Congo Nile Trail

The Congo Nile Trail is a tourist route in western Rwanda. It does not visit the Nile or the Congo river, but instead partly goes along the watershed between them.

Understand

The Congo Nile Trail on Lake Kivu shores covers a wide range of attractions, of which the most relevant one is the watershed separating two greatest African basins: those of the Congo and the Nile. The 227-km trail offers unique hiking or cycling opportunities through the impressive Rwandan landscapes, which provide habitats to a great variety of plants and birds.

The trail was launched in 2011 by Rwanda Development Board/Tourism Department as a new tourism product designed for adventure travellers with support from UNWTO, the World Tourism Organisation.

There are separate routes of the trail for those hiking and those biking. The routes still cross or overlap at many places. Both routes follow dirt roads and dirt tracks. Bikers will want to have a terrain bike.

Except for staff at hotels, people in rural Rwanda usually speak only Kinyarwanda and a few words of English, French or Swahili. Still, they often go out of their way to help you if there is a problem.

See

There are many plantations of tea and coffee by the trail, some of which offer tours. There are also banana plantations, and bananas are commonly eaten in a variety of dishes. In many villages, traditional handicraft, such as pottery and weaving, are important trades. Boat trips on Lake Kivu are possible in many places. You might be able to join on a fishing excursion. There are many beaches, where you can go swimming.

The trail passes by Nyungwe Forest National Park and Gishwati-Mukura National Park, which you might want to visit. These include rain forest that has been separated from the one once reaching from Congo to Burundi, early enough that endemic species have developed.

Prepare

Since a large portion of the trail is going to be spent by yourself, travelers should have food and water with them in case they can't make it to a hotel by night-time. Additionally, malaria is worse in the rural parts of the country, so it's vital to bring anti-malarials, bug spray, and bed nets. The trail goes through mountains, so travelers should also be careful about altitude sickness.

Get in

Fly to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, and then drive to Gisenyi, Rubavu District (164 km), the trail starting point.

Bike

The biking route has 8 stages, and it's expected that a traveler spends 1 day per stage. The information here is presented in the traditional north to south route, but it's also possible to go the other direction as well.

Stage 1

Beginning 7km south of Gisenyi, bike through the villages of Rwinyoni and Nkora until you reach Kinunu, for a total distance of 36.5km.

Stage 2

This stage is a 28.5km ride that takes you down Coko Valley and along the Coko River before a steep climb to Bumba, where the stage ends.

Stage 3

From here, the trail diverges into 2 different routes. The easy route is a 31.2km ride through various agricultural villages. Head to Sure and continue until you reach the valley of Musaho. From there, take a bridge across Muregeya River and leave the valley to arrive at Ryanyirakabano. From there, head to Kibirizi, cross the Musogoro River, and bike up Sakinnyaga mountain until you reach Karongi.

For the more scenic route, take the trail past the tea plantations, which will bring you up a mountain. From there, you bike up and down a series of valleys until you reach the Congo-Nile Divide, where you can see the eastern valleys drain into the Nile while the western valleys drain into the Congo River. From there, you bike down into the Mukura Forest and take a sharp turn towards Sure, which brings you on the path of the easier route.

Stage 4

This is a 29.5km ride with the longest continuous ascent, which takes you to the Gisovu tea estate.

Stage 5

This is a short 11.5km ride that's mostly downhill and takes you to Mugonero.

Stage 6

This 56.6km ride starts with you either going downhill to Ku Rukunda or taking a boat there. Either way, once in Ku Rukunda, start biking along the banana and rice farms until you're in Ryadomori. Afterwards, follow the main road to Kadehero, and then take the dirt roads to Tyazo.

Stage 7

Bike to Kinini and decide whether you want to go directly to Kigaga or if you want to take a scenic detour through Nyungwe Forest. Going directly requires biking 34.2km, while the detour adds an additional 8.8km.

Stage 8

This is the final stage. After a 20.2km ride through the Cyunu Valley, you arrive at Cyangugu, where the trail ends.

Eat and sleep

There are 8 base camps along the trail, which offer affordable accommodation and food. There are also several other accommodation and camping options, but it's advised to book ahead of time.

Drink

Water, soft drinks and Primus (beer) are available.

Fees and permits

No fee, no booking required: just rent a bike or hire a local guide.