Bike Safari: Explore Great African Lakes and Wildlife

Embark on a 14-day private cycling safari in Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo. Experience the divine beauty of these lands while challenging yourself on terracotta roads. Don’t miss this adventure!

Duration: 14 days
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Meeting at the Entebbe airport, resting on Victoria Lake

Entebbe - Welcome to Uganda! Transfer from Entebbe airport to Kampala. Let’s have a rest at a nice lodge on the shore of Victoria Lake right after arrival. Otherwise we can plan the rest of the day up to your choice.

Journey to Fort Portal, cycling in the countryside

Fort Portal - Early in the morning we take off to Fort Portal, Uganda’s greenest city cituated at the northern foothills of Rwenzori Mountains, also known for being vibrant and welcoming gateway to Uganda’s adventures.

Cycligh through Crater lakes’ valley, crossing Equator

Game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park or boat safari on Kazinga Channel

Queen Elizabeth National Park - A perfect location for a rest day in an amazing environment full of magnificent wildlife. Enjoy one of the optional activities to explore wildlife in and around the park. A game drive in the morning will give you a good chance of viewing elephants, buffalo, antelopes, track down a pride of lions, or maybe even the odd leopard.

Kazinga Channel - Or go on a boat safari on Kazinga Channel, which attracts a varied range of animals and birds, with one of the world’s largest concentration of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles. Also know that Kyambura Gorge where Chimpanzees and other monkeys can be seen, is just around the corner.

Cycling through Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park - An exciting day as we cycle directly through the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to 95 mammal species and over 500 bird species. We ride on a flat, wide gravel road through the savanna and have the chance to see wild animals such as buffaloes, elephants, several types of bocks.

Cycling through Congo’s rural countryside

Virunga National Park - Mount Nyiragongo & Mountain Gorilla Treks - After crossing Uganda/Congo border we keep on cycling through Congo’s rural countryside approaching southern sector of Virunga National park — the most volcanic active area in the world. We stay overnight at Kibumba camp right between two huge vulcanos, Mikeno and legendary Nyiragongo.

Depending on volcano’s current behavior we’ll be having a choice what to explore on coming days: the Nyiragongo’s caldera with lava lake or rainforest of Mikeno’s slopes with most extraordinary and affordable in Africa mountain gorilla’s trek, which population here is one of the largest. Or we can even try to explore both.

The Nyiragongo volcano trek or Mountain Gorilla trek

Mount Nyiragongo - 1. The Nyiragongo volcano trek is divided into five sections, with a 15-minute break at each stop. We’ll commence the ascent at the 1.870 m. and reach the summit at 3.470 m. Once at the top we’ll see the world’s largest lava lake churning away in a mosaic of molten red fire. And, yes, we’ll spend overnight on the summit of Nyiragongo. The view of the lava lake at night is like nothing on earth! When we get tired we’ll retreat to wooden cabins ready give as a shelter.

Exploring Nyiragongo’s flanking volcanos

Cycling across Kivu lake from Kisungwe to Katana

Lake Kivu - Let’s back to cycling. After early breakfast, quick refueling and shopping in Goma we’ll drive to Kisungwe, a start point of a challenge for coming days. We’ll cycle along both Congo’s and Rwanda’s shores of Lake Kivu which is Africa’s eighth largest lake. The fact that lake’s surface sits at 1.460 m. above sea level will noticeably boost your aerobic endurance.

This day we’ll cycle the road following the coastline of Kivu Lake though green tea fields and coffee plantations, watching daily Congolese life. We’ll stay overnight at nice lodge in Katana.

Cycling across Kivu lake from Katana to Kumbya

North Kivu Province - In the morning, if we like to, we can pay a visit to the nearest Chimpanzee sanctuary or botanique garden in Lwiro. After that or right after breakfast we ride for a couple of hours up and downhills towards Bukavu town where we cross Congo/Rwandan border and ride another couple of dozens of miles untill we reach Kumbya peninsula, where we stay overnight in at ecolodge.

