Lake Ruhondo in Rwanda is famous for being a birding paradise for bird lovers which is also known as Ruhondo Lake. It’s situated in the northwestern part of Rwanda near volcanoes national park which gives you a stunning view with the lush green vegetation spread over the neighboring mountains with dark blue waters of Lake Ruhondo. The vies are just breath taking and lucky enough to visit on a sunny clear day. Lake Ruhondo is fascinating since it is separated by a one kilometer narrow stretch of land from its twin Lake Burera.

The most done activities on Lake Burera are boat cruise, nature walks, bird watching and biking. Some travelers tend to ride up to the top of the hill because of its steep character of landscape giving them beautiful scenery of Lake Ruhondo.

A boat cruise on Lake Ruhondo gives you a chance to explore all the five out eight Virunga mountains in volcanoes national park and a spectacular view with water birds such as hadada ibis, comorant, African crown crane, scared ibis, African fish eagle, yellow bill storks, black sawing, weaver and herons. Other activities that take place on Lake Ruhondo include nature walks, farm tours, birding and fishing with the most caught fish being tilapia. There are also people transporting their goods on the lake from one end to another using sampan. While on a boat cruise on Lake Ruhondo, you will have an amazing scenery of the Virunga Mountains at the backdrop and you will be lucky to see scared ibis, yellow bill ducks, comorant and yellow bill storks.

You will finally reach an island where local natives known as “The Villagers” will welcome you with traditional dances, songs and cheers as your boat nears the island. It is one of the amazing things to see while on your boat cruise on Lake Ruhondo. You can join them on dancing and singing on your arrival and this is influenced by the cheerful mood. You can take photos and do video records to go and share with your friends.

Biking tour around Lake Ruhondo is really an amazing tour which takes you through Musanze village and the beautiful landscape. One may also decide to have a lunch cruise in Lake Ruhondo as you take a closer look about the beauty of the lake, the surrounding mountains and volcanoes national park Rwanda. A biking or hiking tour to Lake Ruhondo is worth a visit. You may have to cross the bridge on foot and hike to the top of the hill to see Lake Ruhondo from the above which is also another beautiful view to experience.

Other lakes in Rwanda.

Rwanda has other water bodies that can act as attractions to the tourists. These lakes include Lake Rweru, Lake Kivu, Lake Cohola, Lake Muhazi, Lake Rwanyakazinga, Lake Ihema and Lake Mugese. These lakes are bordered by swamps which as breeding grounds for different bird species henceforth being the best places for bird watching safaris in Rwanda.

How to access Lake Ruhondo in Rwanda

Tourists who want to visit Lake Ruhondo can travel by road. Lake Ruhondo can be accesses from volcanoes national park as its located about one hour’s drive from mountain Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. Travelers from Kigali city will have to drive about 99 km to get to the lake. Those already in Cyeru town will only drive for about 32 minutes while those in Musanze town will drive for about one hour to get to Lake Ruhondo. Lake Ruhondo can also be accessed by visitors travelling from Mgahinga national park and they can accesses this lake using Cyanika border in Kisoro district. Driving to Lake Ruhondo will take you about 1 hour.

Best time to visit Lake Ruhondo in Rwanda

Travelers who want to visit Lake Ruhondo can do it any time of the year.

Visitors who visit Lake Ruhondo can also take time to visit Lake Rwanyakazinga and Lake Ihema in Akagera national park to see buffaloes, rhinos, elephants, lions, crocodiles and a number of different bird species.