Umusambi Village – Kigali City Tours

Umusambi Village-Kigali City Tours: Any traveler to Rwanda should make time to see Umusambi Village. Umusambi Village is the ideal place for tourists arriving in Kigali to stop because of its close proximity to Kigali International Airport.

The only refuge for rescued grey-crowned cranes in Rwanda is Umusambi Village, also referred to as Umusambi Crane Village. There are about fifty grey-crested cranes in the community, but they are unable to return to the wild because of injuries they sustained while in captivity. With an estimated 400 cranes in the wild, the crane hamlet has become a permanent home for these magnificent birds.

The Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association is primarily responsible for the management of the 21-hectare natural reserve on which the crane hamlet was built. The association’s primary goals are to halt the illicit trade, increase public awareness, and release a large number of captive cranes back into the wild.

Since the conservation efforts began in Kigali’s Umusambi Village, sanctuary officials have encountered a number of cranes that have been crippled due to their imprisonment. This has frequently been connected to their abduction, subpar transportation, and torture, which includes the captors chopping off their wings or feathers to stop the birds from escaping. Due to their inability to return to the wild as a result of this abuse, the birds are carried to the crane village, where they receive care from sanctuary workers and a group of veterinary specialists.

Since the crane village opened, the society has rescued 242 grey-crowned cranes from captivity and returned 166 of them into the wild in Akagera National Park.

Umusambi Village offers visitors a distinctive ecotourism destination in Kigali, bringing locals and visitors from abroad closer to the natural world while also spreading awareness of our efforts to conserve Grey Crowned Cranes from the illicit trade. Due in part to habitat loss and illicit trade, Grey Crowned Cranes are considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Rwandan culture.

There were an expected 487 cranes in 2017, 459 cranes in 2018, 748 cranes in 2019, and an astounding 881 cranes in 2020, according to the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association’s annual population survey. The conservation association’s ongoing conservation projects and education initiatives are primarily responsible for the growth in their numbers.

Every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Umusambi Village in Kigali city is open to tourists, with the last admission time being at 4 p.m. Visitors from other countries pay $17 per person, foreign residents pay $11, Rwandan citizens pay $4, and all minors between the ages of 2 and 16 pay $4. The center offers free admission to children under the age of two. Furthermore, every penny raised from admission prices is reinvested in the center’s operations and conservation initiatives.

How to travel to Kigali’s Umusambi Village.

Umusambi Village is located in Rwanda‘s Kigali metropolis. It is conveniently accessible by vehicle, taxi, or motorbike (boda-boda) and is roughly 20 minutes from Kigali’s downtown. For tourists visiting Akagera National Park in Rwanda‘s eastern province, the crane sanctuary is a fantastic place to stop.

In conclusion, tourists taking a tour of Kigali should make time to visit Umusambi Village. It is preferable to combine a visit to the crane village with either a gorilla trekking safari in Volcanoes National Park or a wildlife safari in Akagera National Park.