RWANDA – The Trip

Rwanda March 23-27, 2023

Rwanda is a relatively stable East African country, and easily accessible from Kenya and Uganda. It is relatively easy, safe and simple to travel around. It is landlocked, surrounded by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.
Rwanda is not only the land of a thousand hills, but also a country rich in flora and fauna and stunning natural beauty in its scenic rolling and breathtaking green savannah. The country hosts some rare species of animals like the silverback mountain gorillas as well as unique birds and insects in the tropical forest of Nyungwe.
It’s been more than two decades since the civil war and genocide of 1994 that devastated this tiny country, and it’s come a long way, being now a member of the Commonwealth. Expect a warm and friendly welcome to a beautiful country, as well as security advisories.
The equatorial climate is tempered by altitude (Kigali 1500m) and significant rainfall during the rainy season (September to December and March – end of May).

Visa. E-visas can be obtained before departure at www.migration.gov.rw. Passengers must have a printed e-visa confirmation. Nationals of Canada can obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 30 days that is free (Commonwealth).  They can apply to extend their stay.
Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have a three-country visa. A valid “East African Tourist Visa” issued by Kenya or Uganda is accepted if having first entered the country that issued the visa. The visa is valid for 90 days and multiple entries/re-entries. $100 versus $50 each
Vaccination against yellow fever is required.
Money Rwandan Franc (RWF). 1US$ = 1.079 RF; 1 € = 1,177 RF
There are ATMs all over Kigali, in every bank branch. ATMs use a much better exchange rate than currency exchanges. No black market 

MAPS
Download iOverlander. iOverland FB and WhatsApp groups are a great source of info and advice.
Mzungu Map Backpacking Africa | Mzungu and Whatsapp group for southern and eastern Africa on mzungu.org,
Maps.Me Offline maps are more reliable than Google Maps
SIM cards for East Africa SIM cards best from the official store – best rate, best for registering as doing it yourself is a nightmare. Avoid buying at borders.
South Africa: Main routes and all towns have good reception. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi are similar but patches without. All resorts have reception, some not good enough if working.
Chose the local SIM with the most coverage in each country, Telcom in SA (shares cellphone towers with MTN and has a cheaper data package. Vodacom and MTN have the greatest coverage), Econet in Zim, Airtel in Zambia, Uganda and Malawi, Vodacom in Tanzania and Safaricom in Kenya (associated with Safaricom is the mpesa app, that has many functions including an online visa card, stores money making payments very easy).

Capital. Kigali
Official Languages. Kinyarwanda, French, English, Swahili
Ethnic gr0ups. 99% Banyarwanda, 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, 1% Twa, 1% Others
President. Paul Kigame
• Kingdom of Rwanda. 15th century
• Part of German East Africa – 1897–1916
• Part of Ruanda-Urundi – 1916–1962
• Rwandan Revolution – 1959–1961
• Republic Declared – July 1, 1961; Independence from Belgium – July 1 1962
Area. Total 26,338 km² (10,169 sq mi) (144th); Water 5%
Population: 13,246,394 (76th); Density. 470/km² (1,217.3/sq mi) (22nd)
GDP (PPP). Total $37.5 billion (139th); Per Capita $2,836 (170th)
GDP (Nominal) Total $12.1 billion (148th); Per Capita $912 (172th)
Gini 43.7 medium
HDI  0.534 low · 165th
Currency. Rwandan franc (RWF)
Driving Side. Right
Calling Code. +250 

OBSERVATIONS 
1. Driving in Rwanda. Speed limits are 60 in towns and 80 on highways and are well marked with frequent speed limit signs. There are many radar traps – tall, round grey/black columns easily seen, but one must be vigilant. Maintain the speed after the trap because they also flash you from behind. The only real way to deal with them is not to exceed 65 (which seems to be the limit. All my flashes occurred at about 67km/hour. Rwandans are very slow drivers and often only go 40 in cities and 60 on highways. They often cut corners at speed. The roads are very good but Google Maps is always going on very rough roads that can be avoided. It can be slow driving.
There is very little traffic (except on the Sunday night I was returning to Kigali). There are a few semis, private vehicles, and mini-vans but mostly Toyota buses.
2. People. There is not the poverty of Burundi but similarities – many people walking on the roads, and many bicycles are used as “taxis” and to carry freight with all the tremendous work of going uphill and then downhill. Gathering firewood and water seem to be daily chores and the little kids even take an active role. It is a hard life.
People don’t stare like in Burundi and I rarely heard mzunga.
The women are well dressed in their bright cotton prints (as are the girls) but the men and especially the little boys are quite filthy. Women often have hair attachments (never seen in Burundi) and false nails.
The men are extremely helpful and go out of their way to give assistance and answer questions.
3. Cleanliness. Rwanda is unbelievably clean with virtually no garbage anywhere. Single-use plastic bags are illegal, but every store offers paper bags for every purchase.
The roadsides are “mown” short by all the goats, sheep and cattle that are tied next to the road or roam with their “shepherds”.
4. Agriculture. Rwandans appear to be excellent gardeners and farmers. Tiny plots cover their front yards and extend to the top of the mountains. Terracing is variable – most plots seem to have a one-metre high wall but then remain very steep. All the gardens are freshly weeded and consist of carefully rounded beds. Bananas are everywhere. The soil is rich.
The valley bottoms have extensive rice paddies often with several weeding. Sugar cane rows line the streams.

