Kigali is the largest city in Rwanda the heart of Africa and it is renowned for its great history and unique tourist attractions ranging from genocide museums, monuments, local markets, mount Kigali and many other important sites that offer extraordinary experiences to visitors that get to this wonderful city. Kigali is the capital of Rwanda and therefore offers access to various other parts of the country.
History of Kigali city.
Kigali was a mere Trade Center in the period after 1895 during the German colonial administration and it subsequently became a regional center under the Belgian rule that was on from 1919 up to 1962. With several developments, the town was graduated to the capital of Rwanda upon receiving independence in 1962. The city was founded by Richard Kandt officially in 1907 up at Nyarugenge hill.
There were several killings in 1994 that saw over 1,000 lives of the Tutsi lost. The Tutsi were being butchered by their Hutu brothers with whom they were fighting for power.
Kigali was nicknamed the city of order and has been famous over the years generally for its cleanliness and neatness as a gateway for visitors going to various destinations within Rwanda and the nearby countries. Kigali has various attractions indeed, as explained here;
Genocide museums:
It is important to remember that Kigali underwent a terrible genocide that saw the loss of over a thousand lives and it is upon that incident that memorial places were established in Rwanda to commemorate and pray for the lost souls and at the same time inspire the coming generations not to engage in such fights.
Memorial places were set up for remembrance and have over 250000 victims of genocide buried in them and their souls are prayed for occasionally. It is important to note that there is no entrance fee to these museums and donations are welcomed to help improve the structures on the day-to-day running of the museums.
There are over six major memorial sites in Rwanda for this incident and they include; the Kigali genocide memorial, Campaign against genocide museum, Ntarama genocide memorial, Rwanda Art Museum, Kandt House Museum, Nyamata church museum, Ethnographic Museum and Murambi genocide museum. City tours to these places are quite educational, entertaining and artistic for history lovers.
Monuments:
Kigali city is also made up of attractive monuments with every monument having an interesting story behind it or a sign it shows to the public for peaceful living in society. These monuments include; The open palm anti-corruption sculpture that reminds the citizens and visitors not to be tolerant of corruption in the country and to report all cases to the authorities.
Gorilla statue which is a sign to visitors that the Rwandan land is inhabited by gorillas and they should be checked out by tourists, Kigali view point – allows a 360 degrees view of the whole of Kigali which is good for photography and videography, Nyanza genocide memorial – a monument that commemorates the tragic events of 1994 and thus calls for unity to make sure Rwanda doesn’t experience such in the future.
Murde de Kigali which is a popular tourist attraction and is famous for its biking adventures that are so exhilarating and engaging.
Local markets.
It is quite important to note that Kigali is made up of various local markets that deal in local foodstuff and other art pieces that visitors often find worth their money and buy as souvenirs. These local markets include; Kimironko Market, Nyabugogo Marche Market, Kigali City Market and many others. Visitors buy vegetables and other food items from here which encompass green pepper, celery, mint, amaranth green – imbwija, lettuce and another healthy foodstuff.
Mount Kigali
This is the magnificent hill from where the city gets its name and it is located in the West of the city center in Nyarugenge. This ambient hill offers 360 views of Kigali that are breathtaking and visitors find them quite therapeutic and worth the effort.
Activities done in Kigali City.
The bustling city provides opportunities for various touristic activities that visitors to the city often find engaging and entertaining. Such activities include hiking the spectacular hills that provide nice views for videography and photography, city walks to the famous city tourist destinations, especially the genocide monuments, Bk arena which is famous for extraordinary sports, especially basketball and volleyball matches and many others.
Shopping is yet another exciting activity that visitors to Kigali city often find themselves engaged in. Visitors can go to shopping malls around the city and get themselves beautiful clothes, bags and other artistic apparel, electronics and many other things to use in their daily lives. Shopping malls in Kigali include; Kigali City Mall, Kigali Heights, M Peace Plaza, and MIC shopping malls name them.
