The sleepy resort town of Gisenyi, with its landscaped villas and posh hotels overlooking a lovely beach on Lake Kivu, 60 mi/100 km northwest of Kigali, is an ideal place to visit in conjunction with the nearby Volcanoes National Park.
The lake is reputedly one of the few freshwater lakes in Africa free from the parasite bilharzia, and a high methane level associated with local volcanic activity means that it can't support hippos or crocs. From Gisenyi, it's possible to arrange a day visit across the Congolese border to the abutting town of Goma, which is slowly recovering from the devastation caused by a lava flow from the Virungas in 2002.