RWANDAN GENOCIDE occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 662,000 Tutsi deaths.
In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. Over the next three years, neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage. To bring the war to a peaceful end, the Rwandan government led by Hutu president, Juvénal Habyarimana signed the Arusha Accords with the RPF on 4 August 1993. The catalyst became Habyarimana’s assassination on 6 April 1994, creating a power vacuum and ending peace accords. Genocidal killings began the following day when the majority of Hutu soldiers, police, and militia murdered key Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders.
The scale and brutality of the genocide caused shock worldwide, but no country intervened to forcefully stop the killings. Most of the victims were killed in their own villages or towns, many by their neighbours and fellow villagers. Hutu gangs searched out victims hiding in churches and school buildings. The militia murdered victims with machetes and rifles. Sexual violence was rife, with an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women raped during the genocide. The RPF quickly resumed the civil war once the genocide started and captured all government territory, ending the genocide and forcing the government and génocidaires into Zaire.
The genocide had lasting and profound effects. In 1996, the RPF-led Rwandan government launched an offensive into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), home to exiled leaders of the former Rwandan government and many Hutu refugees, starting the First Congo War and killing an estimated 200,000 people. Today, Rwanda has two public holidays to mourn the genocide, and “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” are criminal offences. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the real number killed is likely lower.
Background. The earliest inhabitants of what is now Rwanda were the Twa, a group of aboriginal pygmy hunter-gatherers who settled in the area between 8000 BC and 3000 BC and remain in Rwanda today. Between 700 BC and 1500 AD, several Bantu groups migrated into Rwanda and began to clear forest land for agriculture. Historians have several theories regarding the nature of the Bantu migrations.
The population coalesced, first into clans (ubwoko), and then, by 1700, into around eight kingdoms. The Kingdom of Rwanda, ruled by the Tutsi Nyiginya clan, became the dominant kingdom from the mid-eighteenth century, expanding through a process of conquest and assimilation, and achieving its greatest extent under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri in 1853–1895. He initiated administrative reforms which caused a rift to grow between the Hutu and Tutsi populations. These included uburetwa, a system of forced labour which Hutu had to perform to regain access to land seized from them, and ubuhake, under which Tutsi patrons ceded cattle to Hutu or Tutsi clients in exchange for economic and personal service. Although Hutu and Tutsi were often treated differently, they shared the same language and culture, the same clan names, and the same customs; the symbols of kingship served as a unifying bond between them.
Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi were assigned to Germany by the Berlin Conference of 1884, and Germany established a presence in the country in 1897 with the formation of an alliance with the king. The colonists favoured the Tutsi over the Hutu when assigning administrative roles, believing them to be migrants from Ethiopia and racially superior. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1917 during World War I, and from 1926 began a policy of more direct colonial rule. The Belgians modernized the Rwandan economy, but Tutsi supremacy remained, leaving the Hutu disenfranchised.
In the early 1930s, Belgium introduced a permanent division of the population by classifying Rwandans into three ethnic (ethno-racial) groups, with the Hutu representing about 84% of the population, the Tutsi about 15%, and the Twa about 1%. Compulsory identity cards were issued labelling (under the heading for “ethnicity and race”) each individual as either Tutsi, Hutu, Twa, or Naturalised. The identity cards prevented any further movement between the groups and made socio-economic groups into rigid ethnic groups.

