King’s Palace Museum in Rwanda
King’s Palace Museum in Rwanda; The kings’ palace museum is situated in Nyanza town of Rwanda north of Butare the museum is also sometimes known as Rukari museum. This place was the heart of Rwanda in the olden days and a seat of its monarchy.
The kings’ palace is where the German colonizers came to visit in the late 19th century this place still contains the king Mutara III Rudahingwa’s bed, utensils, bows, arrows, shields, drums and so much more.
The new palace built 3-4 kilometers away from the main palace is a colonial era building, you can visit the palace with permission of the local authorities and it usually used to be a home to the Ntore local traditional dancers before it reopened as a museum in 2008.
The traditional sold palace was reconstructed with some buildings a distance from the main palace, thus is the best place you can get the history of old oral traditions, battles and conquests, power struggles and royal intrigues.
The museum is typically built in African traditional architecture, the Inyambo cows usually long horned were also recently introduced because they make up most of the Rwandese culture. Tourists can extend their visit to Mwima hill where the King and his wife Queen Rosalie Gicanda were buried.
Some of the poles supporting the roof have significance for example the one at the entrance to the King’s bed is named “ do not speak of anything that happens here” and another pole conferred sanctuary on any one touching it.
The kings’ palace museum was a palace for the two ruling kings of the early to the mid 20th century. The walls of the building are tapestried with photos of the kings and the families, you can learn about Rwanda’s history from the 5th century at the museum
At the Kings palace museum tourists will get English and French speaking guides to help you understand the information and knowledge about the museum.
The town of Nyanza is 88 kilometers from Kigali international airport and the museum can be accessed two kilometers south west of Nyanza town center its located on a hilltop
While visiting the Kings Palace museum to learn about Rwanda’s history, tourists can also explore other places and learn more about the country’s tradition and history in places like the ethnographic museum of Rwanda.
Tourists can also go for gorilla trekking at volcanoes national park in the northwestern part of Rwanda and encounter the endangered mountain gorillas that can only be found in three countries in the worlds which are Congo, Uganda and Rwanda it self.
Chimpanzee trekking is also another great unique activity to do in Rwanda, you can visit Nyungwe national park for this lifetime experience and also explore the Nyungwe canopy walk of about 50 meters above the ground being able to see different types of primates as well.
Lake Kivu can be the last gem you can visit in Rwanda or the two twin lakes for relaxation on the beaches and enjoy a lot of water activities like swimming, boat cruising, kayaking, speed boat rides and so much more.
For bird enthusiasts you can get to explore various species of birds found in Rwanda, the country boasts with over 1000 species of birds some of which endemic to the Albertine region examples of birds include; double toothed barbet, grey crowned cranes, spur winged lapwing, grey backed fiscal, black headed heron and Egret o mention a few.
Rwanda has got moderate climate because of its proximity to the equator the country can be visited all year round to visit the kings palace museum.
