Rubavu

Rubavu, long known as Gisenyi, sits at the top of Lake Kivu with a strip of sand along the shore, a promenade of old colonial villas under palms, and the Virunga volcanoes standing behind the town. It is the busiest of Rwanda's lake resorts, with hotels along the front and a working port nearby, and its urban area, about 547,000 people in 2022, is the second largest in Rwanda. The water here is warm and people swim; the lake is often described as bilharzia-free, though that is a reputation rather than a guarantee.

Highlights

• The beach and promenade - sand and a palm-lined front with colonial villas.
• The swimming - warm water off a town beach.
• The Virunga backdrop - the volcano chain rising behind the town.
• The lake traffic - boats working between the Kivu ports.

When to go

June to September and December to February are the drier windows and the busiest. Weekends fill the beach with Kigali visitors. The rains from March to May are heavy in the afternoons.

Good to know

The public beach is small and hotel frontage takes much of the shore. Kivu holds dissolved carbon dioxide and methane in its deep water. Hotel prices are high for the region.

Nearby

Nyamyumba hot springs are just south, and Volcanoes National Park is east.

Key facts