Hutu–Tutsi relations after independence. After World War II, a Hutu emancipation movement began to grow in Rwanda, fuelled by increasing resentment of the inter-war social reforms, and also an increasing sympathy for the Hutu within the Catholic Church. The monarchy and prominent Tutsis sensed the growing influence of the Hutu and began to agitate for immediate independence on their own terms.
On 1 November 1959, a Hutu sub-chief was attacked by supporters of the pro-Tutsi party. Hutu activists responded by killing Tutsis, both the elite and ordinary civilians, marking the beginning of the Rwandan Revolution. The Hutu had full backing from the Belgian administration and in 1960 replaced most Tutsi chiefs with Hutu. The king was deposed, a Hutu-dominated republic was created, and the country became independent in 1962. Tutsis began leaving the country to escape the Hutu purges, settling in Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Zaire. These exiles were regarded as refugees in their host countries, and formed armed groups who launched attacks into Rwanda; these were largely unsuccessful and led to further reprisal killings of 10,000 Tutsis and further Tutsi exiles. By 1964, more than 300,000 Tutsis had fled and were forced to remain in exile for the next three decades.
At 408 inhabitants per square kilometre, Rwanda’s population density is among the highest in Africa. Rwanda’s population had increased from 1.6 million people in 1934 to 7.1 million in 1989, leading to competition for land.
In October 1990, Rwigyema led a force of over 4,000 rebels from Uganda, advancing 60 km (37 mi) into Rwanda under the banner of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwigyema was killed and Paul Kagame took command, rearmed and reorganized the army, and carried out fundraising and recruitment from the Tutsi diaspora.
Kagame restarted the war in January 1991, with a hit-and-run style guerrilla war, and in 1992, announced a ceasefire and began negotiations. In early 1993, several extremist Hutu groups formed and began campaigns of large-scale violence against the Tutsi. The RPF responded by suspending peace talks and launching a major attack, gaining a large swathe of land across the north of the country.
In the early years of Habyarimana’s regime, there was greater economic prosperity and reduced violence against Tutsis. Many hardline anti-Tutsi figures remained and the hardliners exploited the fear of the population to advance an anti-Tutsi agenda which became known as Hutu Power. Tutsi were increasingly viewed with suspicion. A pogrom in 1990 in a commune in Gisenyi Province, killed 383 Tutsi. A magazine called Kangura, published anti-Tutsi propaganda, including the Hutu Ten Commandments, an explicit set of racist guidelines, including labelling Hutus who married Tutsis as “traitors”.
The President’s entourage, including the army, launched propaganda campaigns to fabricate events of the ethnic crisis caused by the Tutsi and the RPF. Throughout 1992, the hardliners carried out campaigns of localized killings of Tutsi, culminating in January 1993, with the murder of 300 people.
In mid-1993, the Hutu Power movement and several radical youth militia groups emerged, which began actively carrying out massacres across the country.

Preparation for genocide. 
In 1990, the army began arming civilians with weapons such as machetes, and it began training the Hutu youth in combat, officially as a programme of “civil defence” against the RPF threat, Hutu Power leaders served to provide auxiliary slaughterhouse support to the police, the gendarmerie and the regular army with a membership of 50,000 on the eve of genocide. The Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) grew from less than 10,000 troops to almost 30,000 in one year.
In March 1993, Hutu Power began compiling lists of “traitors” whom they planned to kill, Radio broadcasts focused on anti-Tutsi propaganda. They characterized the Tutsi as a dangerous enemy who wanted to seize political power and classified the entire ethnic group as one homogeneous threat to Rwandans. It labelled the Tutsi as inyenzi, meaning non-human pests or cockroaches, which must be exterminated. 252 broadcasts called for Hutus to kill the Tutsis. By the time the violence began, the young Hutu population had absorbed months of racist propaganda.
In 1993, the hardliners imported machetes and other tools which could be used as weapons which were distributed around the country.
In October 1993, the President of Burundi, Melchior Ndadaye, who had been elected in June as the country’s first-ever Hutu president, was assassinated by extremist Tutsi army officers which sparked the Burundi Civil War between Burundi’s Hutu and Tutsi and the Burundi genocide, with 50,000 to 100,000 people killed in the first year of war.

Assassination of Habyarimana. On 6 April 1994, the airplane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, the Hutu president of Burundi, was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, killing everyone on board. An eight-year investigation by the French judge Jean-Louis Bruguière concluded that Paul Kagame had ordered the assassination. The attack and deaths of the two Hutu presidents served as the catalyst for the genocide.
On the evening of 6 April, extremists moved around the houses of Kigali with lists of prominent moderate politicians and journalists, on a mission to kill them. Genocidal killings began the following day. Soldiers, police, and militia quickly executed key Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders. Checkpoints and barricades were erected to screen all holders of the national ID card of Rwanda, which contained ethnic classifications. They also recruited and pressured Hutu civilians to arm themselves with machetes, clubs, blunt objects, and other weapons and encouraged them to rape, maim, and kill their Tutsi neighbours and to destroy or steal their property.
The RPF restarted its offensive soon after Habyarimana’s assassination. It rapidly seized control of the northern part of the country and captured Kigali about 100 days later in mid-July, bringing an end to the genocide. During these events and in the aftermath, the United Nations (UN) and countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Belgium were criticized for their inaction and failure to strengthen the force and mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) peacekeepers.
The Hutu population, which had been prepared and armed during the preceding months, and maintained the Rwandan tradition of obedience to authority, carried out the orders without question.

