The ibyiwacu cultural village is referred to as a gorilla guardian village which is an amazing location to tour and enjoy the amazing traditional culture of the Banyarwanda. Although the country offers amazing and beautiful scenery as well as a number of green hills thus naming it a land of a thousand hills. Rwanda boasts as one of the leading tourists destinations in Africa although her small size with few natural resources compared to her neighbors. The Ibyiwacu cultural village is among the greatest stopping sits by tourists within the country while on a safari. It’s located in Musanze district and the word Ibyiwacu is in Kinyarwanda meaning the `treasure of our home and heritage’.

The ibyiwacu cultural village marks as the leading cultural attraction in Rwanda. Its location combines all the Rwanda’s famous cultural traditions, people and history into one place for display and personal experience. Tourists who come to tour the village enjoy the lifestyle of the locals, traditional houses and dances, dress code, food, herbs and how the ancient kingdoms were arranged. While on your safari, tourists are allowed to learn about the ancient hunting skills, weaving baskets and carpentry among others. The village has offered amazing cultural experience to the hearts of many visitors who wish to indulge in the culture of Rwanda’s native community after visiting Rwanda’s capital `Kigali’, encountering the mountain gorillas and hiking mountains such as mount karisimbi.

Besides generating revenue and publicity, the cultural village works as a unifying factor for Rwanda’s cultural/ tribal groups such as the Hutus, Tutsis and Batwa. The center helps to encourage the feeling of oneness found in a commonly shared ideology. Many tourists visit the cultural center after the chimpanzee and gorilla trekking. There as well so many activities that you can engage in with the locals and others done with the guidance of a trained tour guide;

COMMUNITY WALKS

There are community walks with the help of the guide as you visit the community. The tour operators will take you to various tourism sites within the community where you will visit many local shops offering local paintings, woven clothes and amazing pots among others

VISITING THE KINGS PALACE

While on the cultural village, you can as well visit the king’s palace where you will learn more about the ancient king, how he ruled and managed their courts. You can take part in some of the kingdom activities and ceremonies that were conducted within the king’s palace under the watch of the king, queens, princess, clan leaders and high level visitors. A visit at the king’s home offers the true picture of an ancient African kingdom setting with all symbols to represent power, information about each clan and you will be guided by the guide who will help to explain and answer all your questions as you go through each symbol.

PARTICIPATE IN TRADITIONAL DANCES AND MUSIC

Rwanda as a country has 8 different types of traditional dance and music. And when it comes to music and dancing, every one including the women, kids, men and the youths find it really interesting. They can as well teach you how to dance a few styles such as the Intore dances, learn about the Agakenke drumming styles among others. There are some popular songs they call the songs of gorillas and you can learn about them as well.

VISIT THE BATWA COMMUNITY

The batwa people are the indigenous people of the most forested areas around the volcanoes and while on the safari, you can visit their families to learn more about them. The Batwa people were originally gatherers, but adopted the modern means of living and so have started various income generating activities such as pottery making among others.

However there are so many other activities that one can engage in such as visiting the various local schools, checking on the women when they are making their craft piece or even join them in the kitchen as they prepare local dishes among others