Enjoy complimentary breakfast at the hotel. We meet at 9:30am in the lobby to meet our private shuttle and Desiree Izzere. Born and raised in Kigali, Desiree shows us the favorite parts of her city. Highlights include:

-- Walking around Mt. Kigali for views of the city and the countryside

-- Visiting a local milk bar & tasting some of the world's best coffee

-- Enjoying a traditional neighborhood market

-- Exploring the city's outdoor murals on a neighborhood walk

We also visit The Kigali Genocide Memorial. This incredibly moving Memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. It honors the memory of the one million+ Rwandans killed through education and peace-building. Understanding Rwanda's genocide past is important to understanding its present and future. Audio guides are available for rent if you choose.

Midday, we stop to enjoy a delicious Rwandan lunch. We end our afternoon enjoying a sundowner overlooking our new favorite African city before returning to the hotel.

We gather for dinner at 7:00pm on the outdoor balcony of ONOMO's Ijuru restaurant.

Today, we meet for breakfast together at 8:30am. We're joined by Nadine Niyitegeka, a passionate leader in higher education who began her career at Rwanda's Davis Akilah, from which she graduated in 2013. Nadine's story is the perfect backdrop as we dive deeper into education.

By 2035, Africa will have the largest and youngest workforce in the world. Founded by Fred Swaniker, the African Leadership Group seeks to capture this massive talent pool with the potential to become a source of untold global innovation and entrepreneurship for Africa and the world. 

Part of that ecosystem is African Leadership University (ALU), an out-of-the-box university focused on identifying, developing and connecting Africa's young leaders.  We are hosted on ALU's newly-opened Kigali campus by Beke Chakavanda. We learn about ALU's student venture program and meet current students like Chisom Chimezie and Nelson Kalimba who share their personal mission, ALU's vision and why Rwanda is ALU's chosen base.

Afterward, we visit one of Rwanda's top fashion brands--Haute Baso. Founders Candy Basomingera and Linda Mukangoga are committed to collaboration with Rwandan artisans--read more about them. We enjoy lunch at their adjacent cafe.

After returning to ONOMO for a short afternoon break, we transport to Inena Arts. Founded by brothers Emmanuel Nkuranga and Innocent Nkurunziza, Inema is the lynchpin to the buildout of Rwanda's artistic community. We enjoy the first part of Inema's Thursday night community gathering before heading to dinner with live jazz music at local favorite Repub Lounge.

Enjoy complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Today is about tech entrepreneurship. It's a strategic national focus--Rwanda's Vision 2050 is President Paul Kagame's roadmap for transforming Rwanda's economy and modernizing the lives of all Rwandans. 

We begin at Norrsken House Kigali, a newly-renovated space by MASS Design that is Africa's largest hub for entrepreneurship. Our partners at Africa impact investing leader RENEW Capital—Matt Davis, Laura Davis, and Lincoln Ford—contrast the ecosystem in Rwanda and East Africa relative to the U.S.

We visit a variety of companies that bring Rwanda's vision alive. Examples include Ampersand, which builds affordable e-motos and charging systems for the three million motorcycle taxi drivers in East Africa, starting with Rwanda. By making it cheaper to buy and operate an electric motorcycle, Ampersand helps drivers double their income and Africa leapfrog to a zero-carbon future (more about Ampersand).

Uzuri K&Y is an African-inspired eco-friendly footwear brand with a mission to craft viable solutions for recycling waste like old car tires. Founded in 2013 by two visionary friends Ysolde Shimwe and Kevine Kagirimpundu, in 2018, they were named the best "Made in Rwanda" enterprise of the year and are among the top companies creating change across Africa. 

After a local lunch, we visit Kasha, an e-commerce company for women's health and personal care in East Africa. Launched in Rwanda in 2015, Kasha is improving health, education and economic opportunity for women and their families (more about Kasha). Kasha's Natacha Mugeni leads us in exploring Kasha's impact.

With a lot to take in and talk about, we reconvene for dinner as a group at 7:00pm at Indian favorite Khana Khazana.

Enjoy complimentary breakfast at the hotel. And get ready to join the community.

Every month, Rwandan citizens come together with a common purpose. Umuganda is Rwanda's nationwide mandatory community work day, created to promote peace, unity, and prosperity across the country. On The Last Saturday of every month from 8-11:00 am, businesses close and traffic halts as citizens across the country take to their neighborhoods. Listen to Desiree Izzere talk about the importance of Umuganda.

As a visitor, you participate in this monthly Rwandan holiday. We learn more specifics the week of. Dress comfortably and casually.

