Lake Kivu

• Lake Kivu, Rwanda’s largest freshwater lake, provides visitors with gorgeous views, of emerald green waters surrounded by mountains.
• This is the place to come to relax between strenuous trekking activities on your Rwanda trip.
• This bustling town borders DR Congo. It is now known as Rubavu though its previous name of Gisenye is still used.
• This is the perfect beach retreat, about an hour’s drive from Volcanoes National Park.
• It’s easy to explore on foot, a visit the bustling markets is fun.

Without a doubt, the prime attraction of Rwanda’s wildlife still remains the endangered mountain gorilla. A wildlife icon, hard to beat, the mountain gorilla inhabits the forested slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda and DRC, and the impenetrable forest of Bwindi in Uganda. Previous populations of this critically endangered species plummeted as low as 250 or so in the 1980’s, but with concerted efforts over the last 30 years, the mountain gorilla population has increased to approximately 1,060 to date over the 3 destinations. The wildlife of Rwanda does not stop here though, as over the years, alongside the protection of the mountain gorillas, we have seen a stabilization in the tracking of the elusive chimpanzees of Nyungwe Forest in the south, and healthy investment in the savannah game park of Akagera.

Principal ports on Lake Kivu are easily accessible by roads. Rusizi is about 220km/5 hours southwest of Kigali by methods for Huye and Nyungwe National Park, while Karongi is 135km/2 hours west of Kigali and Rubavu is 155km/3 hours northwest by methods for Musanze. Recently, a 200kmsurfaced road has come up which links the three main ports to each other. Rwand Air operates a schedule flight between Kigali and Kamembe airport, just outside Rusizi.