Kigali Genocide Memorial

The Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi is the final resting place of more than 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It opened in 2004, ten years after the genocide, and is run by the Aegis Trust. For most visitors to Kigali it is the place to begin, because so much of what you see in the country today makes more sense after time spent here.

The permanent exhibitions are on the upper floor. The largest traces the history that led to the genocide, the hundred days of killing in 1994 and what followed, and how the country began to rebuild. A second exhibition looks at genocidal violence elsewhere in the world. The children's memorial is the hardest room for many people: life-size photographs of children who were killed, each with small details of who they were. Outside are the mass graves, the memorial gardens and a wall of names that is still being completed, because many of those buried here have never been identified.

Entry is free. Optional paid packages add an audio guide and a rose to lay at the burial site, and staff guides, many of them survivors, lead tours of the exhibitions and gardens. A mixed group tour runs daily from 9.30am, while private guided visits should be booked at least a week ahead through the memorial's website. Allow at least an hour and a half; many people stay longer.

This is a place of mourning, so dress and behave accordingly. Photography is not allowed inside the museum, though you may take pictures outdoors. Do not walk on the graves, and do not eat or drink in the gardens or exhibitions. Children under 12 are not admitted. All visitors pass through bag checks and a metal detector. Much of the grounds can be reached by wheelchair, but the permanent exhibitions are reached only by stairs; wheelchairs and staff help can be arranged in advance.

The memorial opens daily from 9am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. On the last Saturday of each month it opens only from 1pm because of Umuganda community work, and it is closed on Christmas Day, New Year's Day and normally on the morning of 7 April, when Kwibuka commemoration begins. Gisozi is about ten minutes by car or taxi from the centre, and parking is free. By bus, get off at Kinamba on KN 8 Avenue and walk up KG 14 Avenue. The Museum Café on site is a quiet place to sit afterwards.