Death toll and timeline. During the remainder of April and early May, the Presidential Guard, gendarmerie and the youth militia, aided by local populations, continued killing at a very high rate with the goal was to kill every Tutsi living in Rwanda. In rural areas, where Tutsi and Hutu lived side by side and families knew each other, it was easy for Hutu to identify and target their Tutsi neighbours. In urban areas, where residents were more anonymous, identification was facilitated using roadblocks manned by military and interahamwe; each person passing the roadblock was required to show the national identity card, which included ethnicity, and any with Tutsi cards were killed immediately. Many Hutu were also killed for a variety of reasons, including alleged sympathy for the moderate opposition parties, being a journalist or simply having a “Tutsi appearance”.
Thousands of bodies were dumped into the Kagera River, which ran along the northern border between Rwanda and Uganda and flowed into Lake Victoria. This disposal of bodies caused significant damage to the Ugandan fishing industry, as consumers refused to buy fish caught in Lake Victoria for fear that they were tainted by decomposing corpses.
The genocide was effectively ended during April in areas of Ruhengeri, Byumba, Kibungo and Kigali prefectures. The killings ceased during April in the akazu heartlands of western Ruhengeri and Gisenyi, as almost every Tutsi had been eliminated. Large numbers of Hutu in the RPF-conquered areas fled, fearing retribution for the genocide; 500,000 Kibungo residents walked over the bridge at Rusumo Falls into Tanzania in a few days at the end of April. The RPF took Kigali on 4 July, and Gisenyi and the rest of the northwest on 18 July. The genocide was over, but the Hutu population fled en masse across the border, this time into Zaire,
The succeeding RPF government claims that 1,074,017 people were killed in the genocide, 94% of whom were Tutsi. In contrast, Human Rights Watch, following on-the-ground research, estimated the casualties at 507,000 people. Between 500,000 to 600,000 or two-thirds of the Tutsis in Rwanda at the time is the best estimate. Thousands of widows, many of whom were subjected to rape, became HIV-positive. There were about 400,000 orphans and nearly 85,000 of them were forced to become heads of families. An estimated 2,000,000 Rwandans, mostly Hutu, were displaced and became refugees. Additionally, 30% of the Pygmy Batwa were killed.

Means of killing. The militia typically murdered victims with machetes, although some army units used rifles. Those who refused to kill were often murdered on the spot: “Either you took part in the massacres or you have massacred yourself.”
Nyarubuye. On 12 April, more than 1,500 Tutsis sought refuge in a Catholic church in Nyange. Local Interahamwe used bulldozers to knock down the church building. The militia used machetes and rifles to kill every person who tried to escape.

Sexual violence. Rape was used as a tool by the Interahamwe, Along with the Hutu moderates, Hutu women who were married to or who hid Tutsis were also targeted. “Rape was the rule and its absence was the exception. It was systematic and was used as a weapon.” Many of the survivors became infected with HIV from the HIV-infected men recruited by the genocidaires. During the conflict, Hutu extremists released hundreds of patients suffering from AIDS from hospitals, and formed them into “rape squads”. The intent was to infect and cause a “slow, inexorable death” for their future Tutsi rape victims. Sexual mutilation sometimes occurred after the rape and included mutilation of the vagina with machetes, knives, sharpened sticks, boiling water, and acid. Some experts have estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the genocide.
The Twa, The pygmy people made up about 1% of Rwanda’s population and an estimated 10,000 of a population of 30,000 were nonetheless killed.
Rwandan Patriotic Front’s military campaign and victory. The RPF began an attack from the north on three fronts, seeking to link up quickly with the isolated troops in Kigali. It advanced steadily south encircling the cities to cut off supply routes. They allowed Tutsi refugees from Uganda to settle behind the front line in the RPF-controlled areas.
The government forces had superior manpower and weapons,  but Kagame was a “master of psychological warfare” and finally defeated the Rwandan government forces in Kigali on 4 July. The interim government fled into Zaire finally ending the genocide.

Killings by the Rwandan Patriotic Front. During the genocide and in the months following the RPF victory, RPF soldiers killed an estimated 30,000 people considered enemies of the Tutsi. The post-genocide regime maintains that killings by RPF soldiers were perpetrated by undisciplined recruits seeking revenge

Catholic Church. Catholic nuns Maria Kisito and Gertrude Mukangango were convicted in 2001 of involvement in the murders of 500 – 700 Tutsis who had sought refuge at their convent in Sovu. They had directed a death squad to the victims’ hiding place and had given them petrol with which to burn down the building. In 2006, Father Athanase Seromba was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the massacre of 2,000 Tutsis lured to the church, where they believed they would find refuge. When they arrived, he ordered that bulldozers should be used to crush the refugees who were hiding inside the church and if any of them were still alive, Hutu militias should kill them all.

Aftermath. Hutu refugees entered eastern Zaire (now the DRC) and regrouped in refugee camps along the border with Rwanda. The RPF-led government made military incursions into Zaire, resulting in the First (1996–97) and Second (1998–2003) Congo Wars. Armed struggles between the Rwandan government and their opponents in the DRC have continued through battles of proxy militias in the Goma region, including the M23 rebellion (2012–2013). Large Rwandan Hutu and Tutsi populations continue to live as refugees throughout the region.

