Worth knowing
Lake Kivu is about rest and scenery, not wildlife — its value is as the gentle counterpoint to the demanding forest treks, and as a beautiful link between Nyungwe and the volcanoes.
Getting there
Reached at Rubavu, Karongi or Rusizi, often paired with Nyungwe or the volcanoes
Best for
Rest, scenery, boat trips and gentle days between the forests
The land
A huge, deep Rift-valley lake along the western border with the DRC
Good to know
Safe for swimming — no hippos or crocodiles — a genuine wind-down
What it is
Lake Kivu is where a Rwanda trip exhales — a great Rift lake of calm water and green hills.
One of Africa's great Rift-valley lakes, Lake Kivu stretches along Rwanda's western border with the DRC — a vast, deep expanse of calm water ringed by terraced green hills. Unusually for an African lake, it has no hippos or crocodiles and is safe for swimming, which makes it the natural place to slow down between the exertions of gorilla trekking and rainforest. Boat trips to islands and fishing villages, kayaking, lakeside walks and simple rest are the order of the day. It pairs naturally with Nyungwe to the south and the volcanoes to the north.
The reason to come
The trip's exhale
After the steep, muddy effort of gorilla and chimp trekking, Lake Kivu is where a Rwanda trip slows down — swimming in safe, warm water, drifting out by boat, walking the green shoreline. It is the rest the rest of the itinerary earns, in a setting of real beauty.
Safe swimming
No hippos or crocodiles — a rare African lake you can actually swim in, warm and calm.
Boats and islands
Trips to the lake's islands and fishing villages, kayaking and sunset cruises.
The setting
Terraced hills, coffee country and Rift-valley scenery — a beautiful place simply to be.
The pause that completes it
Why a trip needs to slow.
Gorilla and chimp trekking are physically hard, and a Rwanda trip built only on them leaves no room to absorb it. Lake Kivu is the deliberate pause — the swim, the boat, the view — that lets the experience settle, and turns a string of treks into a properly paced journey.
When to come — honestly
Loveliest when it's dry.
June – September
Best
The long dry season — warm, clear and ideal for swimming, boats and lakeside days. The prime window.
December – February
Best
The short dry season, again warm and largely dry, excellent for time on and by the water.
March – May & October – November
Good
The green seasons — lush and atmospheric, with passing rain but plenty of calm lake days between showers.
Lake Kivu is at its best in the dry seasons, when the water is calm and clear and lakeside days are reliable. The green seasons are lush and quieter, with intermittent rain. The lake itself is warm and swimmable year-round.
A working, living lake
Beauty with a quirk
Lake Kivu is ringed by terraced hills, coffee farms and fishing communities, and the singing of its night fishermen out on the water is part of its character. It is a lived-in, working lake as much as a scenic one.
It is also one of the world's few "exploding lakes," holding vast volumes of dissolved methane and carbon dioxide at depth — now being tapped for energy — a geological quirk that does not affect a visit but adds to the lake's strangeness.
We use Lake Kivu as the deliberate slow point of a Rwanda trip — the swim, the boat, the rest — linking Nyungwe and the volcanoes with a couple of gentle days.
Beyond the obvious
Three ways to read Lake Kivu.
Rest and swimming
Calm, safe, warm water — the swim and the rest the trekking earns.
Boats and islands
Trips to the lake's islands and fishing villages, and sunset cruises.
Shoreline and coffee
Lakeside walks and the terraced coffee country of the Rift hills.
Why Wild Voyager
We plan Rwanda around the permits.
Rwanda's gorilla permits are premium-priced and strictly limited, booked far ahead — the scarce thing that makes or breaks the trip. In Lake Kivu that means using the lake as the deliberate slow point — the swim, the boat, the rest — that paces the trip between the forest treks.
We hold your permits, not a middleman
We secure the gorilla, chimp and park permits directly and early — the scarce, expensive thing everything hangs on — so your trek is locked in, not left to chance.
We base you in the right place
Lake Kivu is reached at several towns, and where you stay shapes the mood and the links to Nyungwe or the volcanoes. We base you on the shore for a genuine wind-down and route it cleanly between the forests.
We guide for wildlife, not a checklist
Our guides and the park rangers work the forest and the savanna for real encounters — they would rather earn you one great sighting than rush a list.
Journeys
Trips through Lake Kivu
Where to stay
Where you can stay in Lake Kivu
Signature Collection
Luxury Collection
Classic Collection
Wildlife you may see
Let your Rwanda trip
slow down on the water.
Lake Kivu is the gentle counterpoint to gorilla and chimp trekking — safe swimming, boats and Rift-valley scenery. We slot it between Nyungwe and the volcanoes.
Plan a Rwanda trip