4 Days Community and Cultural Based Tourism in Rwanda

Itinerary

Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Nyamata and Ntarama Chuch Memorial

Stop At: Kigali Genocide Memorial, KG 14 Ave, Kigali Rwanda
Kigali city tour involving Genocide Sites. Also visit Richard Kandt House and Camp Kigali Memorial and head to Bugesera for Nyamata and Ntarama Genocide Memorial. Overnight in Kigali.

Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight t your hotel in Kigali

Day 2: A visit of local farmer in Rulindo

Stop At: Rulindo District Office, Rulindo, Rwanda
A visit of local farmer in Rusiga Sector, Rulindo districts involves visiting the farm and cooking experience and meeting local leaders. Afterwards, head tp Musanze with Stopover at Kirenge Cultural Village and to Nyirangarama.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Musanze

Day 3: Gorilla Trekking Experience

Stop At: Volcanoes National Park, Musanze Kinigi, Ruhengeri Rwanda
A visit to one of the last remaining mountain gorilla families in the world is a once in a lifetime experience. Check up at the Volcanoes National Park at 7:00 and get briefed as well as get guide and rangers to be with you. Afterwards go to the visit of Ibyiwacu Cultural Village.
Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 4: Buhanga Eco Park Experience

Stop At: Volcanoes National Park, Musanze Kinigi, Ruhengeri Rwanda
Buhanga Eco-Park has been a sacred forest where the Rwandese Kings performed initiation ceremonies; today it is a testimonial to past societies that conducted such rituals. There is an opportunity here to go on a trail walk through the park and see where these rituals took place.

When you reach one of the ritual sites in the park, you are confronted with a small ditch that is surrounded by a flowery thicket and small lava stones. This is where the kings’ assistants, the Abiru, pick some herbs and add to spring water to make a ritual bath for the king’s coronation.

A few meters away, there ia a pile of large boulders, at the entrance of a dark cave. This is where the king is wheeled into on a royal carriage, called the Ingobyi. The king comes here straight from his palace in Nyanza for a fortune-bestowing bath of the spring water and herbs. The bath is called the Kwihagira. After bathing, the king is smeared with regal oil and then carried to the conference podium, which is made of hard well-cut lava rocks.

here are stairs on the sides of this spot which are covered with a greenish mold. Here the King received his instruments of power, some blessings and protection from the gods. Immediately afterwards, he is officially hailed as Umwami, the King of Rwanda.

This ceremony was traditionally presided over by the clan heads, the king’s advisory council, many of the elders of the tribe and the royal sorcerers.

The ancient beliefs were that this ceremony not only ensured immunity of his kingdom from external aggression, but also made invasions of other territories by the Kingdom a success.

The next spot to see is the three-in-one tree; where 3 different trees had grown intertwined with one another. This tree is known as, Inyabutatu ya Banyarwanda; representing unity and harmony of the 3 different Rwandan ethnic groups who served under one King. At night, one gets a mysterious view of the trees; three of these trees that are particularly special are called, Igihondondo, Umusando and Ibigabiro. A particularly outstanding tree is the Umuvumu, referred to as the Curse; where in 1977, 3- people cut it down and carried it off for firewood. The next morning, each of these 30 men were killed in mysterious ways.

Walking downhill from this spot, one arrives at a small spring of dark and cold water. This is where the King’s bathwater was collected. In 1988, it is rumored that a local chief ordered the spring dredged. Before darkness, the dredged spring had replenished and it overflowed with water again. Many huge snakes shifted to the chief’s house and stayed for 7 days. On the 8th day, the chief and his family perished. This spring is particularly interested as it overflows in the dry season and is dry during the rainy season.
Duration: 3 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
No accommodation included on this day.