Book Flights to Kigali

Because of the high altitude, Kigali has a pleasant tropical highland climate with temperatures between 20°C / 68°F and 21.6°C / 71°F year-round.

Kigali has 2 rainy seasons, the long and heavy rains fall from mid-March to mid-May and the short rains fall from mid-October to mid-December.

Kigali is hilly. It is built on 4 ridges in the geographical centre of Rwanda, also referred to as the country of a thousand hills. Renting a car or using local taxis, boda-boda’s (motorbike taxis) or matatus are ways to avoid the strenuous hills when going around town.

Kigali is a safe and clean city without any rubbish anywhere, making it a gentle start for any trip to Africa. The cleanliness and safety are due to its current president who unites its people and who has decided that every last Saturday of the month all citizens clean up their country and assist with community work.

It also offers great museums, a vast range of restaurants and coffee shops and many markets to explore, both crafts and food.

If you are short on time it is also the best starting point for visiting the gorillas. In fact, a lot of people visiting Kigali are on their way to the Volcanoes National Park in the north of Rwanda where they want to have a close encounter with Rwanda’s famous gorillas. This can even be arranged as a day-trip from Kigali and is best booked in advance as this is extremely popular.

When in Kigali you can have a cocktail by the side of the pool or stay in Hotel Rwanda (the official name is Hotel Mille des Collines), which became a safe haven during the 1994 genocide. Around 1 million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, lost their lives in 100 days during this genocide.

Hotel Rwanda is also the name of a movie made about the genocide which is worth watching before going to Rwanda. Don’t forget to visit the Genocide Memorial Centre when you are in Kigali.

Pretend you are Dian Fossey for a short time and observe Rwanda’s famous gorillas after booking your cheap flight to Kigali with Tripindigo.

Bananas, (sweet) potatoes and beans are all part of the local Rwandan diet, as is Ugali which is made of maize and water. Try to eat some ugali with umutsima (cassava and corn) or isombe (cassava leaves with zucchini and spinach).

Locals drink milk or tea with milk and lots of sugar. If you would like to try a local alcoholic beverage, you might be able to find the local beer Urwagwa, made from fermented juice of bananas mixed with sorghum flour, or you could try Ubuki which is made from fermented honey and has an alcohol percentage of 12%.

For a more standard local beer, try Primus or Mutzig.

Near Lake Kivu, tilapia and sambaza are raised on fish farms and both are very tasty.

Kigali offers a range of food, from restaurants to street food for all budgets.

More than 94% of Rwandans are Christians. Just under 5% are Muslim.

After the genocide in 1994 where almost a million people are estimated to have died in 100 days, mostly Tutsis killed by Hutus, the Rwandans now focus more on being Rwandan, not Hutu or Tutsi. Visit the Genocide Museum in Kigali to learn more about this period and the remarkable journey of this country and its people since then.

When photographing people, always ask permission first and agree on payment if required.

Kigali has facilities for all budgets. This is true for accommodation, transport, food, and excursions.

Local goods are cheap; imported is expensive.

The below prices are what you can expect to pay in Kigali for:

• Domestic beer (0.5-litre bottle) in a supermarket – 731RWf
• Imported beer in a supermarket (0.33-litre bottle) – 1,286RWf
• Pack of cigarettes (Marlboro) – 963RWf
• A bottle of coca cola / pepsi (0.33-litre bottle) – 377RWf
• A small bottle of water (0.33-litre bottle) – 359RWf