Stretching along the shores of Lake Kivu in Rwanda lies the Congo Nile Trail. There’s no info online on how to ride it for motorcycle travellers – until now. This detailed guide covers everything you need to know with a full ride report. Here’s how to ride the Congo Nile Trail….
Contents
How to Ride the Congo Nile Trail in Rwanda
Complete Guide and Ride Report
By Peter Friebe
Motorcycle traveller
What is the Congo Nile Trail?
The Congo-Nile-Trail is a 200km scenic route in western Rwanda that runs North-South along the Kivu Lake. It roughly marks the water divide between the Congo basin and the watershed area of the Nile.
While a large stretch of it has been paved in the southern section, some of the northern parts still consist of dirt roads and trails. Due to the rapid economic progress of Rwanda, more and more secondary roads are now being asphalted. To encourage touristic development, parts of the trail have even been signposted and tour operators offer hiking and biking tour along parts of the route, including lesser used side trails.
But… if you’re after an adventure, you can tackle it on a motorcycle. And this guide explains how.
Why did you ride this trail?
My son, Bruno, and I flew to Rwanda to rent two motorcycles for a riding adventure. While we were preparing for our Rwanda trip, we came across a few dated descriptions of the CNT, but never really found out exactly what to expect. There’s zero info online about riding it. Having reached Kibuye from the southern part of Rwanda, we discovered a promising small road along lake Kivu which looked more adventurous than the perfectly paved main road from Kibuye to Gisenyi on the northern end of Lake Kivu and thought we’d give it a try…
What’s so special about the Congo Nile Trail?
While Rwanda offers some of the best road riding conditions in Africa, the hilly landscape and high population density combined with widely dispersed settlements result in a dense network of small trails. The CNT is one of these trails and combines windy up/downhill slopes through fertile hills with level sections that run along the lakeshore.
The CNT offers an incredible combination of easy off-roading on wide paths through a lovely green and hilly landscape – and also technically complex sections that require some level of improvisation. Together, they make this trail a unique experience.
Depending on skill and spirit, you can take lesser-known side paths that can turn into real challenges but are rewarding. In case you need help, there are always villagers nearby who are curious and ready to give you a hand.
Congo Nile route info
Route name: Congo Nile Trail
Country: Rwanda
Distance: 200km (complete N to S, we took the paved part from the southern point in Kagano and went off-road from Kibuye to Gisenyi, roughly 90 km)
Days required: Kagano to Kibuye ½ day, Kibuye to Gisenyi 1 day
Where: Western Rwanda, along Lake Kivu
Difficulty rating: It ranges from easy to difficult to the point of needing help from villagers to manoeuvre your bike up steep slopes and across flimsy tree trunk bridges.
Recommended motorcycle: You definitely need an enduro bike – and it must be as light as possible. No need for heavy powerful bike since speed is low and agility and low weight makes handling and lifting across technical sections much easier. We rented two Haojin Hawk 200cc from Kigali and found them to be just right.
Note: We recommend using Waze or Maps.Me to plot your route and navigate this route. Google Maps is of no use here. The purpose of the above map is to give you an overview of where the trail is. Yellow points are start and end. Purple are accommodation options and green are rough way markers.
Congo Nile Trail Motorcycle Ride Report
We started the CNT just north of Kibuye, following the recommendation of two long-term bikers we met along the way (Mad or Nomad) to use Waze instead of Google Maps for navigation. Waze led us to an interesting trailhead off the main road NR11 to DR22 which is part of the CNT.
Congo Nile Trail: Section 1
The beginning of this trail was as beautiful as it was challenging. The small footpath led across several bridges consisting of tree logs. Sometimes there was so much space in between the logs that it made it impossible to cross with the bike unless the voids were filled with stones.
Luckily, some curious kids were eager to help after having understood what we were doing. In addition to the bridge crossing challenge there were small creeks to cross where we needed to get the bikes over sizeable boulders without letting them fall down a steep slope.
But the beauty of the path kept us going and after five bridges and two creeks we managed to reach the DR22. On this road, suitable also for 4-wheelers, some sections were under construction as of Jan 2026, so we imagine that a lot of the original beauty of the CNT will soon be covered with tarmac.
Congo Nile Trail: Section 2
Heading first west towards lake Kivu and then north, the trail is generally easy to ride, with some exceptions where road construction turned the path into a mess. On one of these stretches we ran into an older Belgian couple manoeuvring their front wheel drive Citroen 2CV through the mud. And we thought we were adventurous…
After helping to push them out a couple of times, the road improved somehow, making it easier to ride up to the point where the CNT almost meets the main road NR11 again. From this point it forks back west towards the lake and turns into what is probably understood as the original CNT: easy to ride unpaved road, unspoiled by road construction (yet), going through the magnificent hilly landscape of western Rwanda.
Small villages and tiny crop fields everywhere scattered through the landscape, people working the fields, walking on the road or pushing bicycles overloaded with everything from bananas to pieces of furniture or rolls of corrugated iron. The population in Rwanda is so dense and scattered that it is hard to find a solitary place to stop for a pee.
Congo Nile Trail: Section 3
Somewhere on this section we met a bridge under repair. The old one was still visible and we were happy that we didn’t have to cross the rusty ruin by bike. Instead, some friendly locals led us through their village, along a football field – which in this country usually also serves as cow and goat pasture – to a small river we needed to ride through to get to the other side.
