5 Days Rwanda Cycling Along The Congo Nile Trail- While on your Rwanda safaris, you can choose to involve yourself in a cycling experience on the famous Congo Nile trail. This Cycling tour will take you on the much-coveted Congo-Nile trail which runs in western Rwanda partly along Lake Kivu with stunning views of the lake. It takes you through attractive scenery and different villages with locals going about their day-to-day life. The tour is for 5 days if camping in villages and 6 days if staying at Guesthouses spread throughout the Congo Nile Trail. However, one can choose to cycle only a few days choosing to join in or exit at any point.

Detailed Itinerary

The Congo-Nile trail is well-marked with numerous stopovers in villages that offer camping sites guesthouses and shops. The trail primarily follows rocky, dirt roads that wind up and around the several hills between Gisenyi and Kamembe. There is no pleasant rural single track – you will be sharing the road with motorcycle traffic and the occasional beer delivery trucks or minibus. There are a few long climbs, you will be climbing and descending between intervals of 1450 and 1800 meters.

Food and Water – Both are available all over the entire trail. You are cannot move more than 5-10 km in a village with a drink shop.

Distance covered per day on the Congo Nile trail

Day 1: Gisenyi to Kinunu – 41 km – cycling takes 5 to 6 hours. The first day features the steepest elevation hike.

Day 2: Kinunu to Kibuye – 50 km and cycling take about 5 to 8 hours. Day 2 on the road to Kibuye has the maximum hills spread out – definitely the toughest day.

Day 3: Kibuye to Mugonero – 35km, cycling takes 3 to 5 hours. Day 3 to Mugonero is brief but includes the highest climb of the trip to 1,887 meters.

Day 4: Mugonero to Kibogora – 35 km about 4 to 5 hours. Day 4, you speedily descend to 1,440 meters (Lake Kivu level) and climb back up to 1,750 meters over 10+ kilometers.

Day 5: Kibogora to Kamembe – 54 km cycling about 5 to 6 hours. Day 5 is relaxed – you’re on a beautiful new tarmac road and there are only slight rolling hills.

Below are some of the guesthouses where you can stay while cycling the Congo-Nile trail. Staying at a guesthouse, the tour will take 6 days because of the position of the guesthouses.

Gisenyi – Inzu Lodge.

Kinunu – Kinunu Guesthouse

Kibuye – Home Saint Jean

Mugonero – L’Esparance Guesthouse

Kibogora – Kibogora Guesthouse

Kamembe – Peace Guesthouse

Level of difficulty of 5 Days Rwanda Cycling Along The Congo Nile Trail

Visitors need to be fit and accustomed to mountain climbing to complete the trail by biking, walking, riding, motorcycling.  If you doubt your fitness then you can complete the trail by having breaks as you take part in refreshing and fan activities such as relaxing, boat cruise and canoeing at Lake Kivu, checking out waterfalls and swimming. 

What to pack for Rwanda Cycling Tours?

Visitors planning to walk, cycle or bike through Congo Nile trail should have the following items / gears. These include a sleeping bag, bike pump for bikers, a dust mask, extra bike tire, cloths, gloves, toiletries, sunglasses, biking shoes, bicycle, headlamp, biking shoes, camera and helmet

Tourism activities that can be combined with cycling / biking through the Congo Nile trail

Apart from walking and cycling through Congo Nile trail, travels can combine a cycling tour with any of these activities

Gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking in volcanoes national park

Visiting the grave of an American primatologist Dian Fossey

Game drive at Akagera National Park

Cultural tour to Iby’iwacya cultural village

Chimpanzee tracking and forest canopy walks at Ngungwe forest

Hiking mountain karisimbi, mountain bisoke or mountain nyiragongo

Visiting one of the genocide memorial centers in Kigali