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Lake Kivu

1 luxury lodge

Blue-toned layered hills and peninsulas reflected in calm lake water at duskElevated view over Lake Kivu with a green wooded shoreline curving into the bay under a bright skyWooden fishing pirogues lashed together with long eucalyptus poles, moored on green waterA man paddling a long wooden dugout canoe across the lake in early morning light

Rift Valley lake on Rwanda's western border with DRC, lying on the road between Volcanoes and Nyungwe. Rubavu is about an hour from Volcanoes NP; Rusizi is about 45 minutes from Nyungwe. Activities include beaches, kayaking, island boat trips and the Congo Nile Trail.

Rwanda's largest lake (2,700 km², 1,460 m) in the Great Rift Valley; lakeside towns Rubavu (Gisenyi), Karongi (Kibuye) and Rusizi (Cyangugu); 227 km Congo Nile Trail; kayaking; Napoleon Island fruit bats.

ProtectionForest / other
By road from Kigali3.5 h

The lodges

1 of 1 lodges

Mantis Kivu Queen uBuranga
Lake Kivu · Mantis Collection · 10 rooms
Rates on request
Lake views

Location compared

Where each lodge sits and how far it is from the main activities. Sorted by drive time; blanks mean the lodge doesn't publish it.

LodgePositionDrive to startViewsElevation
Mantis Kivu Queen uBuranga——Lake—

When to go

Blue dots: rainfall

Photos: Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0; Photo: Ericnkurunziza, CC BY-SA 4.0; Photo: Adam Jones, Ph.D., CC BY-SA 3.0; Photo: Ludovic Hirlimann, CC BY-SA 4.0.