By air
Kigali International Airport (KGL), ~3 h by road to Rubavu
Africa · Rwanda
Lake Kivu, Rwanda
Lakeside towns, island hops and hillside trails
Getting there
Best time to visit
June to September — dry, sunny days on the water
Don't miss
Rubavu lakeshore
Karongi
The Congo Nile Trail
Napoleon's Island
Things to do
Swimming and kayaking
Boat trips to islands
Hiking the Congo Nile Trail
Visiting coffee washing stations
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: YvanNB · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Swimwear, sunscreen, light rain jacket, walking shoes
A quieter corner
A boat trip to Napoleon's Island, home to a large colony of fruit bats
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Lake Kivu?
June to September — dry, sunny days on the water. What to pack: Swimwear, sunscreen, light rain jacket, walking shoes.
How do I get to Lake Kivu?
Fly into Kigali International Airport (KGL), ~3 h by road to Rubavu.
What is there to do in Lake Kivu?
Swimming and kayaking, boat trips to islands, hiking the Congo Nile Trail, visiting coffee washing stations. A quieter find: A boat trip to Napoleon's Island, home to a large colony of fruit bats.
What should I eat in Lake Kivu?
Isambaza, tiny fried fish from the lake, grilled tilapia and coffee from the surrounding hills.
About Lake Kivu
- Lakeside
- Hills
Where it is
Lake Kivu lies along the western border of Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the Rwandan towns of Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi on its shore.
History
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes, set in the Albertine Rift. The German officer Gustav Adolf von Götzen reached it in 1894, the first European known to have done so. Gisenyi, now Rubavu, grew as a lakeside resort in the colonial era, and today methane gas from the lake's deep waters is extracted to generate electricity.
People
The lakeshore people speak Kinyarwanda, and fishermen still head out at dusk in wooden boats lashed together, singing as they row out to catch isambaza by lamplight.
Known for
- Calm waters for swimming and kayaking
- The Congo Nile Trail
- Island-dotted bays near Karongi
- Coffee grown on the steep shores
Did you know?
Lake Kivu is one of only three lakes known to hold large amounts of dissolved gas that could cause a limnic eruption, alongside Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun in Cameroon.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.