Twin Lakes Rwanda: Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera

Twin Lakes Rwanda: Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera are located a few kilometers off Volcanoes National Park. Twin Lakes Rwanda: Lake Ruhondo and Lake Burera are the top lakes to visit in Rwanda as well as other lakes around the country.

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu pours its waters in Ruzizi River flowing south wards into the magnificent Lake Tanganyika and is among the Great Lakes of Africa situated along the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in the Albertine Rift on the western arm of the East African Rift valley.

The lake occupies a total surface area of 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi) and stands at a height of 1,460 metres (4,790 ft) above sea level with about 1,370 km2 /58% of its waters stretch out within the borders of DR Congo.

A patch of the lake sits upon the rift valley which is being drifted oftenly causing volcanic activity in the area hence making it deeper about 480m (1,575 ft) there by ranking the eighteenth deepest in the world.

The lake includes two islands i.e Idjwi the tenth largest inland island and the petite Tshgera Island that also covers the borders of Virunga National Park. Towns around the Lake include Kalehe, Sake, Kabare, Bukavu, Kibuye, Cyangugu and Gisenyi in Rwanda.

Lake Muhazi

Lake Muhazi also referred to as “Ikiyaga cya Muhazi” in Kinyarwanda is an elongated narrow thin lake situated in the eastern part of Rwanda.

The biggest part of the lake is situated in the Eastern province and the western part which forms the border of the Northern and Kigali provinces.

With a tangible dam in the western part that was built in 1999 to restore the earth dam that was around during the immemorial time, the lake is a flooded valley lake stretching mainly in the east then to the western direction with a number of subsidiaries flowing from the northern to the southern direction.

The lake also pours its waters into the Nyabugogo River part of the upper Nile then flows southwards and connects with Kigali.

Lake Mugesera

Lake Mugesera is situated south east of Kigali in the Central Plateau and is among the compound of lakes and wetlands in a plane valley stretching in the SSE direction 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide.

The lake lies along the eastern bank of Nyawarungu River which wanders southwards via the valley and forms a region of permanent lakes and swamps with Lake Mugesera as the largest.

It is also fed by a variety of rivers and trivial streams flowing from the ridges to the north, east and south and these provide lots of water during the rainy seasons 25 °C (77 °F) in the months from March to May, September to December.  The waters have many fish, species of water birds, crocodiles, turtles, snakes, monitors and otters.

Lake Rweru

Lake Rweru is popularly known for its remote start point of River Nile and is is situated near the extreme northern point of Burundi in Central Africa forming part of Burundi’s border with Rwanda.

In the northern part of the lake you will find the Akagera River which is believed to be the starting point of the magnificent River Nile. The lake is enclosed by papyrus, mashes as well as floating islands though it is infested by water hyacinth.

 Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo

Lake Burera is situated in the north western part of Rwanda bordering Uganda on the southern slopes of Mount Muhavura and east of Lake Ruhondo and Musanze town.

It is enfolded by vertical sharp hills and waterfalls with a scenery of the Virunga Volcanic Mountains and split by a 1 km wide piece of land with Lake Ruhondo. Both lakes have a joint surface area of 2800 ha. Lake Ruhondo is situated close near Lake Burera on the outskirts of Musanze town.

Lake Cohoha

Lake Cohoha is a candid lake in central Africa that spans the border between Burundi and Rwanda. It is situated in an area close to Rutega Burundi approximately 124 kms from the town of Bujumbura i.e  2°20′ and 2°35′ southern latitude and 29°58′ and 30°11′ of the eastern longitude at 1,351m of altitude.