Wednesday morning wasn’t supposed to be a hiking day until a visitor from Nairobi suggested hitting one of Kigali’s hills. Suddenly, my “maybe we’ll hang out before you return to Kenya” plans were replaced with “let’s lace up our shoes and go!”—way better than meeting in a bar, if you ask me.
I got to the foot of Kanyinya Hill first and decided to fuel up with a cup of coffee at Riverside Motel, right on the banks of the Nyabugogo River. By the time he arrived, I was caffeinated and ready for the challenge.
I’d climbed this hill before during the 30 Districts Expedition in 2023, so I thought I knew my way around. Spoiler: I didn’t. We started along Rutagara I Trail, passed a signpost, then another… and somehow, somewhere, we went off track. A promising path led straight into thick shrubs. Backtrack, check. Hire a couple of local boys to guide us for a small fee—check. (I like showing locals that tourism can benefit them directly, anyway.)
Up, up, and up we went. The higher we climbed, the better the view. The sun was shining, the hills were green, and the rivers—Nyabugogo and Nyabarongo—looked like gliding snakes. We even spotted their confluence.
I was looking forward to a water break at the “picnic” spot from my last hike, but nope—the boys took a slightly different route. And honestly? That turned out to be a blessing. Instead of benches and trash bins, we found a raw, untouched vantage point. I sat on a rock right at the cliff’s edge. Chills down my spine? Absolutely. Worth it? Totally. The view was insane: settlements, rivers, green hills stretching to the Southern Province, all laid out like a postcard.
After a brief photoshoot on the cliff, we made our last push to the top. Another misstep—our shortcut to Kanyinya Hills Hotel turned into a scenic detour through the village. Over an hour later, we finally arrived. Could we have made it in 40 minutes? Sure. But would we have discovered that epic viewpoint and experienced life in the community along the way? Absolutely not.