Kimironko Market

About this place

Kimironko Market is Kigali's largest and liveliest market, in the Kimironko district east of the city centre. Under long metal roofs it gathers vegetables, fruit, cloth, shoes and household goods. It is the best place to see daily life in the capital and to buy African printed cloth at the prices local people pay. It has no long written past like the markets of old cities, as it serves districts that have grown fast in recent decades. Even so, it has become a regular stop for visitors because it brings together in one place what people eat and wear. Small tailoring workshops are busy here, and they can make a garment from the cloth you have just bought. You enter a wide hall with an iron roof, packed with rows of red tomatoes, heaps of watermelon, oranges and green bananas and sacks of beans and flour. Another section has racks of shoes and poles hung with clothes. The cloth stalls offer endless bright colours, with tailors working at their machines along the sides, and the noise carries on all day. It is about 8 km from the Kigali Genocide Memorial in a straight line. Keep your bag safe in the crowds and bargain politely, as prices are open to discussion. Rwanda bans plastic bags, so bring a cloth one. The market usually closes on the morning of the last Saturday of the month, the community work day. Ask before photographing sellers.