Kwita Izina is Rwanda's annual gorilla naming ceremony, held at the foot of the Virunga volcanoes in Kinigi, near Volcanoes National Park, where baby mountain gorillas are given names in front of thousands of people, in the way that Rwandan families have traditionally named their own children. Since 2005 it has grown into a national celebration of conservation, tourism and community, and it is the best-known event in Rwanda's tourism calendar. This guide explains what Kwita Izina means, where the tradition comes from, how the ceremony works, who names the gorillas, what the latest ceremonies were, how the public can follow it and how to plan a trip around it. People also search for the same event as Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony, gorilla naming ceremony Rwanda, what is Kwita Izina, Kwita Izina meaning, who names the baby gorillas, Kwita Izina namers, Kwita Izina Kinigi and Kwita Izina date.
Quick answer
What is Kwita Izina? Kwita Izina is the Kinyarwanda phrase for "giving a name", and it is the name of Rwanda's annual ceremony at which newborn mountain gorillas from the Virunga Massif are officially named, in the same spirit as a traditional baby-naming. The Rwanda Development Board has run it since 2005 at Kinigi, in Musanze District, and invites conservationists, public figures and supporters to act as the "namers". The date changes from year to year, and it is announced on the official channels, not fixed in advance.
Kwita Izina at a glance
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Annual gorilla naming ceremony and conservation festival |
| Organiser | Rwanda Development Board |
| First official ceremony | 2005 |
| Where | The foothills of Volcanoes National Park, Kinigi, Musanze District |
| Who is named | Baby mountain gorillas born in the Virunga Massif in Rwanda |
| 2025 ceremony | The 20th, on Friday 5 September 2025: 40 gorillas named |
| 2026 ceremony | The 21st: RDB announced that 22 baby gorillas were named |
| 2027 date | Announced by RDB on its official channels; not fixed in advance |
| Community share | 10 per cent of tourism income goes to local communities |
| Is it always in September? | No; it has moved between months and was postponed in 2024 |
Chapter 01 — What does Kwita Izina mean?
Kwita izina is a Kinyarwanda phrase that means "to give a name", and it is the same phrase Rwandans use for the naming of a child. In Rwandan tradition, a newborn is named in the presence of family, friends and neighbours, and the name often carries a wish or a message for the child's future, so the naming is a community event, not a private one. The gorilla ceremony borrows that tradition, and treats each baby gorilla as a new member of the community who deserves a name and a welcome.
That idea is the heart of the event. Rangers, trackers and researchers have long given names to the gorillas they follow, so that each animal can be identified and its life recorded, and RDB says they were naming the babies for about thirty years before the first official ceremony. Kwita Izina turned that working habit into a public celebration, with a purpose: to show that the gorillas belong to the people who live beside them, and to thank those who protect them.
Chapter 02 — The history: from 2005 to today
The first official Kwita Izina was held in 2005, and the event has been held most years since, though not in the same month each year. It began as a ceremony for the newborn gorillas of the Virunga Massif and has grown to include a programme of events around it: a community project launch, sports and concerts in Musanze, a golf tournament, a conservation gala dinner in Kigali and familiarisation trips for media and tour operators.
The numbering of the ceremonies is a clue to its history. The 2025 ceremony was the 20th, and the 2026 ceremony the 21st. Counting from 2005, that means one year was skipped: the 2024 ceremony was postponed, by an RDB notice dated 8 October 2024, and the next one was held in 2025. The Rwanda Development Board's count of gorillas named since 2005 was 397 before the 2025 ceremony, and the 40 named in 2025 and the 22 named in 2026 take the running total to about 459.
The ceremony has been held in different months over the years, for example in June in 2022 and in September in 2023 and 2025. That is why we tell visitors never to plan around "the September ceremony" until the date is announced.
Chapter 03 — How the ceremony works
On the day, the gorillas are not present. They stay in the forest, where rangers and trackers follow them, and the ceremony takes place in an arena at the foot of the volcanoes, in front of an audience of thousands. Each baby gorilla to be named is introduced by its mother and its family group, and a namer, who is invited by RDB, announces the name chosen for that baby. The names are in Kinyarwanda, and they usually carry a meaning, such as hope, strength or thanks.
