Huye: Rwanda's university town and royal heartland

Why visit Huye

For travellers who want to understand Rwanda beyond the gorillas, Huye is the place. The town grew around the national university and still has a student energy, with cafés, bookshops and a slower pace than Kigali. It is the natural overnight stop on the long road between Kigali and Nyungwe, and rewards a full day.

The Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum, a gift from Belgium in the late 1980s, is Rwanda's finest museum. Its galleries cover traditional architecture, farming, hunting, crafts, clothing, games and royal history, explained clearly. A troupe of dancers and drummers often performs on request in the grounds.

Nyanza: the King's Palace

About forty minutes north, Nyanza was the seat of the Rwandan kings. The King's Palace Museum includes a reconstruction of a traditional royal palace with its beehive-shaped thatched roof, the later colonial-era palace of King Mutara III, and a herd of Inyambo cattle with enormous curved horns, sung to by their keepers. The nearby Rwesero hill holds an art gallery in an unfinished royal palace.

Murambi Genocide Memorial

West of Huye near Nyamagabe, Murambi was a technical school where tens of thousands of people were killed in 1994. The memorial is one of the most confronting in the country, as some remains are preserved. Go prepared, and allow quiet time afterwards.

Coffee and culture

The hills around Huye grow excellent coffee. Huye Mountain Coffee and other washing stations welcome visitors, especially during the harvest from around March to July, to see cherries picked, washed and dried, followed by a tasting. In town, Inzozi Nziza was Rwanda's first ice cream shop, opened by members of Ingoma Nshya, the country's first women's drumming group, who also offer drumming workshops.

Things to do

• Wander the arboretum beside the university
• See the red-brick Butare Cathedral
• Browse the central market for produce and fabric
• Drive the tea plantations around Nyamagabe on the way to Nyungwe

Where to stay and eat

Huye has modest, comfortable hotels and guesthouses rather than luxury lodges, and simple restaurants serving brochettes, buffets and Rwandan coffee. Check our places to visit list.

Getting there

Express buses run often from Kigali to Huye along a good road. From Huye, continue west to Nyungwe National Park or return to Kigali.

A sample day in Huye

Start with coffee in town, then spend the morning at the Ethnographic Museum, leaving time for the gardens and any dance performance on offer. Have lunch at a local buffet, visit the arboretum and the cathedral in the afternoon, and finish with ice cream at Inzozi Nziza. If you have a car or driver, a second morning at Nyanza's King's Palace makes a fine detour before Nyungwe or the return to Kigali.

Etiquette

Huye is a quiet, conservative town. Dress modestly, ask before photographing people, and show respect at memorials, where silence and covered shoulders are expected. A few words of Kinyarwanda, such as muraho for hello and murakoze for thank you, go a long way. Students are often happy to chat in English or French, and many are proud to explain their town's history to curious visitors.

Food in Huye

Eating in Huye is simple and good value. Lunchtime buffets serve beans, rice, plantain, isombe and stews, and in the evening small bars grill goat brochettes and serve them with chips or roasted plantain. The town is a good place to buy freshly roasted coffee from local washing stations to take home, and the market sells avocados, passion fruit and tree tomatoes that are worth trying.