The Congo Nile area, a 227 kilometre trail that starts in Rubavu and passes through Rutsiro, Karongi, Nyamasheke to Rusizi districts has become one of Rwanda’s big tourist attractions.

Tourists, mainly bikers start the adventurous journey by road currently under upgrade to experience this ecotourism opportunity.

The main attraction on the green Congo Nile Trail is beautiful tea plantations; some are in valleys while others are on hills in parts of Western Province (former Gisenyi and Kibuye). The lowest hill is 1,460m and the highest is 1,887m. From some hills one can see Goma, Rubavu towns and Lake Kivu.

The Congo Nile Trail offers a spectacular view of Lake Kivu and tea farming experience, many small scale coffee farms along the way plus Kinunu washing station.

Tourists visit Kinunu coffee washing station on a hillside that overlooks the shores of Lake Kivu to experience both coffee and tea production. On these plantations, tourists are taught how to harvest tea and they get to experience the process from the garden to the tea cup.

We toured path one, a 91km route from Gisenyi to Kibuye in tour vans and the tour co-ordinators had organised stop overs along the way.

The whole tour is 10 days by foot, five days by mountain bike and three days by car. We used the tour vans to discover the large parts of Congo Nile, but our guide told us foreign tourists hire bikes in Rubavu town.

Our tour co-ordinator Callixte Gakire who is in charge of tourism products at RDB said the milking experience is another of the activities tourist love.

Giswati Forest Reserve, now a national park with many bird species, primates and some herbivores is one of the attractions along Congo Nile, however, it is not yet fully developed as a tourist destination.

A new route that has been planned as a major stop over is the “Congo-Nile Divide Watershed” in Rutsiro district-a high point where the Nile Basin separates from the Congo Basin.

The site is said to offer an amazing view of Lake Kivu positioned in the Western Rift Valley mountain range.

The view from Loshel Lodge, a resort in the area is very beautiful. The lodge is perfect for a picnic and camping and it is newly developed. Tourists can also play beach volley.

Most visitors to the resort are foreigners who camp or stay at a lodge located on the shore of beautiful Lake Kivu after biking along the Congo Nile Trail.
The is area is mainly an ecotourist area.