Back on the main path the trail went right along the lake, probably the most beautiful part of the CNT. Late afternoon sun covered everything in a warm golden light and although it was getting late (we spent some time at the beginning of the trail, crossing the five bridges) we were confident we could manage the last stretch on DR31 to the village of Kigufi, our destination for the day.
Congo Nile Trail: Section 4
Just after passing another village 4km before reaching Kigufi, locals on the road indicated some upcoming issues, and soon we saw that an earlier landslide had completely swept away the path. We were told we had to take a footpath further downhill to get back to the road on the other side of the section that had been swept away.
Surrounded by villagers eager to help, we managed to ride down a steep slope but were then confronted by huge holes in the path, bridges too flimsy to ride over and slopes too steep to get across. We assume the villagers were not unprepared for this situation, around 30 young guys grabbed the bikes and carried, pushed and pulled them over and around every obstacle.
Every hurdle we added up in our calculation of the tip we planned to give them at the end. Then we reached a turn up a slope so steep that would be hard to manage even under dry conditions by pushing or riding. And just as we reached it – an afternoon rainstorm quickly turned the soil into slimy mud.
Villagers pushing and pulling the bikes slipped, fell, lost their flipflops, were quickly replaced by bystanders and younger kids collected lost shoes and brought them uphill. At this time, it was already getting dark, we were soaking wet and had given up to control or assist since we saw that the whole village was working together to get our bikes up the hill.
Congo Nile Trail: Section 5
By the time we reached the other side of the road and got back on our bikes it was already pitch black. The path that led us down to Kigufi had turned into a small river, which made it difficult to manoeuvre in complete darkness. We rode with extreme caution to avoid falling off the bike at the very end of an exhausting day.
All the happier we were when we reached our small hostel, still completely wet although the rain had stopped by then. The place we stayed, a Benedict Nunnery, although the name sounds unusual for a place to stay, was the perfect treat after such an exhausting day.
Tipping villagers and how much to pay
You’ll find people everywhere on the path. Especially the kids often greeting frantically, older villagers sometimes only looking but when greeting them you always get a smile. You feel bad when due to difficult path you need to keep your hands on the steering bar and can not wave to greet. Amazing how many people walk on the road, often bicycles being the largest transport vehicle for building material and agricultural produce.
For the bridges at the trailhead we gave the kids a tip of 5000 RWF, which they apparently did not expect at all, the guys who led us to the river crossing we gave 10000 I think, and the village people who got our bikes around the landslide received all our remaining cash, somewhere between 35 and 40000 RWF.
While the help of the villagers at the landslide was clearly linked with an expectation to receive some money (probably the whole village lives on the destroyed road), we never felt overly pushed to hand over more money than we wanted to give.
How to ride a motorcycle in Rwanda
Mad or Nomad are currently working on a full Motorcycle Travel Guide for Rwanda which covers everything you need to know about riding here – whether you want to take your own foreign registered motorcycle into the country, rent or join a tour. It’s in the works, and as soon as it’s published a link will be placed in this section with more info.
How to rent a motorcycle in Rwanda
If you’re flying into or crossing a land border into Rwanda and want to rent a motorcycle there, then you’re in luck. There are excellent companies based in Kigali that offer a range of motorcycles.
Check this page for details: Motorcycle Rental and Tour Companies in Rwanda
Extra tips and info
Food and drink: There are plenty of villages on the way to get drinks and supplies. As everywhere in Rwanda and maybe most parts of Africa, ordering food in a restaurant can take quite some time and often puts a dent in your day schedule. Bananas can help here and are readily available.
Accommodation: We started from our hotel in Kibuye called Spa Shallum – a relaxing hotel right on the lake and a great place to start this trip. And we ended at the Benedict Nunnery in Kigufi – a wonderful place right on the lake, with great food, dinner and breakfast right on the lawn at lake Kivu. Highly recommended.
Riding gear: The riding gear you go for will be weather dependent. But it’s recommended to opt for lightweight and breathable, vented gear. Pack waterproof throwovers in case it rains. Check Riding Gear Guides for more info.
Navigation: As mentioned above in the map section, use Waze and/or Maps.Me for your navigation along this route. It will make a lot more sense than Google Maps. Maps.Me can also be used offline if you download the country map beforehand (it’s free). Check Best Travel Apps for more info.
About the author
Peter Friebe grew up in Germany, studied Chemical Engineering in Vienna and Berlin and now lives near Stuttgart working in battery development for electric vehicles. He has lived all over the world and has an impressive amount of international motorcycle adventures under his belt.
If you’d like to get in touch, drop a message in the comments section below and Peter will get back to you on here.
Read more on motorcycle travel in Rwanda and Africa
Thanks for checking out the Rwanda Congo Nile Trail Motorcycle Guide. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycle travel in Africa that we recommend you read next.
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Are you planning a motorcycle trip in Rwanda? Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
Uell dann, Mann!
Letz gou India!
Nice and a bit scary article 😉 I appreciate that u share ur knowledge with us.
Greetings from ice-cold Berlin
It gives me old day trio top gear vibe!
Sounds like a real adventure!👍🏻
Thanks for sharing your experience🙏