The programme combines the naming with speeches, cultural performances, music and dance, and the Intore dancers, whose tradition goes back to the Rwandan courts, are a regular part of it. Short films show how the families of gorillas live and who protects them. The event is broadcast live, so that people in Rwanda and abroad can follow it, and the ceremony is also a time for RDB and its partners to share the latest news on conservation and tourism.
Chapter 04 — Who chooses the names, and who are the namers?
RDB invites the namers, who are a mix of conservationists, public figures, artists, athletes and supporters of conservation, together with people from Rwanda's communities and partner organisations. The list is announced shortly before the ceremony. In 2025, RDB named 31 namers who attended in person and nine who took part virtually, and the namers came from Rwanda and abroad. Each namer is matched with a baby gorilla and gives it its name.
The names themselves come from Kinyarwanda, and they are chosen to carry meaning. Because the gorillas will live their whole lives under that name, and because researchers and rangers will use it every day, the choice is taken seriously. Our guide on how many mountain gorillas are left explains why each individual counts in a population of about a thousand animals.
Chapter 05 — The venue: Kinigi and Volcanoes National Park
The ceremony is held in Kinigi, a town in Musanze District at the foot of the Virunga volcanoes, and it is where Volcanoes National Park has its headquarters. It is also the place where every gorilla trek begins, with a briefing at about 7 am, so the setting links the celebration directly to the animals and to the trekking that funds their protection. Musanze, the nearest town, is about two hours by road from Kigali, and it has the most hotels in the area.
The park is home to several gorilla families that can be visited, and trekking is run in groups of up to eight people, with an hour with the animals and a minimum age of 15. Our Volcanoes National Park guide covers the park and the trek, and our Kigali travel guide covers the capital where most journeys start.
Chapter 06 — Kwita Izina 2026: the 21st ceremony
This section is updated each year. It holds the details for the most recent ceremony, and it is the only part of the page that changes from year to year.
The 21st Kwita Izina was held in 2026, and the Rwanda Development Board announced that 22 baby mountain gorillas were named. RDB also published the list of namers ahead of the ceremony, and the programme followed the pattern of recent years, with the naming at Kinigi and a series of events around it. For the exact date, the namers and the full list of names, see the Rwanda Development Board's announcements at rdb.rw.
For readers planning for the next ceremony, the Kwita Izina 2027 date has not been announced, and we do not publish a guessed date. RDB announces the date and the programme on its official channels, and we update this page when it does. If you want us to tell you when it is announced, ask us when you enquire.
Chapter 07 — Kwita Izina 2025: the 20th ceremony
The 20th Kwita Izina was held on Friday 5 September 2025, at the foothills of Volcanoes National Park in Kinigi. Forty baby gorillas from 15 families were named: 18 born in 2024 and 22 born in 2023, because the 2024 ceremony had been postponed. The theme was a legacy of community-centred conservation and a sustainable future for all. RDB invited 31 namers to attend in person and nine to take part virtually, and the event was broadcast live on Rwandan television and on the Visit Rwanda channel online.
Around it, the programme included the launch of a community project in Kinigi, familiarisation trips for media and tour operators from 3 to 14 September, a sports event and a concert in Musanze, a golf tournament and a conservation gala dinner in Kigali on 6 September, and the launch of a crowdfunding platform by the Rwanda Nature Foundation to support the restoration of Volcanoes National Park.
Chapter 08 — Why Kwita Izina matters for conservation
Kwita Izina is a celebration, and it is also an argument. Its message is that mountain gorillas have a future because people chose to protect them, and that the people who live around the parks gain from it. Mountain gorillas were once close to extinction, and the combined census of the Virunga Massif and Bwindi counted about 1,063 animals in 2018, with the numbers still rising. The event keeps the attention of the public, donors and visitors on that success, and on the work that remains.
The ceremony also supports the way tourism income is shared. Rwanda's tourism revenue-sharing programme allocates 10 per cent of tourism income to the communities around the parks, and RDB says more than 18 billion Rwandan francs have been invested in more than 1,000 community projects, such as schools, clinics, water supplies and roads. A gorilla permit in Rwanda costs USD 1,500 per person per day, and part of that fee flows to those projects. Our guide to responsible and sustainable safari travel explains how to check that your trip does the same.
Chapter 09 — Can the public or tourists attend?
