Located in the western part of Rwanda, lake Kivu is Rwanda’s largest freshwater lake which they share with the democratic republic of Congo.
Lake Kivu has an average depth of about 240m or 787ft, an average width of 48km or 30miles and an average length of 89km or 55miles. Lake Kivu lies about 126km west of Kigali Rwanda’s capital.
Lake Kivu is considered a pretty old lake that was formed as a result of secondary faulting along the western arm of the great east African rift valley.
In initially this lake had an outflow that connected to the Nile however during the volcanic eruptions of the Virunga ranges around 12000 years ago, this outflow was dammed by lave flowing from these ranges hence lake Kivu changed its outflow to southwards into Lake Tanganyika.
Although very pleasant to eyes of anyone who visits this lake on their Rwanda safari adventure, Lake Kivu has had a troubled past as scientists have found traces of limnic eruptions which they believe occurred about 1000 years ago.
A Rwanda safari tour to lake Kivu takes you to any of three major towns that are found on the serene waters of this lake.
Rubavu. Formerly known as Gisenyi this town is located on the northern bank of Lake Kivu and its lies about 150km from the Rwandan capital of Kigali or only 60km from Musanze town which is Rwanda’s gateway to Volcanoes National Park where Rwanda gorilla trekking tours take place.
While in Rubavu tourists on an Africa safari adventure to Congo can also easily cross into Congo for either Congo gorilla safari to Virunga National Park or a Congo hiking safari to the top of the fire-spitting Nyiragongo volcano range.
While in Rubavu for on your Rwanda tour you have an opportunity to enjoy a myriad of activities which include boat cruises on the northern sector of Lake Kivu, water bath in the Nyamyumba hot springs that are believed to have healing powers and the Congo Nile trail.
The Congo Nile trail takes you through the scenic countrysides while following the Nile and Congo river basin trails.
This trail can be done in 10 days while on foot, 5-6 days in 4×4 on a cycling tour and 3-4 days in a 4×4 safari land cruisers with stopovers included.
Karongi- formerly known as Kibuye, its unanimously recognized as the prettiest town on the shores of lake Kivu, this town is located on the eastern end of lake kivu about 1000km south of Rubavu ( Gisenyi).
Some of the major activities you can do include while on a Rwanda tour to Karongi include coffee and tea tours, visiting Bisesero genocide memorial boat cruises and if you chance to make your safari Rwanda to Karongi during the month of August you can be rest assured to catch sightings of yellow billed bats flying over this lake.
Would you like to visit Lake Kivu on your next Africa safari adventure? Check out our Rwanda gorilla tracking safaris website.
This website gives you a myriad of Rwanda gorilla tour packages. Rwanda gorilla safaris are carried out in Volcanoes National Park, Volcanoes is home to over 10 gorilla families that have been habituated to give you an ultimate Rwanda gorilla tour experience.
These gorilla safaris in Rwanda have been classified into short Rwanda gorilla tours and these run between 1- 5 days for example 1 day Rwanda gorilla safari tours and 2 days Rwanda gorilla safaris.
There are also long Rwanda safari tours, these run between 6-9 days for example 6 days Rwanda gorilla chimpanzee safaris.
Since Uganda is also another fascinating Africa tour destination which shares quite similar attractions like Rwanda has, these attractions in range from savanna wildlife attractions that are found in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park and Lake Mburo National Park.
Uganda is also a gorilla destination and Uganda gorilla safaris are carried out either in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which can be visited for a spectacular Uganda gorilla tour experience.
After a magical gorilla tour in Uganda, you can always visit Lake Bunyonyi Uganda and enjoy the stunning views of this magical lake.
A visit to Lake Bunyonyi gives you an opportunity to experience a boat ride on Africa’s second deepest lake.
Regardless of the length of your stay in Africa, you can enjoy either a short Uganda safari tour or a long Uganda safari tour experience visiting several attractions in Uganda.
However, if you don’t want to miss out on experiencing what each country has to offer, you can also have a combined Uganda Rwanda safari tours options which will see you visit the two countries of Uganda and Rwanda in a single safari package such as 5 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla trekking safari.
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