/Getty Images

This effort toward sustainability and cultural investment can be seen across the city, from cafés to galleries. Take Question Coffee: Its downtown shop serves up pourovers and espresso, while its sales benefit female coffee growers. They also host “farm treks,” full-day tours of local cooperative coffee growers. At the Nayamirambo Women’s Center, visitors can take cooking classes or walking tours of the pedestrian-only Biryogo restaurant street in the city’s oldest (and always busy) Nyamirambo neighborhood; proceeds go to career training. In Kacyiru, a small, central neighborhood with a mix of locals and expats, the Inema Art Center exhibits work made from unrecyclable materials and hosts evening yoga, dance, and DJ events every week. And Heaven Restaurant is Kigali’s first training restaurant, providing locals coaching in hospitality jobs while also offering visitors berbere goat stew, pan-seared Nile perch, and lemongrass sorbet.

In Kigali, history happily coexists with modernity, often in surprising blends. Modern skyscrapers sit next to open-air markets selling fruit and clothing. Local food carts serve plantain-based curries loaded with spicy Akabanga hot sauce just steps from restaurants led by Michelin-trained chefs blending ingredients such as penja peppers from Cameroon, vanilla beans from Zanzibar, and Ghanaian chocolate. And the Kigali Genocide Memorial both chronicles the country’s tragic past and celebrates its extensive growth since then. Exhibits are in English and French.

Kigali is home to the only international airport in Rwanda, and modern highways connect it to the nearby national parks. Akagera National Park offers not just open-air safari drives, but also behind-the-scenes tours to learn about the park’s wildlife success stories, as well as low-impact, solar-powered glamping. Volcanoes National Park is home to the endangered mountain gorillas famously studied by primatologist Dian Fossey, and only a small number of people per day are allowed to visit. Permits are sold exclusively by Rwanda’s Development Board, which gives 10 percent of tourism profits to community projects in and around national parks. The country has also reintroduced lions and black rhinos to Akagera, and the gorilla population has more than doubled thanks to the strict protections. The country’s mountainous landscape is also growing as an adventure destination; Lava Tours offers cycling trips through Rwanda’s hills and woman-owned Judith Safaris offers treks up the volcanic Mount Bisoke, led exclusively by female guides.

Suzie Dundas

KEEP WANDERING

Additional resources to learn more about Kigali and its environs

1000 Hills Distillery

Whisky, gin, rum, and macadamia liqueur.
Learn More

Heaven Restaurant

Offers traditional banana wine-making demonstrations.
Learn More

Inema Arts Center

A gallery that hosts community events and workshops.
Learn More

Karenge Bush Camp

Solar-powered bush camping in Akagera park.
Learn More
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