After a few days in the city we were ready to chill out for a few days. I know that’s kind of all we’ve been doing, but it seemed a bit hectic and we hadn’t found anywhere we wanted to stay for a bit longer… and there were monkeys to see in the Nyungwe National Park. Who can resist going to see monkeys? (Not us, evidently.)
We were in no rush, though, and the route from Kigali to Nyungwe heads due south for three hours to Butare (also known as Huye), then two hours west, and so we thought we’d overnight en route. Overnight eventually turned into three nights. Visitors to Butare might wonder at how anyone could find things to do to spend four days there but, like I say, we were in no rush.
One half of the National Museum in Butare
Butare is basically one road, and at either end are the sites of interest to tourists: the National Museum and the university.
The museum is excellent. It’s just the right size for you to be able to look at everything and read all the information before you get bored. There’s good info on natural history and loads on traditional crafts and skills, including making clothing from fincus bark, beer from bananas and baskets, plates and wall hangings from all kinds of grasses.
Rwandans are seriously good at weaving; a basket like this is so tight it could probably take a bullet
The plates are prety cool too. The basic component is papyrus but they use all kinds of leaves and grasses
Other exhibits include the deputy chief’s house/hut from Nyanza, which was occupied until the 1950s. If you’ve already visited Nyanza (we hadn’t) then it’s very similar to the chief’s hut there.
The section on traditional beliefs and folk tales was one of our favourites. Jess spotted this, which we thought was beautiful:
When a newborn baby is given its name, hoes made from branches are distributed to the children present, who are asked to cultivate the soil. They are occasionally given seeds to plant. The ground is scattered with droplets of water to represent tears, and then the children are given food. Then each child is asked to give the baby a nickname, some of which are kept for childhood, or for life.
I can’t remember the price of entry, but it was either 3,000 or 4,000RwF (£3.30-£4.40). Either way, it won’t break the bank, and in a country that isn’t exactly awash with tourist attractions (if you don’t count gorillas, monkeys, safaris etc) this qualifies as a must-see.
Moving on from there, the university only qualifies as a site of interest precisely because there isn’t much else to do. It’s a working, apparently thriving uni, but that doesn’t in itself make it worth a visit. Two things do, though: firstly, it’s set in a beautiful arboretum, originally set up as a research park and now just a lovely place to take a wander and relax.
Secondly, if there’s football on TV then you could do a lot worse than check out the university auditorium: basically like watching the match in a cinema, complete with rows of tiered seats and a huuuuuuge screen.
[...] been staying in Butare, and the plan was to catch the Sotra bus from here to Nyungwe. We weren’t entirely sure this [...]