Refugee crisis, insurgency, and two Congo Wars. Following the RPF victory, approximately two million Hutu fled to refugee camps in neighbouring countries, particularly Zaire, fearing RPF reprisals for the Rwandan genocide. The camps were crowded and squalid, and thousands of refugees died in disease epidemics, including cholera and dysentery.
By late 1996, Hutu militants from the camps were launching regular cross-border incursions, and the Rwandan government launched a counteroffensive, eventually killing 232,000 Hutu refugees

Justice system after the genocide. The RPF pursued a policy of mass arrests for those responsible and for those persons who took part in the genocide, jailing over 100,000 people in the two years after the genocide. The pace of arrest it overwhelmed the physical capacity of the Rwandan prison system,

Government institutions, including judicial courts, were destroyed, and many judges, prosecutors, and employees were murdered. Of Rwanda’s 750 judges, 506 were murdered and most of the survivors fled Rwanda. By 1997, Rwanda only had 50 lawyers in its judicial system. These barriers caused the trials to proceed very slowly: with 130,000 suspects held in Rwandan prisons after the genocide, 3,343 cases were handled between 1996 and the end of 2000. Of those defendants, 20% received death sentences, 32% received life in prison, and 20% were acquitted. It was calculated that it would take over 200 years to conduct the trials of the suspects in prison.
Censorship. The Constitution of Rwanda 2003 guarantees “the freedom of expression but in reality, the government has declared many forms of speech fall into the exceptions – any acknowledgment of the separate people causing a culture of self-censorship within the population. Both civilians and the press avoid anything that could be construed as critical of the government/military or promoting “divisionism”.
“Revisionism, negationism and trivialisation of genocide” are criminal offences. Amnesty International has criticized the Rwandan government for using these laws to “criminalize legitimate dissent and criticism of the government”.
Survivors. The number of Tutsi survivors has been debated – between 150,000 and 309,368

RWANDA – KIGALI, EAST, NORTH  (Kibungo, Ruhengeri)
Borders: Burundi-Rwanda, Congo Democratic Republic-Rwanda, Rwanda (lake), Rwanda-Tanzania, Rwanda-Uganda

Day 1 Thur Mar 23
I drove from Bujumbura, Burundi to Kigali using a share car (70,000BF). The border would have been seamless except for a fellow passenger who had all sorts of luggage that wasn’t allowed and delayed us for over an hour.
Visa on arrival and free.
The driver dropped me off at my hostel which was very nice.
ON Mamba Youth Hostel. Cheap at $10, I had a dorm room all to myself. Very good food but incredibly loud music that they refused to turn down. Many locals were playing pool and drinking. Met a nice guy (Kieran Burrows) from Australia cycling around E Africa.

Day 2 Fri Mar 24.
I caught a moto taxi to downtown Kigali – SIM at MTN (5000 for 7GB and 7 days), withdrew 100,000 RF, bought cigarettes and a pair of scissors, got 8 visa-size photos taken and started a walkabout in Kigali. Kigali is quite hilly, has great roads, no garbage and reasonable temperatures in March.

KIGALI is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation’s geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda’s economic, cultural, and transport hub since it became the capital following independence from Belgian rule in 1962.
In an area controlled by the Kingdom of Rwanda from the 17th century and then by the German Empire, the city was founded in 1907 when Richard Kandt, the colonial resident, chose the site for his headquarters, citing its central location, views and security. Foreign merchants began to trade in the city during the German era, and Kandt opened some government-run schools for Tutsi Rwandan students. Belgium took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, forming the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. Kigali remained the seat of colonial administration for Rwanda but Ruanda-Urundi’s capital was at Usumbura (now Bujumbura) in Burundi and Kigali remained a small city with a population of just 6,000 at the time of independence.
Kigali grew slowly during the following decades. It was not initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which began in 1990. However, in April 1994 Rwanda’s President Juvénal Habyarimana was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali. His death was followed by the Rwandan genocide, with Hutu extremists loyal to the interim government killing an estimated 500,000–800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu nationwide. The RPF resumed fighting, ending a cease-fire of more than a year. They gradually took control of most of the country and seized Kigali on 4 July 1994. Post-genocide Kigali has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the city rebuilt.
The largest contributor to Kigali’s gross domestic product is the service sector, but a significant proportion of the population works in agriculture including small-scale subsistence farming. Attracting international visitors is a priority for city authorities, including leisure tourism, conferences and exhibitions.
Airports: Kigali (KGL)
Kigali City Tower. A 20-story skyscraper in downtown Kigali. Has an oval shape with an all-glass exterior. The tallest building in Rwanda, it was built in 2011 by a Chinese construction company.
Sainte-Famille Church. Dated 1913 the exterior is brick with tiles on the front. I was able to enter by going through the gate to the left and found a caretaker who let me in. It is lovely inside – single nave, wood beam ceiling, decorative brickwork and an interesting Ways of the Cross (paintings).
St Michel’s Cathedral. Made of brick the plastic seats encircle the altar with 6 sections. Its W of the C are paintings using icon figures. 
Gorilla Statue. In the middle of a traffic circle in front of Kigali City Hall, it is a male and a female with a baby on her back.
Kandt House Museum of Natural History. In the NM series Natural History and Earth Museums series, it should be in the biographical house museum series. Richard Kandt was a German explorer who arrived in 1898 looking for the source of the Nile and wrote a book about his adventures. This house was built in 1902 when he was the German ambassador till 1907. He returned to Germany and was replaced by Max Wintagan in 1913 who also lived in the house. It is 80% original. It has a lovely high atrium and many exhibits – photos, and ethnographic pieces. Guided tour. 6000 RF + 2000 for the snake exhibit and to see the single crocodile.

