The Congo Nile Trail

The Congo Nile Trail runs 227 kilometres down the Rwandan side of Lake Kivu, from Rubavu in the north to Rusizi in the south. It follows the watershed the name refers to: rain falling on one side of the ridge reaches the Atlantic, on the other the Mediterranean.

It is the best long-distance route in the country, and the most common mistake is treating it as an all-or-nothing proposition.

The whole thing

End to end takes roughly ten days on foot or five on a bike. It is not technical, but it is relentlessly hilly — the trail drops to the shore and climbs back out repeatedly, and the total ascent over five days on a bike is substantial.

Accommodation along the route ranges from lakeside hotels in the towns to guesthouses and homestays in between. It is not a wilderness trail; you are passing through farmland and villages the whole way, which is much of the appeal.

Doing a section instead

This is what we recommend to most people, and it is not a lesser version of the trip. A day or two on the best stretch gives you the landscape, the villages and the lake without committing a fortnight.

• Rubavu to Kinunu — one to two days, tea and coffee terraces, and the easiest logistics from Volcanoes National Park.
• Kinunu to Karongi — the prettiest stretch, deep bays and islands, and the section most worth the effort.
• Karongi to Kibogora — quieter, steeper, fewer visitors.
• Any half day out of a lakeside hotel, walked rather than ridden, with a boat back.

Bike or foot?

Bikes cover more ground and let you see the whole trail in a week, but the climbs are serious and the surface is rough in places. Mountain bikes rather than hybrids, and brakes you trust.

Walking is slower, obviously, and better for the villages — you stop more, you talk to more people, and the children who run alongside you can keep up. If your goal is the country rather than the distance, walk a section.

Practicalities

• Guides and bike hire are arranged in advance; signage on the trail is inconsistent.
• A support vehicle makes the multi-day version far more pleasant and is how most people do it.
• The drier months are much easier underfoot and on two wheels.
• Carry water and cash; villages have small shops but not reliably.
• It ends, or begins, at Lake Kivu — so build in a couple of nights to swim afterwards.

One thing worth saying: this is one of the few things in Rwanda that is genuinely about the country between the highlights rather than the highlights themselves. If that appeals, give it more days than you think.