Things to do in Kigali
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kigali
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Long dry season, best overall for trekking, Akagera game viewing and clear hills.
Short dry season, a superb alternative with excellent trekking and lake weather.
Long rains, worst for trekking and day trips. April is wettest and carries Kwibuka.
Short rains, showery and lush with fewer visitors. Fine for Kigali and culture.
What's on
- Kwita Izina usually September
Gorilla naming ceremony at Kinigi with Kigali events around it. Book earliest of all.
- KigaliUp! Festival usually July
The city's biggest music festival, with African headliners and Rwandan acts.
- Tour du Rwanda February
Africa's premier cycling race finishing in Kigali, with roadside crowds and city stages.
- Kwibuka from 7 April
National genocide commemoration lasting 100 days. A solemn period to respect, not a festival.
- Kigali International Peace Marathon May to June, varies by year
Full marathon, half marathon and a 10k run for peace through closed city roads.
Best things to do in Kigali
Kigali Genocide Memorial
Rwanda's national memorial and the essential first stop for understanding the country and its recovery.
Nyamirambo Women's Center
Women-led walking tour through Kigali's oldest neighbourhood, ending with a traditional lunch at the centre.
Inema Arts Center
The heart of Kigali's art scene, with big contemporary work, artists on site and a small cafe.
Niyo Art Gallery
A warm house-gallery where artists often walk you through work linked to a cultural centre for children.
Kimironko Market
Kigali's biggest market, best for kitenge fabric and tailors who can make a piece in a day or two.
Question Coffee
Women-farmer-centred cafe pouring excellent single-origin Rwandan coffee at a very low price.
Question Coffee Specialty Coffee Masterclass
A two-hour masterclass and farm experience tracing Rwandan coffee from growing and washing to cupping.
Campaign Against Genocide Museum
At Parliament, it tells how the genocide was stopped, with bullet marks still on the building.
Where to stay in Kigali
Kiyovu
first trip, all-round base
Leafy historic heart with the best boutique hotels and a short ride to everything.
Kimihurura / Kacyiru
eating, nightlife and conferences
Embassy hills by the Convention Centre with the densest cluster of good restaurants and bars.
Nyarutarama
calm, golf and longer stays
The wealthiest residential hill around the lake and golf course, quiet with pretty morning walks.
Remera / Kisementi
value and short stopovers
Local bar and restaurant energy near Amahoro Stadium, ten minutes from the airport.
Nyamirambo
backpackers and repeat visitors
Inside Kigali's liveliest neighbourhood, with milk bars and street food on the doorstep.
Think twice about
- CBD / downtown core
Fine by day but it empties after business hours and its big hotels are the least characterful base.
- Far-out residential sprawl
Outer Kicukiro, Kanombe beyond the Palace Museum and the Gikondo fringe leave nothing to walk to.
- Main airport highway in Remera
Rooms facing the busy KN 5 corridor are noisy from early morning. Pick a back-facing room instead.
Best restaurants in Kigali
Repub Lounge
Modern Rwandan cooking on a two-storey terrace, with brochettes, tilapia and live music.
Heaven Restaurant
The restaurant that started Kigali's food revolution, an unhurried garden terrace in Kiyovu.
Fusion Restaurant
The Retreat's splurge restaurant, with tasting-menu ambition in the same garden spirit as Heaven.
Poivre Noir
Belgian-run fine dining above the golf hills, with French technique and a terrace made for anniversaries.
Khana Khazana
The city's best Indian by acclamation, garden-set with tandoor, biryanis and deep vegetarian choice.
The Hut
A leafy crowd-pleaser behind Kigali Heights that works for brunch, family dinner and date night alike.
New Cactus
Pizza, pastas and brochettes on a Kiyovu hilltop with one of the great sunset terraces in the city.
Sole Luna
Authentic Italian in a garden setting, with lasagne and pizzas that fill the room with local families.
