Bisesero Village is found in a small hilly place that covers almost 30 km south east of Kibuye in Karongi district and in the western sides of Rwanda province. Bisesero is not well-known village however it is known for the genocide past of Rwanda.

The village is good for breathtaking scenery and also for dramatic genocide memorial. The Village of Bisesero is also known as the hill of resistance due to its known presentation of the brave Tutsi who defied against the Interahamwe militia that happened in the 1994 genocide which happened using stones, rocks, sticks, spears, machete and block guns as used by Hutu

Bisesero Village is a home for the amazing Bisesero Genocide memorial which is a memory for resistance. At the beginning of the genocide, almost 50,000 Tutsi people were victims of the 1994 genocide and they decided to run to Bisesero village so as to escape the brutal murders that had taken at interahamwe. The genocide took for almost 30 days and the Tutsi managed to fight and defend themselves against their assailants by the help of ordinary farming tools.

Following the orders of Aminadabu Birara the elder and a resident of the Bisesero village. People who live in this area went through tactical arrangements to defend and fight for themselves against those who used to attack their village. The hilly nature of this village was as advantageous to the locals as a cover for hiding on the top of Muyira Hill thus were able to fight against their enemies. Strong and youth men were able to fight whereas children and women used to hide behind the hill. As time went by, the army descended to Bisesero Village and they managed to murder almost half the refugees. Less than half of the Tutsi remained and the other had died in the genocide time before the French had reached in the area.

The French troop entered the Bisesero Vilage on 27^th June 1994 and they had come to put an end to the genocide and install peace and they had promised to return after 3 days. But when they left like this, Interahamwe militia came back to slaughter the locals as they did until the French had to come back and by the time, they came back a quarter of the local people had remained.

Visiting the village will help you to explore the Bisesero memorial Center which was constructed in 1997 and has 3 buildings that have got bones of the victims. The graveyard is full with almost over 40,000 bodies of the victims.

How to get to Bisesero Village.

Bisesero Village is found in the Western parts of Rwanda and it is about 30 kilometers South-East of Kibuye in Karongi district. It can be accessed either on boat from Gisenyi or by bus from Kigali city.

Discovering Genocide memorial sites in Rwanda

Discovering genocide Memorial sites in Rwanda is so amazing to travelers who are interested in genocide will be allowed to explore different sites where the victims of the genocide were buried. Tourists will tour different genocide sites as they learn what exactly happened and probably caused the Rwanda 1994 genocide.

The different genocide memorial sites that you’re likely to discover while on Rwanda genocide tours are described below:

Nyamata genocide memorial site: This is situated in the southern part of Kigali city. This was a center in Nyamata where the harassed Tutsi who was escaping being murdered took cover in church. These Tutsi people thought that the church is the holy place guarded by God where they would be safe however, this dint save them as over 1,000 people were killed here.

Tourists touring this site will get practical and vivid information about the victims as the site clearly shows the displays of victims closes and bloodstains. Even the bullets fired to the Tutsi can be confirmed by holes on the walls. This was really sad moments for the relatives and friends of the people who were killed in cold blood.

Nyarubuye genocide memorial site: Traced in Nyarubuye, Nyarubuye Genocide memorial site was a church used for prayers but it was later used as a hiding place for majority Tutsis and a few Hutus who were running away from mass killing. Tourists here will be able to see the remains of the victims like bones and blood-stained clothes.

The church that was later turned into a memorial site further was left intact even after mass bullets and massacre and now you can see how the bullet was splashed on windows and walls. All these were reserved such that tourists get first-hand information and fulfill their desires for genocide memorial sites in Rwanda.

Ntarama Genocide Memorial sites: Tourists visiting the Ntarama genocide memorial site will only travel 20 minutes from Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Still, Ntarama was first a church where the majority of the Tutsi flock seeking protection and support from church leaders. Despite this, the killer’s mission was to finish off all the Tutsi in Rwanda. To fulfill their mission, they were fearless and as such, they entered church forcefully and killed more than 5,000 people who were buried here. Tourists here can explore the remains of the victims that are will be preserved.

Nyanza Genocide memorial center: This genocide memorial ground site is remembered as the site where there are 4 graves of Tutsi people who were killed when the place of hiding was left unprotected by the Belgian soldiers who were guarding the wife of then the presidents and were killed. These groups of people had sought refuge from Ecole Technical Officielle grounds where they were killed.

Further, this site was once a school which was under the supervision of the United Nations officials to provide security to the Rwandese because of the increased instabilities that had escalated in the area especially the Hutus were killing the Tutsi.

Gisenyi Rwanda genocide memorial: Gisenyi genocide memorial similarly to other sites offers information about the death of over 1 million people who were killed during the genocide. Out of these over 1200 people were killed and buried at Gisenyi  

The names of the people killed are painted on the walls and you can go there and read while on your tour. Still, there are images of the people who were killed inside and the Kigali genocide memorial site is located just in Gisozi a few meters away from Kigali city center. It might take around nine minutes to reach this historical site.

Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum: This is one of the best museum situated in Gisenyi town just a few minutes from Kigali Capital City. The museum is open throughout the week and the visitors on the genocide tour in Rwanda can have a look and take pictures of what is happening both inside and outside the museum.

What makes this museum a significant genocide that happened in Rwanda is that part of the remains of over 100,000 people was collected from Rwanda streets and kept here for remembrance. It emotional to have look at such remains in this museum but still, we need to get information and know that however disagreements we have, we can settle them amicably and harmony restored.

You will need to take or hire an experienced guide who will help you guide through this memorial site. You can just ask for the staff or use the Kigali genocide memorial Museum digital guide where you’re being guided with sounds while you’re touring inside the historical site.

Gisozi Rwanda genocide memorial site: The Kigali genocide memorial site is one of the prominent genocide historical sites in Rwanda. The memorial site was put up in honor of over 2,500 remains of people who were killed and buried at the site during the genocide which as against the Tutsi.

The Kigali genocide memorial site was built in a such way that it provides options for children to go and tour and the old people and those interested in knowing the causes of the genocide and all that happened and how it went in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The other genocide memorial site in Rwanda is called the Murambi genocide memorial site situated in the southern part of Rwanda in the town called Murambi. You are free to make bookings for the Rwanda genocide memorial site whereby you will be guided to all of the above-highlighted sites. Come and learn the genocide history know what transpired during this time.