Kigali City Guide

Welcome Kigali City!

The rapidly growing city of Kigali is the national capital as well as the country’s most important business centre and main port of entry; geographically located at the heart of Rwanda. Kigali was founded in 1907 under German colonial rule; however it attained the capital city status in 1962 after Rwanda gaining independence.

Kigali city maintains the green face with a satisfyingly organic shape created by the verdant shapes over which it sprawls. The low-rise city centre engulfs a busy market, with several souvenir stalls displaying a wide range of local crafts.

The city is naturally blessed with a moderate high altitude climate that belies its tropical location strategically located with an hour’s drive to the main tourist sites, thus the city provides a welcoming and comfortable introductory encounter of the attractions of the magical country. It is home several memorials, museums, and centers dedicated to the Rwanda Genocide, including the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre.

City Geography

Kigali is built in hilly country, sprawling across about four ridges and the valleys in between. Government administrative buildings tend to be on the tops of the ridges. The highest of these is Mt. Kigali, with an elevation of 1,850m (6,075 ft) above sea level. The city poorer residents are dominantly valleys.

Kigali Administratively

Administratively, Kigali city is divided into three administrative centres called sectors, namely Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge.  It contained parts of the former province of Kigali Rural. It is governed by a city council who institutes an executive committee to implement development plans for the city. The executive committee consists of a mayor and two deputies

Public transport in Kigali is engineered by taxi minibus called matatus, with a number of well designated transport routes, connecting the main hubs of the city centre such as Nyabugogo, Kacyiru and Kimironko.

Kigali also harbors an efficient International Airport and surface well maintained roads connecting to Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi.

City Accommodation

The city has a range of hotels catering to all tastes and budgets, and a variety of restaurants whose menus reflect the country’s historical links with Belgium and the African cuisine.

There is a network of leafy avenues that wind out the town centre into the surrounding residential suburbs.

Kigali city – one of Africa’s friendliest cities offers Rwanda Tourists a welcoming introduction to East Africa’s land of a thousand hills and an ideal springboard from which to explore the continent’s fastest growing economy. Welcome to Rwanda!

One Response to “Kigali City Guide”

1. Rwanda, Africa Travel | Tourist Travel Guide to Rwanda,Rwanda Gorillas Africa says:

   July 21, 2010 at 9:03 pm

   [...] major city Kigali – the capital isn’t much to look at but offers comfortable places to get your feet wet [...]