I then hired a moto taxi and was lucky to get a young kid who spoke English. He drove me to the next 5 sites, several of them 6-7 km apart. I paid him 10,000 RF.
Kigali Genocide Memorial. Watch a good movie with horrendous photos and then cross a small square to the main building with an excellent history of the Tutsi/Hutu conflict dated from at least 1959 culminating in the genocide of 1994. Free
Ethnographic Museum. The usual household and agricultural exhibits, traditional dress. 1000 RF.
Inema Arts Centre. A small 2-story art gallery, it is mostly abstract, several of them nice. I especially like a gorilla made of transistors and electronics and a Jackson Pollock-like abstract. Free
Kimironko Market. Encircled by a high yellow wall, this is one of the more unique markets – larger outside shops against the wall and a warren of 3′ wide lanes between tiny shops selling primarily handicrafts (a great selection) – “looking one second” so I would look for one second and leave. Everyone had a great laugh at these tourist-starved vendors. Also mainly clothes, and electronics, and no food stalls.
Building the Nation Statue. Designed by Doha-based Iraqi contemporary artist and sculptor Ahmed Albahrani, it represents transparency and the vision of the Emir of Qatar towards fighting corruption and each part of the steel masterpiece was engineered in a way to represent every country of the world. “Every part of this hand is a nation of the world, fighting corruption that has destroyed thousands of people and many big countries.

The imposing steel hand, made out of strong metal bars artistically weaved together to form a big palm with all five fingers stretched out into the sky perfectly juxtaposed with the iconic KCC dome.
ON Mamba Youth Hostel. I spent at least 3 hours talking to 2 Dutch guys here for 4 months on an agricultural internship. Both had dyslexia and they were great to talk to. Another cheeseburger and fries for dinner.

Day 3 Sat March 25
Today just happened to be Community Day and with my luck, only happens one day per month. Nothing happens till 11 or 11:30, not even a moto-taxi. I spent the morning talking to the same German and Australian fellow I had been hanging around with. There was no water in the morning so I had a shower. 
I finally got a moto taxi to Kigali Car Rental and picked up a Toyota Rav ($40/day) for two days of driving around Rwanda.
Presidential Palace Museum (Rwanda Art Museum). With 127 artists and 250+ pieces of artwork, this gives a broad representation of Rwanda art. 10,000 RF
Umusambi Village. Grey Crowned Cranes are in captivity everywhere in hotels and gardens in Rwanda. With only an estimated 400 cranes remaining in the wild, they were rapidly heading toward extinction. Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association is trying to stop the illegal trade, raise awareness and return many of the captive cranes back to the wild.
Many cranes were disabled as a result of living in captivity as people cut feathers or wings to stop them from flying away and without expertise, it can go wrong. Others have been maltreated. Many are unable to be returned to the wild and Umusambi Village provides a permanent natural home. Cranes are no longer poached for the pet trade and crane population numbers continue to rise.

Rwamagana Parish Church is a Catholic church built in 1934. The church was designed and built by Peter Johannes Josephus van Heeswijk, a Dutch-born person with the Africa Mission whose goal was to spread Catholicism. It is a grand red brick building with a bell tower. The large interior is a single nave with lovely decorative brickwork and a wood beam ceiling.

With all the slow traffic, it was a long drive here and back through Kigali. From Kigali the highway climbed steadily to the top of a high ridge with great views down the steep slopes into deep valleys. Deforestation is extreme.

RUHENGERI (pop 47,000)
Musanze Caves. Drive 3.8 km off the highway to the Musanze Caves Hotel, a very nice-looking place. Walk through the hotel to the back gate and walk about 5 m to the entrance to the cave. To the right is forbidden, but to the left walk down some rough stone steps into the low-roofed rocky cave. There was no mention of admission or a tour.

