5 Must Try Adventure Activities In Rwanda

Increasingly known for gorilla trekking and luxury travel, the small nation of Rwanda has a lot to offer adventure intrepid travelers. Read on for 5 of the best adventure activities to check out while visiting the land of a thousand hills.

* Kayak Lake Kivu

Rwanda’s pristine Lake Kivu makes this country not only a hiking destination but a beach one as well. The lakeside towns of Gisenyi and Kibuye offer plenty of kayaking opportunities, from casual to lakeside rentals to trips with Kingfisher Journeys. Early mornings on the lake are quite calm, as hazy mist coats the terraced farms, and fishing boats return with a dawn’s haul. Rwanda by land is gorgeous, and Rwanda by water is even more impressive.

* Gorilla trekking

There’s nothing quite like hiking through a thick forest on the side of an extinct volcano, dripping with sweat and covered in mud, before coming across a family of endangered mountain gorillas. Rwanda is one of the only countries in the world—along with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda—that offers trekking with endangered mountain gorillas, and conservation efforts in the past fifteen years have impressively buoyed the species forward. If your budget allows for gorilla trekking, it really shouldn’t be missed.

* Hikes in Nyungwe

Nyungwe National Park, in addition to housing most of the country’s primate and bird population, is also Africa’s largest montane rainforest. As a result, hikes in this park are plentiful, lush, and incredibly rewarding. Make sure to check out the waterfall hike and the canopy walk, and bring a raincoat or two.

* Cycle the Congo Nile trail

Rwanda’s Congo Nile trail spans the length of Lake Kivu, and can be hiked, biked, or even kayaked. The trail takes travelers through bright green tea fields, terraced farms, lakeside viewpoints, and small towns. It takes about eight days to kayak, three days to bike, and 11 days to hike, and there are plenty of small guesthouses and campsites for travelers to stay at along the way.

* Run a marathon

Two marathons happen in Rwanda every year. The Nyungwe Marathon and the Kigali Peace Marathon usually occur in March and May, respectively, and take participants through the lush forests of Nyungwe and the gleaming streets of Kigali. Runners from all over the region attend these events, and the country is abuzz when they occur.