1. Eating Rwandese Dishes.
First of all, please try the Isombe. Do not leave before you try the Isombe.
However, before I get ahead of myself, make sure you try out as many Rwandan dishes as possible. The flavors are rich and absolutely tasty, and I bet the photos you will see below tell the whole story.
You can have amazing meals from a low as 3,500 Rwandese Franc (USD 3.5, KES 350) ,either from local restaurants or on the streets. I also bought some street food from the bus stop, among them samosas( My mission is to try every country’s Samosas’), some smoked sausages and plantain pancakes.
Of course, the Isombe stuck out to me. Isombe is basically boiled and cooked cassava leaves. They are cooked for hours until they are nice and tender. After boiling, the leaved are fried in palm oil, peanut butter and other spices making it a very tasty bowl of health! I had it alongside the Rwanda-version-of-Ugali.
Ugali is made with cassava flour, resulting in a stretchy Ugali with a distinct smell, different from our typical ugali. I love trying out different foods and noticing the striking similarity. Absolutely loved the Ugali Isombe combination.
What I noticed about the food in all of the 4 East African Countries I have been, including Rwanda, in is that the flavor profiles are quite similar. This is quite expected due to the similarities in weather and culture, but the subtle differences for me were so intriguing!
2. Driving or riding around the city.
The city of Kigali is STUNNING. The sun was soft and perfect against the clean well manicured streets, making it one of the best cities I’ve visited. Before I went to Rwanda, I heard stories of how clean the city is and you need to believe the hype.
Watch the Video vlog here AROUND KIGALI, RWANDA
Aside from the beautiful, neat city scape, Rwanda is the land of 1000 hills. The city is built on the hill sides and the houses create the most breath taking patterns. I would highly recommend a drive or a motorbike ride around the city and most importantly, I insist that you must see the city at night. The hill side scape with the lights on, literally lights up like a Christmas tree. Absolutely gorgeous!
Some other activities to do around the city:
- Visiting the Conventional center. Its free to get in and explore. The sports stadium is also a great option, but unfortunately, we were not able to visit it. I heard great things about it!
- Exploring cafes and free parks
- Watching the beautiful city hills by day, and especially, by night.
3. Visiting memorials and Museums
Rwanda has such a deep and rich history and it is so well documented in the numerous memorials and museums around the city. Most if not all the memorials are free to access, making it a great place to consider as a traveler on a budget. There are also numerous museums that charge quite affordably, that you can visit to learn more about the culture, history and the people of Rwanda.
4. Visiting Art galleries
The art scene in Rwanda is so impressive. The government actively supports visual arts and artists and as a results, art galleries are quite common in Kigali. As you drive around the city, it is evident that there are some great artists in Kigali, with painting on walls, numerous elaborate statutes and posters.
Additionally, most of the art galleries’ are free to view and maybe get a piece of art for yourself. Personally, I took a lot of inspiration from the Art gallery. The art pieces were provocative and so emotional!! This was one of my favorite places to have visited. I can’t wait to do a piece myself, inspired by Kigali.
5. Going to the market
We visited the Kimironko Market in the heart of Kigali. The whole market was roaring with a buzz of excitement and activities. I was especially impressed by the tidy-ness and protocol in the market. Due to the COVID pandemic still being an unfortunate reality, we were required to wash our hands before walking in.
We started with the food market, and there was such a beautiful array of the freshest ingredients including the juiciest looking mushrooms. Our main interest was the souvenir market that was further into the market.
Truly, I was spoilt for choice by all the amazing prints and items that were in the market. To my surprise, they were quite affordable. I was able to get souvenirs for as low as 1000 Rwandese Franc to amazing traditional Rwandese style paintings for 5000 Rwandese Franc. I love shopping and if you do too, this is the place to visit!
6. Plan to visit the breathtaking Lake Kivu
I saved the best activity for last.
The views at Lake Kivu Literally took my breathe! It was truly a piece of stunning work. The lake is a beautiful even and glistening blue surrounded with the most astonishing emerald green frosty mountains and hills. The weather is cool and crisp making the ride along the lake on the ever clean roads of Rwanda absolutely unforgettable. I felt like I was in a scene of a romantic movie, at the back of the bodaboda. If you do go to Rwanda, visit lake Kivu, it’s worth every second.
This is how we got there from Kigali.
Start early, at around 6.30 am and caught a bus at Nyabugogo Bus station in Kigali. Advisably, take a motorbike from your location to the bus station. The bus leaves every 30 minutes or so.
At the bus station, look for an office with buses to Gisenyi. I was impressed by how clean and well labelled the offices are, just make sure you get a ticket before boarding a bus. Ensure you don’t get distracted by the touts, go to an office, to ensure you get on the right bus.
The trip from Kigali to Gisenyi is about 4-5 hours and it’s about 3,500 Rwandese Franc (USD 3.5, KES 350). I will keep saying these, the sceneries in Rwanda are absolutely stunning. The clean roads, well manicured roads and the numerous hills make every part of the drive interesting. The 4 hour drive passed by like breese, as we took in the beautiful flora and fauna.
Upon arrival to Gisenyi, we took a motorbike to Tam Tam Beach Bar and restaurant and paid about 2,000 Rwandese Franc (USD 2, KES 200). Advisably, ask the motorbike riders to suggest the most popular restaurant at the time, the are so many along the beach.
I must say, when you do visit,take a moment to absorb the beauty of mother nature. The entrance was free since it is a restaurant and the food is quite affordable. I highly recommend the grilled Tilapia, fresh from the lake. The whole plate was 6,000 Rwandese Franc (USD 6, KES 6) and it easily fed 2 people. The drinks range from as low as 1,000 Rwandese Franc (USD 1 KES 100)
Other activities at lake Kivu.
- Boat riding across the lake for about 5,000 Rwandese Franc (USD 5, KES 500) . Use your bargaining power here. Additionally, you can also split the costs amongst a group.
- Water cycling. Like if a bicycle had a baby with a boat. Haha!
- Hot water springs and massage. There are pools of hot water alongside the lake formed from natural gas activities. You are allowed to dip your feet for about 1,000 Rwandese Franc (USD 1, KES 100) or get a massage in the water by attendants around there at an extra fee.
- Sightseeing. The drive and rice to the lake shore was simply breath taking. My goodness. I don’t think my words can even do it justice. It was an unforgettable scene.
- Dancing and great vibes. The music and the DJ at the restaurant were on point and I was pleased to hear a lot of Kenyan Music. Think of a lit party along the beach.
This was truly an experience of a lifetime!! I would love to visit Rwanda again, I feel like I didn’t get enough!
Read about my journey from Uganda to Rwanda here:
Discussion about this post