This freshwater lake is a scenic wonder with stunning beachfront resorts where you can cool of before or after your gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park. Created by nature 1.5 million years ago, it still has all it takes to take your breath away. A refreshing breeze, a vast shoreline with powder soft sand and a backdrop of evergreen forests and rolling hills!
Like most of the lakes in the Albertine Rift, it is fed solely by falling rain, with no other inflow source. Its water changes color from turquoise to emerald green depending on the sunlight.
Lake Kivu lies in the western branch of the East African Rift, straddling the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In other words, it is strategically located in a rift valley system that serves as a flyway for migrating birds. As such, you stand great chances of marveling at hundreds of birds as they journey across.
If you are passionate about sport fishing, brace yourself for a great deal of fascination. It features around 28 fish species, half of which are cichlids found nowhere else. This is thanks to an abundance of planktons that double as their food.
It was formed as a result of volcanic activity and has a surface area of 2,370km2. That is why it is considered as the eighth largest of the African Great Lakes.
The lake is absolutely safe for swimming as it doesn’t have anything that is a threat to human life like hippos, crocodiles, and neither bilharzia. Kivu and its surrounding is relatively cool, with average temperatures of 17 °C (63 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F). The rainfall is sufficient though seasonal, the April being the peak season.
Cycling around Lake Kivu’s surrounding
If your heart beats for cycling or hiking, you can wrap up your stay at Lake Kivu with a tour of its neighbouring Congo Nile Trail. It goes through rainforests, bracken fields and scenic bamboo forests.
Due to its winding course through the peaks of Rwanda’s green hills, the trail is as just as challenging as it is exhilarating. In an effort to make the 10 days walk through this 227km less exhausting, you can pursue it in single sections. Along the way, there are well equipped camp sites where you can take a break and rest as your body recharges its batteries.