Bukavu
Democratic Republic of the Congo · Sud-Kivu · 1500 m
Description
Bukavu is built on five peninsulas that reach into the southern end of Lake Kivu, and the shape gives almost every street a view of water. Belgian planners laid it out in the 1920s and 1930s and left a run of art deco villas along the shore that has few equals in Central Africa. At fifteen hundred metres the climate stays mild all year. Boats run up the lake to Goma in a few hours, and the Rwandan border at Cyangugu is a bridge away. The Kahuzi-Biega forest begins half an hour up the hill.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: January – February or June – August
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Art deco villas along the lake shore
- Marché de Kadutu
- Lake Kivu views from the peninsulas
- Boat up the lake to Goma
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame de la Paix
- Chutes de la Ruzizi(Day trip)
- Border bridge to Cyangugu in Rwanda
- Lakeside restaurants and tilapia grills
- Ruzizi plain and its hippo pools(Day trip)
- Panzi and the hillside quarters
- Swimming and kayaking on the lake
Getting there
- Airports:
- KVU
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry
- Border town:
- Democratic Republic of the Congo