Twin Lakes of Burera & Ruhondo
Twin Lakes of Burera & Ruhondo lie just a few kilometres from Volcanoes National park in Musanze district Rwanda. The lakes can be accessed after the hike down Mount Muhabura which part of the virunga mountains chains where we can find mountain like mount Gahinga, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount karisimbi, Mount Bisoke, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Nyamuragira, and Mount Mikeno. The lakes were given the name twin lakes because of the fact that they are found within the same area and they were both formed as a result of eruption by Mount Muhabura.
Before, the formation of the twin lakes of Burera & Ruhondo, there was the Nyabarongo river was flowing northwards to Ndorwa in Rwanda, when the volcanic eruption happened, Nyabarongo’s flow to the north was blocked which led to the formation of the twin lakes and the diversion that was formed after blocking Nyabarongo from flowing upwards, came across the Akanyaru river which led to the formation of Akagera river which crosses a number of attractions including the Akagera national park.
After hiking the Muhabura mountain, you will descend to the twin lakes where you will not only see the lakes but also a number of attractions like the wetlands, the lake will provide a great viewpoint of the Virunga mountains, local communities that can be seen around the lakes where a number of people will be seen going about their daily activities like fishing among other activities.
Activities on the Twin Lakes of Burera & Ruhondo
Canoeing: On the shores on the fresh water lakes there are always canoes that are ready to transport tourists and give them tours on the lakes. On the canoe trips, a number of water birds can be seen like the African kingfisher trying hard to catch prey. There are also exceptional views of the virunga mountains that can be seen while on a canoe trip, the canoe trips are also a relaxing activity that will enable you to soak in the beauty of the lakes, you will be able to see people of the local communities and if you want to spend time with them, you will be able to learn a thing or two about the Rwandan culture which will be interesting.
Fishing: The twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo offer great opportunities for fishing to be carried out. With the help of local fishermen that have over 20 years of experience and by this you can decide to take part in the fishing process with the fishermen where you will have a chance to catch the different types of fish that will be able to catch a number of fish types like the tilapia which is the commonest type of fish that is caught in the lake. You will also have a chance to take fish as a reward for participating in the activity. The activity will enable you to engage with the fishermen that will even try to teach you Kinyarwanda as you interact with them.
Visiting Islands: The twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo have a number of major islands that can be seen on the lakes include; Bushongo, Munanira, Cuza, and Bishosho among islands that can be seen within the lakes. The visits to the islands are rewarding because you will get to see the different communities that settle on the islands how they come about their lives, their daily activities and so many more on some of the islands there are schools that children access by boarding a boat to the school which is quite fascinating because of the ease and the fact that they are all strong enough to go to school without any fear in them which is quite interesting to watch.
Homestays: At the different islands, there are a number of communities that can be visited and by this you can go for an overnight stay at the house of any family in the community where you will be taught on how to carry out daily activities like crop growing where you be expected to participate in crop growing, weeding, you will also participate in other family activities like cooking where you will be taught Rwanda cuisines like Ibiryo, you will be taught how to cook beans in a pot and a number of different other dishes to make you stay at the village home educative, fun and magical.
Farm trips: Far trips around the lakes and on the different islands are another activity you should not miss out on, you will be able to see how the people carry out farming in the area, the types of tools that are used, methods of farming which you may compare with some at your home countries.
In scenarios where you have never come across any plantations you will visit as many as possible like the banana plantations, coffee plantations where you will be able to go through the coffee-making process like harvesting the ripe coffee, sorting out the best, drying grinding and late on packaging after that you will have a chance to taste the world’s best organic coffee straight from the plantation to your cup.
You will also visit the tea plantations, banana plantations where you will be taught on how to harvest the bananas, sort out the best to make the best that are used to make banana beer you will be taught the process of making the beer and at the end of the activity be given to taste the beer which is so sweet.
The twin lake of Burera and Ruhondo can be visited as additional trips on your Rwanda gorilla tours after visiting Volcanoes national park and these will offer exceptional experiences to make your stays in the country memorable and worthy of repeated visits because of the interesting activities that can be carried out. Therefore when you visit Rwanda and you’re interested in the Rwanda gorilla tours, you should always consider having a trip to the lakes to enjoy the beauty that the country has to offer.
