Visiting Nkotsi village in Rwanda. (Volcanoes National Park)

Visiting Nkotsi village in Rwanda, Rwanda is one of the few African countries that have managed to recover and preserve their culture and culture and tradition, despite the genocide history that hit and destroyed different communities and cultures in every corner of the country.

One of the revived and interesting cultural opportunities in the Nkotsi village is found in Musanze, a busy town close to the popular mountain gorilla park, Volcanoes National Park  in the northwestern part of the country.

Nkotsi village, also referred to as ‘Muko’ village by the natives, is located 7 kilometers away from Musanze town. is a beautiful setup of local individuals, with organised and revived traditional and cultural styles that give visitors a true understanding of  Rwandan cultural values and heritage.

Visiting Nkotsi village is an experience beyond the wilderness, a taste of Rwandan culture. This village exhibits a variety of classical activities where you, as a visitor, can also participate, and by the end of your visit,  you will be joyful and excited. Through interacting with the locals, you learn culture, observe rural life, and day-to-day traditional practices, and how people do different types of work for survival.

With the help of locals, take a walk through the town to the local homesteads in this area and learn a wide range of things, such as how to cook on firewood, make local meals, and enjoy delicious Rwandan food.

Learn about making a traditional meal with the process of using a local grinding stone to grind millet for food. Listen and learn about the village’s past. Walking around will give you a new view of the area that you will never forget.

More to learn in this village: join a group of local women and observe how they weave their handmade crafts using local raw materials like papyrus reeds, banana fibres and others. Sit with them for guidance, and if you are not short of time, you can try to weave your basket or design a handmade carpet. It’s a catchy experience.

On your tour to this amazing village, get into the community gardens and learn about growing food crops, how cultivation is done using hand hoes, engage in beekeeping, observe the local beehives, and harvest honey using traditional methods and equipment.

As part of your tour of this attractive village, visit the community gardens, see and learn how to grow food crops using hand hoes. You can also learn about beekeeping by visiting the local hives and collecting honey using traditional tools and methods. At the end, you can have a taste of traditionally harvested honey, its a moving experience.

Another interesting activity that makes it worth visiting Nkotsi village is learning about the traditional method of beer production. Witness the way beer is extracted from bananas at in the end, you can take a sip.  It’s so traditional, amazing, and exciting.

Tourists can also learn about Rwandan culture and practices by taking lessons in traditional medicines that were used to treat illnesses in the past. Some people in Nkotsi village still use herbal medicine to treat some illnesses right away, even though there are now modern hospitals in the area. While on your visit to this village, get time to listen and learn from the traditional healers how they mix different herbs to get medicines for different illnesses.

After enjoying all the above activities, your trip will be incomplete without the traditional performances presented by the natives of Nkotsi village. Enjoy Kinyarwanda dances, drumming, and singing. Members of the local community present the popular Intore dance accompanied by traditional musical instruments, including Inanga, Agakenke, Umuduri and Amarinder. Its fun, entertainment, and perfect involvement in Rwandan culture and tradition.

As you wind up your visit to Nkotsi village, visitors are advised to donate or buy some of the products made by the local people as a way of supporting the community and helping to improve their standards of living.

Other Cultural places in Musanze that can be  tailored to a gorilla safari

Visit the gorilla Guardians village (Ib’yiwachu cultural center)

This a common place that most tourists visit after gorilla tracking in Volcanoes national park. This place started as a simple rehabilitation center for the former poachers and has currently become one of Rwanda’s best cultural centres and a potential source of income for the tourism sector.  Most of the displays at the Ib’yiwachu cultural center reflect what a Rwandan homestead looked like before colonialism. You’ll see ancient huts, swords, bows, and arrows from long ago.

At the center is a local medicine man who is always happy to show how natural herbs that were used to treat common illnesses. A well-designed hut representing the royal palace with royal seats and gowns. You can be allowed to dress like a king or queen for some minutes.  After seeing different parts of the Village, tourists can watch traditional dance shows and learn how to play drums and flutes, which are the common instruments in the area. People who are interested in traditional beer can also get local beer. You can buy great gifts from the area at the Ib’yiwachu Cultural Village as souvenirs for your trip.

Musanze caves

Musanze caves are a cultural tourist attraction close to Volcanoes National Park. the caves can be reached after a 1.2-mile walk from Musanze town. The falls are a result of basaltic lava layers that are believed to have come from the Bisoke and Sabinyo virunga volcanoes. Today, the caves serve as a great tourist attraction that can be tailored to gorilla tracking.

On your guided walk through the caves, you will walk along set-up walkways and stairs. Inside the caves, you will observe a huge population of bats hanging on the walls of the caves and beautiful green vegetation on the rocks that makes the area best for photography. The caves were used for shelter by the locals during the 1994 genocide. A guided walk through the caves takes 2-3 hours as the residents help to explain the history of the caves.

Buhanga Eco Park

This cultural attraction was named after the first king of Rwanda. The eco park is found in Buhanga forest and was formerly used for cultural ceremonies and rituals, like crowning the new king. The new king was always carried from Nyanza to this palace and showered with the spring water, and later sought blessings from the elders and gods. Buhanga Eco Park has designed trails that enable you to have a deeper exploration of the park. Through a guided nature walk through this eco park,  the local guide will provide the background and historical myths of the forest. Buhanga Eco Park has an amazing attraction of the three types of trees  (Inyabutatu) growing in one area and are said to represent the three tribes in Rwanda united under one king. Many travellers visit this park for birding.

When planning your gorilla safari to Volcanoes National Park, it’s always important to tailor your trip to any of the above cultural centres for a deeper understanding of Rwanda’s culture, tradition, history, and natural heritage. Cultural sites will make your Rwanda safari beautiful and memorable in your lifetime.