Idjwi Island

Down the middle of Lake Kivu runs Idjwi - Africa's second-largest lake island, a green spine of coffee terraces, banana groves and pineapple hills where life moves at pirogue pace between fishing coves and hilltop churches. The island's coffee cooperatives have built a quiet specialty reputation, guesthouse stays put visitors inside the farming rhythm, and walks cross ridge paths with the lake's blue on both horizons and the mainland's mountains stacked beyond. It is the region's gentlest destination - within the country's standing arranged-travel frame, reached by boat arrangements from the lake cities.

Background

Also spelled Ijwi, the island stretches 70 km and covers 340 km2, which makes it the tenth largest lake island in the world. It sits roughly midway across Lake Kivu, with 10 to 15 kilometres of water between its western shore and the Congolese mainland and a similar gap on the east toward Rwanda. At its southern tip, though, a promontory of the Rwandan coast lies only 1 kilometre away. About 250,000 people lived on Idjwi in 2009, a density of 700 per square kilometre, and the island has 311 schools, 203 primary and 108 secondary.

Source: Wikipedia, "Idjwi"

What's there

• The coffee terraces - cooperative farms on the island spine.
• The ridge walks - lake blue on both horizons.
• The pirogue coves - fishing life at the island's edges.
• The pineapple hills - the sweet crop the island is loved for.

When to go

June to September, the drier months, favour boats and ridge walks; the lake stays temperate year round. Arrangements run through operators in the lake cities.

Practical notes

Lake travel runs on local arrangements. On the island: guesthouses are simple, cash is the economy, and the pleasures are agricultural peace rather than spectacle.

Nearby

Bukavu, Kahuzi-Biega's gorillas and the Kivu shore.

Key facts