Ntarama Genocide Memorial Travel Guide: Top Sights in Rwanda, Tours &

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Ntarama Genocide Memorial- Travel Tips What to See, How to Plan & Tours: Historical & Cultural; Rwanda; 5 Reviews

Suggested Duration: 2 hours

Located in Rwanda's Bugesera District, about an hour's drive south of Kigali, the Ntarama Genocide Memorial preserves the site of a former Catholic church where approximately 5,000 people were massacred on April 15, 1994, during the Rwandan genocide. Fleeing violence, many Tutsi civilians sought refuge in the church, only to be attacked by soldiers, police, Interahamwe militia, and local collaborators using machetes, grenades, and blunt weapons. Today, the church remains as it was after the killings, with preserved clothing, personal belongings, and skeletal remains offering stark testimony to the scale and brutality of the massacre.

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Reviews of Ntarama Genocide Memorial

Fiorella Calderoni

5
Reviewed: 2025-06-26

Really informative guided tour of a site of such tragedy that is maintained as a reminder of the genocide in hopes that learning and remembering will prevent future genocides. It's also home to a mass grave where bodies found to this day are buried and honored with commemoration ceremonies
George Baguma

5
Reviewed: 2023-04-13

My 5-star rating is based on the documentation of history and guiding services. The experience shook me, but caused deep reflections.
Violeth Julias Yongo

5
Reviewed: 2020-01-03

Historical, reminds me of how humanity is precious and how we should not take peace for granted, I love that the facility has build a brand new building and the remains of the victims are properly stored in coffins.
Edward Alexander

5
Reviewed: 2018-08-06

A very sad place where genocide took place. The site has been preserved as much as possible, rather than turning into a typical museum. The church still holds the clothes and belongings of the victims. Some of the details are harrowing, such as vissible blood stains on walls and how they got there, but it is important to learn about this. Excellent and informative guide who takes an academic approach to the tour.
Derek Martin

5
Reviewed: 2018-05-31

Evidence of the atrocities are preserved here in the church and outbuildings where thousands died. Really harrowing accounts of the deathes of innocents, especially the torture of women and the smashing of babies against the wall. In the Kigali Genocide Memorial there are photographs of decomposed bodies in the church, so seeing those photos after visiting the Ntarama site was a shocking.