The memorial is where more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi are buried. It is not a sight to tick off; it is a couple of hours that will change how you understand everything else you see in Rwanda. Most visitors go on their first morning, before heading for the gorillas.
Every one of these is something we run here, not a stock list.
We do not have a scheduled itinerary for Kigali Genocide Memorial on the site right now, which does not mean we cannot take you. We build private trips to order across Rwanda — tell us your dates and we will put a route and a price together.
Plan a trip to Kigali Genocide MemorialThe Kigali Genocide Memorial includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. There is also a children’s memorial and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The education center, gardens, and Genocide Archive of Rwanda contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished and provide a powerful educational experience for visitors.
Most safaris here combine two or three of these.
Five volcanoes on the Rwandan side of the Virungas, and the forest Dian Fossey worked in for eighteen years. Gorilla trekking here is shorter and better organised than almost anywhere — Kigali is two and a half hours away by road, which means you can land, trek and fly home inside three days.
One of the oldest rainforests in Africa, and a canopy walkway a hundred metres above the forest floor to see it from. Thirteen primate species live here, including chimpanzees and troops of several hundred Angolan colobus — the largest arboreal primate groups anywhere.
Rwanda's only savannah park, on the Tanzanian border, and the story of its recovery is the reason to go. Lion were reintroduced in 2015 and rhino in 2017, so Akagera is a Big Five park again after decades without. Lakes and papyrus swamps make up a third of it, so boat trips sit alongside game drives.
Kigali surprises people: clean, green, laid out over a dozen hills and genuinely safe to walk at night. It is where every Rwandan trip starts and ends, and it is worth a day rather than a transfer — markets, a serious coffee scene, art co-operatives and some of the best restaurants in the region.
Tell us roughly when you can travel and how long you have. We will tell you honestly whether Kigali Genocide Memorial is the right call for those dates — and what it costs.