Afterward, we stop for a light lunch at Baso Patissier. We are joined by Candy Basomingera, who originally founded Baso and currently serves as the Deputy CEO for the Rwanda Convention Bureau. Candy lives the "Made in Rwanda" slogan.

You are encouraged to spend the afternoon on your own. It's a great time to do some final shopping at locations like Rwanda Clothing, Kigali Cultural Village, or even partake in a short class at Azizi Life Studios. You can arrange transportation from ONOMO Hotel.

We spend our last hours in Kigali exploring art and community over a very special dinner at Choose Kigali, an immersive creative space in Kiyovu with an Italian tasting menu and some of the best views of Kigali. Our host founder and artist Emmanuel Nkuranga, who co-founded Imena Arts with his brother Innocent Nkurunziza. You take in Emmanuel's personal story and how his art and hospitality vision connects Rwanda to the world.

Enjoy your last evening in Kigali. There's still a whole Rwanda to explore!

Enjoy complimentary breakfast at the hotel and check-out. At 8:00am, we transport for 2+ hours via private vehicle to Musanze—recently named by Time as one of the world's greatest places. 

Mountain gorillas remain critically endangered—there are over 1000 left in the world. Rwanda is one of only three countries where you can visit them. 

We visit the newly-opened (2022) Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund nestled in the foothills of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Another MASS Design project that takes inspiration from Dian Fossey’s original tent camp in Rwanda 50+ years ago, the campus showcases environmentally conscious design, invests in local livelihoods and scientific capacity building, and supports Rwanda’s ecotourism sector (video). It's been named among the 10 most anticipated architecture projects in Africa.

Next, we go behind the scenes on one of Musanze's newest 2024 openings—Virunga Mountain Spirits (VMS)—a female-operated distillery whose flagship "Made in Rwanda" product is potato vodka. CEO Karen Sherman walks us through the property and invites us to her personal home to enjoy a BBQ with her husband and co-founder Bill Wasserman. Through Karen and Bill, we learn what it takes to design and operate a new distillery business in Rwanda (VMS Overview).

We check-in at Amarembo Gorilla Lodge. Enjoy the afternoon taking in the mountain views or taking a dip in the pool. We reconvene for a private dinner at the lodge before a restful night in the mountains.

Enjoy an early complimentary breakfast at the lodge. We depart at 8:00am to enjoy a morning hike in the Musanze countryside and observe day-to-day rural life. 

We end our hike with a farewell lunch at Byiza Lodge. Byiza means "beautiful" in Kinyarwanda. Situated on a hilltop between the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Burera, and overlooking the Virunga volcanoes, it's a fitting end of our CGG Experience in Rwanda. We take time to share all that we've experienced during the week. 

From here, participants may choose optional single or multi-day trip excursions (Rwanda gorilla trekking, Akagera National Park safari, Lake Kivu, adventures in Uganda) organized directly with Go Kigali.

Alternatively, we return via private safari vehicle to the Kigali International Airport (KGL) for outbound international flights departing in the evening. 

Book separately. Rwanda’s famous Mountain Gorillas located 2.5 hours outside of Kigali. It's estimated there are less than 900 Mountain Gorillas left in the world. Rwanda is one of only three countries where you can visit these critically endangered animals.

Each hike to reach a gorilla family is different; some hikes are as short as 45 minutes others as long as several hours. The terrain varies, and altitudes may reach up to 4,000m (13,000 feet) with a starting altitude of 2,500m (8,200 feet). Guides arrange with the park service to assign you to a group based on your fitness level and preference. Groups are limited to only 8 visitors per gorilla family to minimize disturbance to the gorillas. Each group can be visited for a one hour period. Permits must be purchased from the park service well in advance. Permits are non-refundable.

Go Kigali Tours offers a one-day Gorilla Trekking. If you have interest in multiple days, combining with a safari or in other excursions in Rwanda or East Africa, the Go Kigali team can work with you to customize your perfect pre- or post-trip experience. Please contact info@gokigalitours.com.

Sample Itinerary: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park Day Trip

Book Separately. Less than a 3-hour drive from Kigali along the border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park is home to the "Big Five." Animals to be seen include giraffe, zebra, elephant, lion, leopard, hippo, rhino, antelopes, buffalo and hundreds of bird species, including rare birds like the Shoebill.

Go Kigali Tours offers a one-day Safari. If you have interest in multiple days, combining with gorilla trekking or in other excursions in Rwanda or East Africa, the Go Kigali team can work with you to customize your perfect pre- or post-trip experience. Please contact info@gokigalitours.com.

Sample Itinerary: Akagera Day Trip Itinerary