The Nile Cong Trail in Rweanda is a must see! I highly recommend the New Horizon Africa Safaris. New Horizon Africa Safaris is excellent! I wholeheartedly recommend New Horizon for the itinerary I did and for other itineraries they do in Rwanda and the region. Everything we agreed in our email conversations was fulfilled. In fact, I think I got a few extra meals and, of course, they took exceptional care of me (a single traveller) right from the start! New Horizon accompanied my trip from my arrival in Kigali to my return to São Paulo (Brazil), always attentive and kind. I went to Rwanda to take part in a conference in Kigali. Apart from the gorillas, I didn't know anything else about what to see in Rwanda. Still in Brazil, where I live, I got in touch with New Horizon (a recommendation from the hotel I had booked in Kigali). From my initial contact with New Horizon, they understood what I wanted, made suggestions and finally organised my route. Before travelling to Rwanda, I received information about the itinerary, timetables, prices, etc. I paid a small amount before travelling and the final amount at the start of the trip in Rwanda. Among the many wonders of Rwanda, my itinerary included two days biking on the Congo Nile Trial Rubavu-Kinunu, two days hiking from Kinunu to Karongi, always with beautiful views of Lake Kivu, and then two days resting in a hotel on the shores of Lake Kivu, in Karongi. To get to Rubavu, where the trail starts, I was picked up from my hotel in Kigali and had a comfortable journey to Rubavu. En route I visited the Ikirenga Cultural Centre and Ellen DeGeneres Campus of Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (I highly recommend it), with Lunch at La Paillotte Kinigi. In Ribavu, we went on an evening boat ride on Lake Kivu, which was great for getting used to the adventure I was about to embark. On the following day, Valentin, the guide who accompanied me on the four-day Congo Nile Trial, picked me up at the Musanto Hotel (Ribavu) to start the trial. Valentin is a professional and excellent guide. He was always attentive, cheerful and ready to chat and tell me about the places we visited. I was impressed by Valentin's knowledge of the region. Most of the trail passes through places that can be reached by bike or on foot. Over the four days, we travelled through many Rwandan rural hill villages and plantations. All the accommodation was great, the rooms always very clean and cosy, the food delicious. I was very well received at all the base camps (Cyimbiri Guest House, Kinunu Base Camp, Bumba Base Camp). On the last day, we arrived at the Bethany Hotel. I didn't have the physical fitness needed to do the trail, to bike and hike on a terrain of dirt and sometimes stone and full of hills. Physical fitness is important, but you don't need to be a professional athlete to experience the Congo Nile Trial. Valentin kept pace with me, when the slope was steep, we got off the bike and he accompanied me on foot, always gentle. And so, we followed the trail, chatting and feeling the landscape and the people we met along the way. At no point I felt insecure being in an isolated place with only Valentin and the locals, on the contrary, I felt safe and protected. It's impressive to visit a country, where most people live in rural areas, that is so well organised, clean and friendly.
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Roaming Wanderer : Le Nyiragongo est un secret bien gardé