The ceremony is a large public event, with thousands of people in the audience, and it is organised by RDB. Access to the arena is controlled, and the details, including any invitations or ticketing, are set by RDB each year and announced with the programme. Tour operators and media are often invited through RDB's familiarisation programme. The simplest way for anyone to follow it is the live broadcast.
If you would like to be in Rwanda for the ceremony, tell us when you enquire, and we will check with RDB and the organisers whether there is an invitation or a public route for the year in question, and we will say so plainly if there is not. The days around the ceremony have their own events, such as concerts, a golf tournament and a gala dinner, and some of them are open to the public. Do not assume you can buy a ticket on the day.
Chapter 10 — Planning a trip around Kwita Izina
The days around the ceremony are the busiest of the year in Musanze and Kinigi. Hotels fill, roads are busier and gorilla permits sell out, so if your travel dates overlap with the ceremony, you should book early. Because the date is announced late in some years, the safest approach is to secure permits and rooms as soon as you know the date, and to ask us to hold flexible options.
If you would rather avoid the crowds, ask us to schedule your trek well away from the event. Our guides to how to book gorilla permits, the best time to book a gorilla trekking permit and when to book a safari and gorilla permits explain the timing, and our guide to gorilla permit costs in Uganda and Rwanda shows what the permits cost. Our gorilla trekking in Rwanda page lists the options we book, and our Rwanda safari packages show how to build a whole trip.
Chapter 11 — Kwita Izina and the gorilla habituation experience
Kwita Izina celebrates the gorillas that Rwanda protects, and the way those gorillas become used to people is a long process called habituation. In Rwanda, habituation is done for research and for the families that tourists visit for one hour, and the habituation experience, with up to four hours with a family that is still being habituated, is offered only in Uganda. Our guide to the gorilla habituation experience explains the difference, the price and how to book it.
A trip that combines both countries lets you see the two sides of mountain gorilla conservation: the Rwandan ceremony that celebrates new life, and the Ugandan habituation work that makes visits possible. Our guide to combining Uganda and Rwanda gorilla trekking shows how to do it.
Chapter 12 — A trip around Kwita Izina: sample plans
Four days. Fly into Kigali, spend a night in the capital, drive to Musanze, trek gorillas the next morning and return to Kigali. Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial on a rested day.
Seven days. Add Lake Kivu after Volcanoes for two nights of rest, with a boat trip. See our Lake Kivu guide.
Ten days. Add Akagera for the Big Five, and Nyungwe for chimpanzees. See our Akagera National Park guide and our 7-day complete Rwanda primates tour. Our Rwanda destination page shows how the parts fit together.
Chapter 13 — Myths about Kwita Izina
- "Kwita Izina is always in September." It has been held in different months, and the 2024 ceremony was postponed.
- "The gorillas come to the ceremony." They stay in the forest, with their trackers.
- "You can buy a ticket anywhere." Access is controlled by RDB, and the details are announced each year.
- "Celebrities choose the names alone." The names are Kinyarwanda and carry meaning, and the ceremony is organised by RDB.
- "Kwita Izina is only for tourists." It is a national celebration, rooted in the Rwandan tradition of naming children.
- "The date is known years ahead." It is announced by RDB, and we do not publish guesses.
Chapter 14 — Tips from our guides
- Do not plan around a guessed date. Wait for RDB's announcement.
- Book permits early if your trip could overlap with the ceremony.
- Stay in Musanze or Kinigi if you want to be near the venue.
- Watch the live broadcast if you cannot attend.
- Ask us about the side events, which may be open to the public.
- Plan a quiet day in Kigali at the memorial before or after.
- Trek on a different day if you want a calm forest.
- Learn the meaning of the names after the ceremony; many are about hope.
- Support the communities. Buy crafts, hire porters and visit a cultural centre.
- Ask us to plan it. We confirm the dates, permits and rooms on your written quote.
Our verdict
Kwita Izina is the clearest picture of how Rwanda thinks about its gorillas: as part of the community, worth naming and welcoming, and worth protecting for people who live beside them. The date moves, the namers change and the numbers grow each year, so the sensible way to use it is to follow the official announcement and plan permits and rooms around it. Tell us your dates and your interests, and we will tell you what the year's ceremony means for your trip, and build the route and confirm permits and hotels on your written quote.
Plan your safari with us. Tell us the month you can travel, how many days you have and who is coming, and we will reply within 24 hours with a route and a written quotation.
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