Eastern Province: Memorials, Akagera and local encounters

The Eastern Province brings together a variety of reasons to travel: historic memorials, wildlife and birdwatching, and encounters focused on livestock farming and local products. For your planning, it helps to decide in advance what you would most like to focus on. Would you like to learn about the Genocide against the Tutsi, plan a guided tour of Akagera National Park, or learn more about traditions surrounding cattle and milk? These experiences also differ in whether the focus is on a memorial, a park tour, a boat trip or a visit with a community.

Memorials in Ntarama and Nyarubuye

On 15 April 1994, many Tutsi were killed in the former Catholic church in Ntarama. More than 5,000 people killed during the Genocide against the Tutsi are buried at the memorial. The date anchors the remembrance in a specific historical event; the former church is part of Ntarama’s local history. Both aspects form part of this memorial site’s historical significance.

The Nyarubuye Memorial also commemorates the Genocide against the Tutsi. In 2024, it was described as well cared for and maintained. As this information refers to its condition at the time, it is advisable to check its current condition before travelling.

Akagera: park tours and a boat trip

In Rwanda, Akagera National Park is described as the main attraction of the Eastern Province. Tours of the park can be booked; check the latest arrangements before your trip. A tour offers a different focus from learning about a single memorial site: here, the park itself is the main travel destination.

In the wider travel area of Rwanda, Lake Ihema lies in the south of Akagera National Park. A boat trip on the lake offers opportunities for wildlife and birdwatching. These include hippos, Nile crocodiles and numerous birds that can be observed around the lake’s central island. A guided park tour and a boat trip with wildlife viewing are therefore two different types of activity.

Encounters focused on livestock farming and local products

In Rwanda’s Eastern Province, Community Freelance Guides offer visits to a dairy farm. Guests can learn about traditions surrounding livestock farming and milk. Other visits are to a banana beer producer or a honey cooperative. The community members visited receive a share of the revenue. The involvement of the local community is therefore also part of the character of these visits. Availability may vary; enquire in advance if this type of encounter is an important part of your travel plans. Also in Rwanda, the King’s Palace is a thatched, beehive-shaped reconstruction of a traditional royal residence.

Discover more destinations: Kayonza, Nyagatare, Rwamagana, Kigarama, Southern Province, Kigali, Western Province, Northern Province.

Return to the main travel overview: Rwanda.