Cycling across Kivu lake from Kumbya to Kibuye

Congo Nile Trail - We’re on a way of the best cycling route in a region, so called “Congo Nile Trail” with its scenic stitchwork of dirt roads, famous rolling hills, countless islets in sparking waters of Kivu Lake, surrounded with friendly and hospitable people with sincere curiousity about us.

Kibuye - The distance for this day are hilly 65 k. Before dinner we’ll arrive to Kibuye whoch’s known as a beach resort and a home to a genocide memorial marking the massacre of 90% of the town’s Tutsi population in the Rwandan Civil War. The Ndaba Falls lie near the city. Here we can hang on a private beach or take boats to one of the deserted islands and even stay there for camping overnight.

Cycling across Kivu lake from Kibuye to Kinunu

Congo Nile Trail - It’s going to be a tough day with cycling a distance of another 65 k., but remember that we always can escape in the bus following behind us. Arriving to Kinunu and descending to the sandy beach of Lake Kivu for a swim and rest. We have a plenty of accomodation options for coming night since this green area is popularly known to be the base camp for the Congo Nile Trail. Taking in account a fatigue after recent days we may need a certain level of comfort.

Kinunu Guest House - Kinunu community is a producer a great coffee. In the heart of a coffee plantation Kinunu guest house offers fascinating views of Lake Kivu as well as astonishing ecotourism experience to visitors. Activities offered at Kinunu include live experience on how coffee is grown and catered for until it reaches the cup. This is a unique ecotourism attraction with a big involvement of the local community.

Cycling across Kivu lake from Kinunu to Nyamyumba

Congo Nile Trail - This is probably one of the most scenic days of the trip. Let’s follow terracotta dirt roads along the shores of Lake Kivu, through fishing villages and Gishwati-Mukura National Park and Biosphere Reserve.

Nyamyumba Hot Springs - Why don’t we refresh our exhausted muscles in healing waters of hot spring at Nyamyumba, nearby Gisenyi? We’re also invited to take a classical or leg massage which starts with burying your muscles in the hot, moist sand to be thoroughly warmed.

Tonight we’ll relax properly in a guesthouse. For a dinner served on the shore we can order a huge fried tylapia with vegetables, wine or whatever you like.

Journey to Kigali, farewell or resting day

Kigali - This morning we say goodbye to Lake Kiyu and transfer for approximately five hours to Rwanda’s capital of Kigali. After lunch we’ll have all the time to do a tour in this extraordinary city. And meet up again for a farewell dinner to celebrate every mile we cycled!

On next day the bus transfers to Uganda. Everybody can join us, if the flight takes off from Entebbe airport or about to start yet another adventure.

What's Included
  • 24-hour support from our team
  • Professional safari guide
  • Two weeks of workouts with a professional coach
  • Massage therapy included
  • Three meals a day (European or mixed cuisine)
  • Accommodation in charming guesthouses or lodges
  • All trekking or water walk equipment provided
  • Entrance fees to national parks and sightseeing (Gorilla trekking excluded)
  • Comfortable transfers in a mini bus
  • Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Additional Information

This’s one of the best adventures that this planet can offer you. The first thing people say on our bike safari: “It worth coming!”. If you haven’t been to the Congo, Rwanda and western Uganda before, you can hardly even imagine of what a divine beauty these lands are. By multiplying the contemplation of this beauty with the dopamine storm that intensive physical activity gives us for granted, we get an invaluable existential and aesthetic experience. So, we are going on a bicycle trip to where the Great African Lakes reflect the silhouettes of the mountains and volcanoes of the Albertine Rift, an area of unique geology and endemic wildlife.

We’ll be challenged to overcome from 700 to 1200 km. of terracotta roads. A safari van will follow us behind in a short distance, ready to take on board the tired and to give a handicup to the hardiest. The recommended bike type is gravel. And, please, don’t worry about security under influence of ancient myths about Africa.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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up to 14 guests
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October 2024
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