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By Okorie Uguru, [email protected]
Rwanda’s reputation as a tourist destination is built on the back of her gorilla conservation efforts carried out inside the Volcanic Mountains region of the country. Consequently, tourists from far and near visit this highland area to see the gorillas in their natural habitat. As a tourism industry product, this activity is called gorilla trekking. So, most times when the country’s tourism bureau shouts ‘Visit Rwanda’, it is actually selling gorilla trekking adventure.
However, while Rwanda has earned billions of dollars from gorilla trekking, the country has other tourism offerings which had helped to expand its tourism income. One other popular attraction for tourists visiting Rwanda is the Lake Kivu experience. Aside the beauty and serenity of Lake Kivu, the lake area has one of the highest population densities in the country, about two million people. There are always activities around the lake.
The Kivu Lake is about four hours’ drive from the country’s capital Kigali, towards the western border between Rwanda and Congo Democratic Republic.
The road that leads to the lake is scenic with mountains and hills spread out on both sides of the road covered by lush, dark green vegetation. Most often, the hills and mountains are capped by mountain dews. Rwanda is in the heart of the tropics, the rains are always not far away. They fall intermittently.
The winding road ends at Goma, the border town between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Heading towards Goma, one is always conscious of the presence of Lake Kivu on the left.
To tour and cruise on Lake Kivu, tourists need to get to one of the tiny villages that dot the lake’s shore. Life in this western part of Rwanda, from hundreds of years back, revolves around the lake. Lake Kivu is important to the people not just because of her beautiful emerald waters that attract tourists throughout the year; it is a source of livelihood for many fishermen, and also certain mineral are extracted from the lake.
Lake Kivu has a large population of fishing communities and many of these communities have modest hotel accommodations for tourists. A tourist can always get a pocket friendly hotel in these lakeside communities
The tour of Lake Kivu starts with the first leg of the tour which was a short trip to the floating hotel, the Kivu Queen by Mantis, a luxury boat that gives high end tourists a stay on Lake Kivu to tour different parts of the lake. One could see and visit different small islands dotting the lake.
The water is not turbulent, only disturbed by the wave created by the speeding local boat.
The boat operator taking the group to the Kivu Queen boat hotel talked about the lake. His words: “The lake has many islands. They are not inhabited except by animals, especially monkeys. In the olden days, it is forbidden for any young girl to become pregnant outside marriage. It is a great taboo. If a young girl is caught pregnant, she would be removed from the community and left to die in one of these remote islands.” He then pointed to a far off land across the ocean, “That place is in Congo Democratic Republic. The people there observe what we are doing from there. Once we drop any young girl in any of these remote islands, they will quickly sneak in and take the girl away. However, that culture has now been abolished.”
As the engine boat got close to the Kivu Queen Luxury Hotel, there was a dance troupe to a welcome the visitors to the boat.
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They were also welcomed with a cocktail. The luxury boat gently increased its speed to show the tourists to different parts of the lake and islands with their exotic flora and fauna.
Kivu Queen by Mantis is a 10-cabin modern boat hotel with a swimming pool, restaurant, bar and viewing deck with a hot tub. This unique boat experience takes travellers on a luxury. The luxury boat usually travels the length of Lake Kivu, calling on Rubavu in the north of Rwanda, sailing past the island of Idjwi which is said to harbour pygmy tribes there, and also stopping by a tea and coffee estate run by local farming cooperatives for a tour and tasting.
This luxury boat hotel features a local staff complement, enabling an exceptional experience for each guest and at the same time provide a much-needed income to the local community.
In line with Mantis’ community and conservation efforts, the Kivu Queen was conceptualized to also add value to the environment and communities of Lake Kivu. The floating hotel is solar powered and equipped with advanced waste-management and heating systems.
The town that sprout beside the lake have lined a number of hotels like Lake Kivu Serena hotel, Cormoran Lodge, Kivu Paradise Resort among others.
Lake Kivu’s leafy boundaries and sandy shoreline is a magnet for long weekend getaways and holidays in the rather landlocked country. It’s a little splash of paradise in an already beautiful country and a worthy must-add to your itinerary to complement your gorilla trekking trip at Volcanoes National Park.
For tourists who may not be able to afford the Kivu Queen, they could have a picnic on the lake which is a beautiful and alluring experience.
Sport-fishing is a recreational and competitive way of fishing where the fish caught is immediately returned to the waters.
The freshwater of Lake Kivu is home to quite a number of fish species like Blue-spotted tilapia, Nile tilapia, Lake Tanganyika Sardine, and Redbreast tilapia, among others.
Another favourite activity for tourists on Lake Kivu is to hire a local boat from one of the communities by the shore of the lake and embark on a tour of the expansive waters. The trip could go as far and the border town of Goma.
The lake does not have dangerous aquatic animals like hippos and crocodiles. This is as a result of the toxic gasses in her crust, creating a perfect environment for taking boat cruises on the large water body.
On Lake Kivu, there are so many activities to entertain tourists outside the boat cruise. Other activities like water sports, hiking and biking on the remote islands and other numerous activities are also available for fun seekers.
