Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika.

Lake Kivu covers a total surface area of 2730 km2 with a volume of 560 km3 and lies at an elevation of 1463 m above sea level. This Lake is a shared resource between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo whose bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 485 m is ranked nineteenth in the world.

Relax at the Beach

There is a pleasant public beach on Gisenyi’s lake shore but it can get quite busy, particularly at weekends. Some hotels have private beaches and water sport options.

After relaxation, while on your visit Rwanda, the Imbabazi Orphanage founded by American Rosamund Halsey Carr, is a beautiful memorial to a remarkable lady. On returning to Rwanda after the genocide at the age of 82, she transformed her ransacked house into an orphanage for survivors and over 400 orphans have since called this place home.

Sitting among colourful gardens, the house looks like an English country cottage, complete with an aging Labrador. Imbabazi is planning to develop a cultural centre in Carr’s memory and runs a variety of projects for local people, continuing to support its former orphans. Your driver/guide will need to contact the orphanage beforehand should you like to visit.

Enjoy seeing the Chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest, one of Africa’s most pristine rain forests with a number of activities to enjoy including canopy walks. Apart from Chimps, a number of other primates can be seen as well and birds too. The Akagera park has the ‘Big-five’ status now so you wouldn’t miss out to see some of these animals including the Rhinos.

Rwanda is generally a small country but there are plenty of ways to explore the varied landscapes whether you drive through the savannah – like plains of Akagera National Park or Kayak in Lake Kivu or climb the Misty slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes to see gorillas and after all these long days simply relax on Lake shore beaches of Kivu.