Rwanda: Historical, Political & Cultural Tour

Itinerary

Day 1: The History of Rwanda from Pre-colonial times to the Genocide against Tutsi

Stop At: Kigali Genocide Memorial, KG 14 Ave, Kigali Rwanda
We first visit the Kigali genocide memorial; the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. We then proceed to Kigali business district and stop by Hotel Rwanda, the Belgian UN peacekeepers memorial; the Natural History Museum (Kandt House) which offers insight into historical Rwanda, from pre-colonial time to independence.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Camp Kigali Memorial, Rue de l'Hospital, Kigali Rwanda
This is the site where where 10 Belgian UN peacekeepers were murdered on the first day of the genocide. Originally deployed to protect the home of moderate Prime Agata Uwilingiyimana, the soldiers were captured, disarmed and brought here by the Presidential Guard before being killed.
Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Kandt House Museum, 90 St Kn, Kigali Rwanda
The museum has exhibits on Rwanda’s natural wonders and is housed in the 1907 residence of German explorer Richard Kandt, reputed to be the first building in Kigali.
Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Gisimba Memorial Centre, Avenue du Mont Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda
Gisimba Memorial Centre is the oldest and best-known orphanage in Rwanda and currently serves as an after-school centre for disadvantaged children in Kigali. In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Damas and Jean-Francois Gisimba (the founder's sons) along with American aide worker Carl Wilkens (The only American who stayed in Rwanda during the genocide) help hide and save 400 children, and even more adults, within the orphanage from the Interahamwe, or Hutu militia.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Campaign Against Genocide Museum, KN 5 Rd Next to Kigali Convention Center in Rwanda Parliament building, Kigali Rwanda
This Museum depicts in details how the Campaign Against Genocide plan was executed by RPA army led by current President Paul Kagame following withdrawal of UN troops leaving the targeted Tutsi under mercy of the Hutu genocidaires.
Duration: 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Lunch: We take a lunch break at Yambi House and get a taste of Rwandan cuisine.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 2: Life & Culture in ancient Rwanda.

Stop At: National Museum of Rwanda, RN1/Road to Nyanza The museum actually is situated in the town of Nyanza, Butare Rwanda
We first visit Nyanza, the ancient royal city of the Kingdom of Rwanda which hosts the traditional King's palace and the Inyambo (Ankole) cows with the big horns. This is an opportunity to understand the formation of the Kingdom of Rwanda and its expansion from the 15th century until the colonial era under Germany and Belgium.

We then proceed to the National Ethnographic museum which is probably the best in the region showcasing the ancient lifestyle covering agriculture, hunting, animal husbandry, weaving, pottery, woodwork and architecture.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Murambi Genocide Memorial Center, Butare Rwanda
Murambi was the site of one of the most unforgettable horrors of the 1994 genocide. Refugees flocked to Murambi, the location of a half-built technical college, after being told that they would be safe there. It was merely a ploy though and on 21 April the army and Hutu Interahamwe militia moved in and 40,000 people were murdered here.
Duration: 1 hour

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

Day 3: The Peace Building & Reconstruction Process: Understand Post-genocide Rwanda

Stop At: Ntarama Church, Kigali Rwanda
The Ntarama church was converted into a genocide memorial on the 14th April 1995 and was dedicated to over 5000 people who lost their lives in this place. Ntarama which is one of the six national Genocide memorial sites contains human clothing’s, remains and artefacts which belong to those who were killed at the church, these items have remained at display all times.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Nyamata Church, Kigali Rwanda
Nyamata Genocide Memorial SiteThis site is a church where around 2,500 people were killed and it has become emblematic of the barbaric treatment of women during the genocide. In the church at Nyamata, there will be graphic and audio-visual displays that will focus particularly on the mass rape, brutalisation of women and the use of HIV as a deliberate weapon of genocide.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Bugesera Community Center, Bugesera, Rwanda
The Bugesera Reconciliation Village is where perpetrators and victims, murderers and survivors, Hutus and Tutsis, are neighbors. Neighbors murdered their neighbors twenty years ago-a mass murder that destroyed Rwandan society in the Rwandan Genocide that refers to the 1994 mass slaughter in Rwanda of the ethnic Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu people. The killings began in early April of 1994 and continued for approximately one hundred days until the Hutu Power movement’s defeat in mid-July. Take a visit to the reconciliation village’s true history – a traditional history full of genocide massacres, sufferings, crime and scandal, and today’s life.
Duration: 1 hour

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