Kigali
Kigali, officially the City of Kigali also known as Kigali City (abbreviated as KGL or CoK), is the capital, largest city, and a province-level administrative unit of Rwanda. It is located near the country's geographic centre, in a landscape of rolling hills marked by valleys and ridges connected by steep slopes. As Rwanda's primate city, Kigali is a relatively young urban centre. Founded in 1907 as a German administrative outpost, it served as a minor administrative centre until it became the national capital at independence in 1962.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsWhat to do each season
2dry-season
mild, dry (highland-modified at 1567 m); mean 18.8-20.8 °C across the range; precip 0.7-3.4 mm/day; July dry at 0.7 mm/day; daytime maxima in the 24-27 °C range year-round; narrow annual range
- the Kigali Genocide Memorial (Gisozi) — the city's defining visitor-and-civic space
- the Inema Arts Center, the Niyo Art Gallery, the Kandt House Museum of Natural History
- the Kigali Convention Centre (2016, radome-shaped) — the largest in East Africa
- the dry months are the peak visitor-and-conference season
rainy-season
mild, rainy (the long rains Mar-May and short rains Oct-Dec); mean 19.0-20.7 °C; precip 1.5-5.8 mm/day; April wettest at 5.8 mm/day (the 'long rains'); the 'short rains' Oct-Dec bring 2.4-4.7 mm/day
- the Kigali Up music festival (July-August, in the dry season between the rains) — Rwanda's leading music festival
- the green-foliage identity of the 'Land of a Thousand Hills' is most legible in the rainy seasons
- the Umuganda community-work day (last Saturday of every month, 8am-11am) — a civic ritual unique to Rwanda; traffic stops and shops close
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Umuganda
- national community-work day — traffic stops, shops close, residents clean streets and build infrastructure
- a unique monthly civic ritual
Kwibuka
- Kwibuka — the 1994-genocide commemoration week; mourning period 7-13 April
Kigali Up Festival
- Kigali Up — Rwanda's leading music festival
Liberation Day
- Liberation Day — the 1994 RPF capture of Kigali
On the record
source-trackedKigali is the capital, largest city, and a province-level administrative unit of Rwanda. It is located near the country's geographic centre, in a landscape of rolling hills marked by valleys and ridges connected by steep slopes.
As Rwanda's primate city, Kigali is a relatively young urban centre. Founded in 1907 as a German administrative outpost.
Kigali city has a population of 1,745,555 inhabitants (31 August 2022), roughly seven times that of the nation's second most populous city, Gisenyi.
The city has an average daily temperature range between 15 and 27 °C (59 and 81 °F), with little variation through the year.
There are two rainy seasons annually, from February to June and from September to December. These are separated by two dry seasons: the major one from June to September, during which there is often no rain at all, and a shorter and less severe one from December to February.
The wettest month is April, with an average rainfall of 154 millimetres (6.1 in), while the driest month is July.
Global warming has caused a change in the pattern of the rainy seasons. Change in climate has reduced the number of rainy days experienced during a year, but has also caused an increase in frequency of torrential rains.
By all standards Kigali and its small cities within are an excellent in which to dine. A combination of Belgian culinary influence, plenty of cows, plenty of freshwater fish, and plenty of fresh vegetables equates to some of the best eating in the region. And it's all pretty affordable.
The region restaurants take their time — with a usual 45 minutes to 1 hour wait between ordering and your food arriving, especially for dinner.
Bottled water is recommended for foreign visitors. It can be bought at almost every supermarket or pomp station.
[Kigali has the world's strictest plastic-bag ban, in force since 2008 — visitors have bags confiscated at the airport.]
[Kigali Convention Centre (2016) is the largest in East Africa — its radome-shaped main hall evokes the traditional Rwandan royal hut.]
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.