SITES MEMORIAUX DU GENOCIDE: Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero et Gisozi Tentative WHS: (15/06/2012). Located respectively 35 km, 154 km, 161 km and 3 km from the city center of Kigali, Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero and Gisozi as a whole are memorial sites of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi between April and July 1994 in Rwanda. These sites cover a total area of ​​30,869 hectares.
In addition to the buildings in which the remains of victims and other material evidence of the genocide are displayed: spears, machetes, clubs, bladed weapons and photos of certain victims, the sites are also full of several tombs in which the bodies of victims killed on the spot are buried.
Nyamata: formerly a Catholic church built in 1980, this building was reduced to a slaughterhouse where more than forty-five thousand people who had sought refuge there were all massacred in one day. After negotiations, the Catholic Church and the Rwandan government transformed it into a memorial representative of other churches in which the victims of the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi died. The site is composed in particular of the chapel itself in which are exposed the clothes worn by the victims, the tools used by the genocidaires: machetes, spears, knives as well as the rosaries worn by the innocent faithful of the said chapel. The cellar is transformed into a large exhibition of human remains preserved in glass.
Inside the church you can see: two common graves, two tombstones on which are transcribed some names of victims who are buried there, and the tomb of Tonia Locatelli, an Italian girl who came to Rwanda in 1970 for charitable works in Nyamata. She was killed on March 9, 1992, when she was trying to save the Tutsi who had sought refuge in her home.
Murambi: built in 1990 to become a technical school complex, Murambi was where between 45 and 50 thousand people living on the hill and its surroundings, gathered there under the pretext of guaranteeing their safety, were horribly massacred.
Exhibits include human remains and objects used by the genocidaires, as well as some elements of identification of the victims. The eight tombs in which the victims of Murambi are duly buried are an integral part of the site.
Bisesero: built in 1998 to preserve the history, resistance and refusal to the massacres committed against them. The site is a 32% steep hill covered with a forest with three houses and stairs 285.71 m high and the seven tombs of fifty thousand victims
Gisozi: built in 1999 is the largest site in the country with three hundred thousand victims found strewn in the streets of Kigali and its surroundings, abandoned in their homes, thrown dead or alive in mass graves, thrown into rivers and thrown back to the banks of these by the waters once dead.
Exhibits start with a good video and then the main museum complex. Shows the general history of Rwanda, from its formation in the 11th century to the genocide in 1994. of the exhibition describes the testimonies of the planning and execution of the genocide. 14 common graves have 300,000 people buried and a large wall of memory with 2,000 names.

GENOCIDE MEMORIALS BEYOND KIGALI (Murambi, Nyamata)
Nyamata Genocide Memorial Nyamata, 40 minutes south of Kigal. On a newly paved road, the memorial is in a church where over 10,000 people were killed during the 1994 genocide. Visitors take a short tour and see the evidence of the genocide that remains there today – victims’ clothing piled on benches, the roof pockmarked with bullet holes, and the open crypts behind the church that hold the remains of over 40,000 people from the area. An extremely moving look into one of the places where the genocide was carried out.
Ntarama Genocide Memorial, just 20 minutes away from the Nyamata memorial, is also worth visiting. Like the Nyamata memorial, this site was a church before the genocide and was nationalized to serve as a memorial after thousands of people were killed within its walls. The church itself is different than Nyamata, with victims’ clothing eerily displayed from the rafters of the church as a grim reminder of what happened there. Visitors can see large chunks of the outer wall missing, where grenades were used to force entry.
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RWANDA – SOUTH, WEST PROVINCES (Butare, Gisenyi)
Borders: Burundi-Rwanda, Congo Democratic Republic-Rwanda, Rwanda (lake)

Pfunda Plantation. In the NM House and Biographical Museums, offer tours of the tea-making process. 2000RF
GISENYL
After arriving in Gisenyl, I went to Gisenyl Villa without a reservation but they were sold out. Two nice guys then took be another hotel, that turned out to be in a church compound with rooms usually only for priests. I bargained the price down from 25,000 RF to 15,000. It was a lovely room, clean and quiet. 
I ate at Managa Restaurant nearby and for once made a bad choice of a pizza. 

Day 4 Sun Mar 26
I had an early start to drive south along Lake Kivu and see the NM sites along the way. After climbing up from Gisenyl and the north lake shore, the road follows a long ridge high above the lake with intermittent views down to the lake and all its islands.
There were many tea plantations and the nicest landscapes in Rwanda – rows of compact bushes separated by concentric paths and rising to the top of the mountains. 
Lake Kivu in Western Rwanda – a large lake bordering the DRC, it’s a nice place to relax
Museum of the Environment, Kibuye. An extremely well-organized museum starting with the solar system, the Earth and finally Rwanda – geology, deforestation, and climate change. Has a botanical garden on the top. 5000 RF
Gishwati Forest NP. Rwanda’s fourth national park, Gishwati Mukura is made up of two separate forests – the larger Gishwati and small Mukura, forming a total of 34 square kilometres plus a buffer zone. The forests sit on the ridge which divides the Congo and Nile water catchment areas, along the incredibly biodiverse Albertine Rift in the west of the country. It is made up of 60 species of tree, including indigenous hardwoods and bamboo.
Gishwati is home to a group of 20 chimpanzees which live alongside golden monkeys, L’Hoest’s and Blue Monkeys. Birds – 232 species have been seen at Gishwati and 163 at Mukura, among them Albertine Rift Endemic species and forest specialists.
Activities in the park started in 2019 and include a guided nature hike, guided chimp and monkey tracking, bird watching and a visit to the waterfalls.

