Things to do in Rwanda

18 places worth the trip in Rwanda, grouped by what they are. Every guide explains what to see, the best time to go and the practical details, checked against official sources. Best time to visit Rwanda: Jun–Sep, Dec–Feb.

National parks (4)
Heritage (3)
Museums (3)
Cities (2)
Nature (2)
Adventure (2)
Markets (1)
Mountains (1)

National parks in Rwanda

Mountain gorilla resting among bamboo leaves and chewing a stem in Rwanda

Kinigi, Musanze District, Northern Province

Volcanoes National Park

Rwanda's home of the mountain gorilla, protecting the forested slopes of five Virunga volcanoes. Treks start from the park headquarters at Kinigi, with golden monkeys, crater hikes and Dian Fossey's grave as further highlights.

Paved road curving through dense green rainforest in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

Nyamasheke, Western Province

Nyungwe National Park

A vast montane rainforest on the Congo-Nile divide, inscribed as Rwanda's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023, with chimpanzee tracking, colobus monkeys, waterfalls and a walkway above the treetops.

Group of zebras standing in golden savannah grass with green hills behind in Akagera National Park

Kayonza District, Eastern Province

Akagera National Park

A savannah, lake and wetland park on Rwanda's eastern border, jointly managed by RDB and African Parks since 2010. Lions and rhinos have returned, making it the country's only Big Five destination.

Tea plantations below misty forested hills of Gishwati, Rwanda

Rutsiro District, Western Province

Gishwati-Mukura National Park

Two small forests, Gishwati and Mukura, on the ridge dividing the Congo and Nile catchments, given national park status in 2015 and now recovering, with chimpanzees, golden monkeys and over 200 bird species.

Heritage in Rwanda

Entrance sign of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Gisozi

Gisozi, Gasabo District, Kigali

Kigali Genocide Memorial

The national place of remembrance on Gisozi hill, where more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest. Exhibitions, gardens and survivor-led guiding help visitors understand what happened and why it must never recur.

Reconstructed royal thatched palace at the King's Palace Museum, Nyanza

Nyanza, Southern Province

King's Palace Museum (Rukari)

On Rukari hill above Nyanza, the former royal capital, visitors can step inside a beehive-shaped thatched royal residence, tour King Mutara III Rudahigwa's 1931 palace and meet the long-horned Inyambo cattle.

Intore dancers in traditional dress performing at Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village near Volcanoes National Park

Kinigi, Musanze District, Northern Province

Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village (Gorilla Guardians Village)

A community-run cultural village on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, started in 2006 with former poachers. Visitors watch dance and drumming, try village skills and see a reconstructed royal hall.

Museums in Rwanda

Colourful mural-covered façade of Inema Arts Center, Kigali

Kacyiru, Gasabo District, Kigali

Inema Arts Center

An artist-founded gallery and community art centre in Kacyiru, showing bold contemporary Rwandan painting and sculpture, with resident artists, classes and a garden café.

Rwanda's Parliament building in Kimihurura, Kigali, home of the Campaign Against Genocide Museum

Gishushu, Kimihurura, Gasabo District, Kigali

Campaign Against Genocide Museum

A national museum inside the Parliament buildings that tells the story of the 600 soldiers stationed here in 1994 and of the campaign that ended the Genocide against the Tutsi, with indoor exhibits and outdoor monuments.

Ethnographic Museum buildings and lawns in Huye, Rwanda

Huye, Southern Province

Ethnographic Museum, Huye

Opened in 1989 in the university town of Huye, this museum holds more than 10,000 artefacts across seven galleries that bring Rwanda's pre-colonial way of life, crafts and beliefs vividly to life.

Cities in Rwanda

Orange-tiled rooftops of Nyamirambo with green trees and Kigali's hills stretching to the horizon

Nyamirambo, Nyarugenge District, Kigali

Nyamirambo and the Green Mosque

Kigali's most colourful neighbourhood and its historic Muslim quarter, centred on the green-and-white Al-Fatah Mosque, with tailors, milk bars, street food and community-run walking tours.

New Year fireworks bursting over the illuminated dome of the Kigali Convention Centre and the neighbouring hotel at night

Kigali, City of Kigali

Kigali City

Rwanda's capital spreads across green hills, with tidy tree-lined streets, a pedestrian car-free zone downtown and the striking domed Kigali Convention Centre, which glows in changing colours at night.

Nature in Rwanda

Small green island in the calm, misty water of Lake Kivu seen from a grassy hilltop

Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi, Western Province

Lake Kivu

Rwanda's largest lake stretches along the western border, with the lakeside town of Rubavu in the north, the hilly bays and islands of Karongi in the middle and Rusizi in the south.

Calm water and wooded shoreline of Lake Burera, northern Rwanda

Burera and Musanze Districts, Northern Province

Twin Lakes Burera and Ruhondo

Lakes Burera and Ruhondo lie side by side east of Musanze, separated by a narrow ridge and joined by a stream that drops about 100 m. Viewpoints, boat trips and terraced hills make them a peaceful escape.

Adventure in Rwanda

Terraced tea fields with pickers on a hillside above a small farmhouse

Rubavu to Rusizi, Western Province

Congo Nile Trail

Launched by the Rwanda Development Board in 2011, this 227 km trail follows the hills above Lake Kivu from Rubavu to Rusizi in six stages, through villages, tea and coffee country and banana terraces.

Moss-covered rocks and forest at the entrance to Musanze Caves

Muhoza, Musanze District, Northern Province

Musanze Caves

A volcanic cave of about 2 km on the edge of Musanze town, formed in lava from Bisoke and Sabyinyo. Guided tours lead through vast chambers lit by shafts of light from collapsed roof openings.

Markets in Rwanda

Stalls piled with goods inside Kimironko Market, Kigali

Kimironko, Gasabo District, Kigali

Kimironko Market

A huge covered market in eastern Kigali where locals buy fruit, vegetables, fish and household goods, and visitors come for colourful kitenge fabric, made-to-measure tailoring and woven baskets.

Mountains in Rwanda

The volcanic cone of Mount Bisoke in the Virunga Mountains, Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park, Musanze District, Northern Province

Mount Bisoke

Bisoke (also called Visoke) rises to about 3,711 m inside Volcanoes National Park. A guided, permit-only hike climbs through bamboo and moorland to a crater lake near the summit.

Rwanda holiday packages

Mountain gorilla resting among bamboo leaves and chewing a stem in Rwanda

NatureAdventure

Rwanda · 6 nights5★ Lodge

Gorillas & Lake Kivu

Gorilla trekking permit
Lake Kivu
Kigali city tour

Includes accommodation · private transfers · daily breakfast · guided sightseeing

Indicative from

$5,533 pp

Paved road curving through dense green rainforest in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

NatureAdventure

Rwanda · 9 nights4★ Lodge

Rwanda Primate & Savannah Safari

Chimp tracking
Akagera game drives
Gorilla trek

Includes accommodation · private transfers · daily breakfast · guided sightseeing

Indicative from

$6,232 pp

Rwanda travel overview Plan a Rwanda trip

Rwanda travel guides