Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s popular getaway holiday destination known for its serene beachside resorts that line the lake’s sand-fringed shores and immersive water-based adventure activities. The lake’s attractiveness of picturesque beach line and terraced hillsides, offers a perfect weekend escape, a base to explore nearby attractions and a break while on Rwanda classic tour.
With no crocodile or hippos at all, Lake Kivu is a recreation hub and an adventure hotspot offering travellers a mix of relaxation, local culture and adventure. Activities highlights while on Lake Kivu include; kayaking, canoeing, water surfing, paddle boarding, boat tours, biking, cultural tours as well as walking tours.
Overview
Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s biggest freshwater lake and 6th on the continent, running over 70 km along the country’s western borderline shared with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Elevated at an altitude of 1470m, Lake Kivu covers a surface area of 2700km² with varying depths in excess of 400m and is part of a quartet of “great lakes” that lie within the Albertine Rift.
Lake Kivu geographically lies above a big deposit of methane gases which explains the less biodiversity here compared to other similar lakes in the rift but over 30 fish occur in here of which 16 are endemic to these waters. These high level of methane explains the absence of large mammals like crocodile and the semi-aquatic hippo. Lake Kivu is a home to Idjwi Island, the second biggest inland island in Africa and tenth in the world.
Things to Do and Attractions at Lake Kivu
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Kayaking and Canoe Experience on Lake Kivu
While at Lake Kivu, explore its beauty on a kayak as you paddle on its quiet waters. The kayak experience allows you to take in the beauty of the surrounding terraced hillsides along the scenic shoreline, appreciate diverse lifestyle of local fishing villages and enjoy birdlife on lake shore. The kayak experience is run by a high safety guides and will tailored the adventure to suit your fitness levels, size and age of your group. Kayak tour duration varies from as short as 2-4 hrs to half-a-day and even full-day adventure.
A better way to explore the quiet waters of Lake Kivu is canoeing. In a company of the local guide, paddle your way along the scenic beaches, past humble fishing villages and and soak in the panoramas of terraced mountain ranges. While on kayaking experience, take breaks to rest on scenic islands and appreciate local primates and bird life that abound in tropical forests patches.
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Take a Biking and Hiking Tour along the Congo-Nile Trail.
A better way to explore Lake Kivu’s spectacular scenic landscapes is on a biking or hiking tour or on foot. The biking tour follows the excellent demarcated Congo–Nile Trail, Rwanda’s most epic biking/hiking trail that follows the scenic eastern shore of Lake Kivu, from Gisenyi in the north all the way to Rusizi in the south near Nyungwe Forest. The trail can be undertaken on a multi-day biking tours. From Lake Kivu, short biking excursions run along the shorelines, offering interacting sessions with the locals and stunning views of the lake and its terraced hillsides.
- Visit the Batwa site of Dancing Pots for a Cultural Experience
While at Lake Kivu, take an interpretive tour to the Dancing Pot community, a home to the Batwa that offers an interactive cultural experience. While here, participate in pottery lessons, dance to traditional warrior songs, listen to storytelling and folklore.
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Take a Coffee Experience on a Walking Tour
While at Lake Kivu, explore the local communities on guided walking tours following local footpaths that explore local homesteads and agricultural farms, including coffee farms. The towering terraced hillside along Lake Kivu are the biggest growers of Rwanda’s excellent Arabic coffee that ranks among the top coffees in the world due to its high altitude. On this highly recommended community expereince, explore the whole cycle of the world’s most consumed beverage. The immersive demonstrative is led by a local the farmer takes you through how coffee begins its humble state from the nursery bed, the planting process, then picking, washing, and drying process, and finally you participate in a local brewing process and tasting a hot brewed coffee. Don’t forget to add value by buying yourself local ground/dried coffee to consume at home in support to these cherished local farmers.
More Attractions nearby Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu and its serene lake resorts offer a perfect base to explore attractions and activities on a short to full day trip including;
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Visit the Tea Factory
While at Lake Kivu, explore different tea plantations to learn about this important beverage. These tea estates include Rwanda’s biggest and earliest plantation, Pfunda estate, spread along mountain ranges and valleys and along Gisenyi-Musanze Road. From Rusizi town, one can explore the tea estate of Gisakura on a half- or full-day trip. A visit to these estates begins on the farm to see how tea is harvested to the factory, where it is dried, graded, and packaged for export and local consumption.
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Visit the nearby Volcanoes National Park
From the resort town of Gisenyi, one can explore Volcanoes National Park with its vast array of activities that range from gorilla trekking along with the mountain gorilla and golden monkey to hiking experiences. Volcanoes NP lies only 60 km, or approximately 1 hr drive, from Gisenyi.
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Visit the nearby Gishwati – Mukura National Park.
Yet again from Lake Kivu, you can explore the nearby Gishwati – Mukula National Park, Rwanda’s smallest and newest reserve with a great natural diversity. Here, activities include trek experiences along a community of chimpanzee and golden monkey, community experiences, biking and forest nature walks. The park lies close to 45 mins from the resort village of Rubona near Gisenyi town.
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Explore the ancient Nyungwe Forest
The ancient montane rainforest of Nyungwe lies about an hour’s drive and two hours’ drive from visitors’ offices of Gisakura and Uwinka, respectively. Activities to be explored on a day trip at Nyungwe Forest include chimpanzee trekking, canopy walks, nature walks, and varied hiking options.
Getting to Lake Kivu
By road: Lake Kivu and its resort towns along the Rwandan shoreline are accessed on all trunk roads linking them to Kigali. These resort towns of Rubavu (Gisenyi) in the north, Karongi (Kibuye) in the middle, and Rusizi (Changungu) in the south are linked with an excellent Congo-Nile highway that runs along the lake’s scenic shoreline.
By air: These resort towns are linked to Kigali airport with weekly scheduled flights to the airports of Kamembe in the south and Gisenyi in the north, while Karongi receives chartered helicopter flights.
By water: scheduled boat transport also connects these resort towns and other smaller fishing villages that line the shoreline.
Accommodation Options
These scenic resort towns of Rubavu (Gisenyi), Karongi (Kibuye) and Rusizi (Changungu) boast a variety of excellent accommodation plans that offer a perfect getaway and suit a wide range of comfort preferences.