Every town you pass through has a genocide memorial, but I could never find any except for the main ones listed above.
Environmental Museum. Kibure. Starts with the solar system, the Earth and finally Rwanda with well-designed exhibits.
One&Only Nyungwe House. In the NM Well-being: Eco-Experience:

Day 5 Mon Mar 27
This was a big travel day. I had looked at flights to Kampala but they were not convenient and almost $300, so had decided to take the bus for 20,000 with a similar arrival time. It is always better to bus to see the countryside and the people. 
It was extremely frustrating dealing with computer problems. It has become increasingly difficult to share my phone hotspot. For a while restarting my computer helped but that morning it was impossible. I eventually figured out how to restart my phone (need to push both the power button plus the volume!!) and that worked!!
I took a moto taxi to the Nyabugogo bus terminal. The driver had no change so finally accepted 500 BF for the long ride. Trinity Bus lines didn’t take credit cards (I had carefully planned to have virtually no money today) and the three banks I went to could not provide cash. I finally changed US$20 for the 20,000 RF fare at a Forex. There were difficulties buying cigarettes and finding a toilet.
The bus left at 9 am for the 9-hour ride. It passed through Byumba, a different road than I had taken. It followed a wide valley full of tea plantations and gardens on the bottoms and extending up the low hills. 

Get Around 
Short distances can be travelled either on foot or by taxi-velo (bicycle taxi). Taxi-velos are widespread and are relatively inexpensive but not allowed in urban areas.
Motorcycle taxis (taxi-moto) are also popular, especially in Kigali, a normal journey will cost up to $2.
Taxis are less common and are best found at taxi stations, by waiting at the taxi sign at bus stops, or by calling them.
Matatu (or Twegerane, literally let’s get closer). White minibuses crammed full of adults, children, and anything else you can think of (bags, chickens).

Talk. Kinyarwanda is the chief spoken language in Rwanda. It is also spoken in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the south of Uganda (Bufumbira-area). English and French are also official languages,
Food. The local “Brochettes” (goat kebabs) are delicious and are available in most bars and restaurants. Many restaurants also serve grilled fish and chicken, and frites and frites-banane (fried plantain) are ubiquitous. In urban areas, a local buffet known as “Melange” is sold at lunchtime. This consists of a buffet of mostly carbohydrates such as potatoes, bananas, beans, rice, and cassava accompanied by some vegetables and a small amount of meat or fish with sauce. Note that Rwandan buffets are not all you can eat! You may fill your plate only once. Prices run up to USD$10. Most of the buffets offer a salad buffet too. Kigali – Indian and Chinese, Italian, Greek, French.
Accommodation is usually fairly basic and significantly more expensive than neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania. Very basic accommodation will cost just under $10; these are usually hostels. Some inexpensive hotels offer rates up to $30. There are a significant number of hotels over $30.
The Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel is located in Kacyiru, a couple of miles from Kigali’s main attractions but well served by motorcycle taxis, taxis and buses.
Kibuye. There is a fairly inexpensive hotel called Home Saint Jean (phone number: 0252 568 526) in Kibuye. They have dorms and private rooms.
Safety. Tourists are usually welcomed warmly in Rwanda, and the country is largely considered safe for visitors. Exceptions are certain places along borders of the DRC and Burundi. Rwandan troops or a militia may be involved in the civil war that still plagues the northeast of DRC, mainly due to the presence of Inherahamwe in Kinyarwanda/AKA ‘Interahamwe’ (Hutu paramilitary).
Health. Schistosomiasis may be acquired by swimming, wading, rafting, or bathing in contaminated fresh water. Swimming and bathing precautions are advised (see below). Other infections include African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness transmitted via the tsetse fly). Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis,a tropical disease. Infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes). Onchocerciasis (Onchocerciasis is often called “river blindness” because it is found often in fertile river deltas and causes blindness. The blackfly is the carrier).

Respect. Rwanda is a fairly conservative society; most people dress modestly, especially women. Wearing shorts or tight skirts and skimpy tops is likely to get you stared at twice as much as normal.
Greetings are extremely important in Rwanda. It is impolite not to return a greeting or to start a conversation without a proper greeting. Younger persons must greet older persons first. When being introduced for the first time or when greeting a professional colleague, Rwandans shake right hands and may place the left hand under the right forearm as a sign of respect. Some young urbanites “kiss the air” near each cheek while shaking hands.