Outdoor things to do in Kigali
Kigali Golf Resort & Villas
The country's only championship golf course, a Gary Player design wrapped around Nyarutarama Lake.
Fazenda Sengha
Hilltop park on Mount Kigali for horse riding, zipline and quad bikes above the city's best panorama.
Nyandungu Eco-Park
A restored 121-hectare wetland inside the city, with boardwalks, ponds, bikes and over 100 bird species.
Cycling Kigali
Guided e-bike tours string together viewpoints, coffee and neighbourhoods without fighting the hills unaided.
Lake Nyarutarama
The flat loop where Kigali runs at dawn, with herons on the water and coffee afterwards nearby.
Akagera National Park
Rwanda's only savannah park, a Big Five comeback story with game drives and boat safaris on Lake Ihema.
Volcanoes National Park
Mountain gorilla trekking in the Virungas, with one hour with a habituated family once they are found.
Golden Monkey Trekking
A playful, photogenic and easier primate trek in Volcanoes National Park, cheaper than the gorillas.
Best hotels in Kigali
Hemingways Retreat Kigali
Eleven rooms with a saltwater pool and spa in quiet Kiyovu, the city's boutique luxury standard.
Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali
The best big-hotel stay, attached to the Convention Centre dome with pools, restaurants and late bars.
Kigali Serena Hotel
A resort-like grande dame with a big pool in mature gardens and calm, confident service.
Heaven Boutique Hotel
The Retreat's warmer, cheaper sibling, art-filled with Heaven Restaurant in the same garden.
Hotel des Mille Collines
The Hotel Rwanda hotel, comfortable with lovely gardens and a famous Sunday brunch, heavy with history.
Park Inn by Radisson Kigali
A bright, modern and reliably run international mid-range hotel with a good pool deck and bar.
Five to Five Hotel
Airport-side value champion with big rooms and good breakfasts, ideal for a pre or post flight night.
Mamba Hostel
The social backpacker base, with dorms and privates around a pool and bar and famous trivia nights.
Is Kigali expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | RWF 60,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | RWF 200,000 a person |
| Splurge | RWF 500,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Nyamirambo Women's Center: a few days ahead
- Question Coffee Specialty Coffee Masterclass: a few days ahead
- Talking Through Art: a few days ahead
- Kigali Golf Resort & Villas: a few days ahead
- Akagera National Park: a few days ahead
- Volcanoes National Park: months ahead
- Hemingways Retreat Kigali: weeks ahead
- Repub Lounge: a few days ahead
- Gorilla permits sell out 3 to 12 months ahead for June to September and Christmas.
- Book The Retreat, Heaven and Poivre Noir days to weeks ahead for weekends.
- Book the Nyamirambo Women's Center tour direct, a day or two ahead at minimum.
- Book Akagera safaris a few days ahead in high season and the Question Coffee farm experience ahead.
Is Kigali safe?
- Kigali is one of Africa's safest capitals, with low violent crime and lit, policed streets.
- Keep phones tucked in the densest market lanes and bus stations against petty pickpocketing.
- Wear the moto helmet, use Yego riders and do not ride in heavy rain.
- Rwanda enforces littering, smoking and traffic rules with real fines, including speed cameras.
Kigali travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Plastic bags are banned nationwide and bags in luggage may be confiscated at the airport.
- On the last Saturday each month, Umuganda closes the country from 08:00 to 11:00.
- Never photograph military, police, government installations or restricted airport areas, and ask people first.
- Skip driving-past city tours and restaurants leading with an expensive African buffet for tourists.
Getting around Kigali: public transport and more
- Motos are ubiquitous and cheap, with a passenger helmet provided by law. Use Yego for cars and motos.
- A private car and driver for a full city day runs roughly 60 to 120 US dollars.
- Walk within neighbourhoods, including after dark in Kiyovu and Kimihurura, but ride between districts.
- The airport is 20 to 30 minutes from Kiyovu and Kimihurura. Agree the fare or use Yego on arrival.
Who Kigali suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Kigali your trip
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