The twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo are one of Rwanda's best-kept secrets: two calm sheets of water set between green hills carved into terraces, with the Virunga volcanoes rising behind them. Only a narrow strip of land separates them. They offer some of the most beautiful and least touristy landscapes in the country, a place where rural Rwanda shows its purest side and life slows down to a gentle pace.
It's the ideal place to catch your breath after the intensity of gorilla trekking. There are no big attractions or crowds here. Instead you'll find walks along the shores and farmed hillsides, traditional canoe rides alongside the fishermen, villages that follow the rhythm of the countryside, hidden waterfalls, and sunrises that turn the water and the volcanic cones pink. It's a destination for travellers who value landscape, nature, photography and real contact with local life.
This guide covers lakes Burera and Ruhondo from a practical angle: what to do, how to get there from Musanze, how to arrange walks and canoe rides, where to stay if you want to spend the night, and how to fit them into an itinerary through Rwanda's volcanic north. It's a calm, photogenic complement that rounds off the gorilla experience with the quiet beauty of the Rwanda of a thousand hills.
Lakes Burera and Ruhondo formed thousands of years ago when lava from eruptions of the Virunga volcanoes dammed the region's rivers, creating these two deep, elongated lakes set among the hills of northern Rwanda. Since then they have been part of life for the communities of the north, who fish in their waters and farm their slopes in terraces. In the 20th century, the drop in level between the two lakes was used to build the Ntaruka hydroelectric plant, one of the first in the country. Today the region is an emerging destination for ecotourism and community tourism. The full story is on our history page.
Read the full history ↓At the foot of the Virunga range, the mountain gorilla sanctuary that Dian Fossey made known to the world, among volcanoes, lava caves and terraced hills.
Read the history of The north and the volcanoes →A local guide tells you in half an hour what no sign at the site will ever explain. We look ours up on Civitatis: guided in Spanish and booked online with no fuss. They have 7 activities in Kigali. And there are free tours here: you book without paying and tip the guide whatever you think at the end, so trying one costs you nothing. Have a look below: tap any of them to see them all.
They depart from Kigali, 65 km away. If you book from this link we earn a commission and you pay no more.
No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
The twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo owe their existence to the volcanic activity of the Virunga Mountains. Thousands of years ago, eruptions from these volcanoes poured out huge lava flows that, as they solidified, blocked the valleys and waterways of the region. Unable to follow its natural course, the water built up behind these barriers of volcanic rock and formed the two deep, elongated lakes we know today. It is the same process that created other lakes in the Virunga region and much of its distinctive geography.
That geological history explains the lakes' irregular shape and steep profiles, hemmed in by steep hills, as well as the fact that they sit at different heights: Burera, the higher one, and Ruhondo, the lower one, separated by a strip of land barely a kilometre wide. The drop between the two — several tens of metres — is a direct result of that volcanic origin, and centuries later it would prove unexpectedly useful for producing energy.
With fertile volcanic soils and plenty of water, the area around the lakes attracted human settlement and farming from very early on. The communities of northern Rwanda carved the slopes into terraces for growing crops and used the lakes for fishing and transport. In this way, a landscape born of fire became, through the work of generations, one of the most beautiful farmed and lived-in regions of the country.
For centuries, life around Lakes Burera and Ruhondo revolved around two activities that went hand in hand: fishing on the water and farming on the slopes. Fishermen developed traditional techniques and boats — wooden canoes — to work the lakes, while farmers turned the steep hills into a striking mosaic of cultivated terraces, a clever answer to the shortage of flat land in a mountainous, densely populated country.
This lived-in landscape — terraces of potatoes, maize, sorghum, beans and bananas climbing the slopes, scattered villages, paths linking the hills — is the product of generations of work and gives the region its unmistakable character. The area was part of the Kingdom of Rwanda and, like the rest of the north, had a strong local identity. Traditional social organisation, customs, music and dances of the north are part of a living cultural heritage that can still be felt in the lakeside villages.
That close bond between people and their surroundings — the water, the terraces, the volcanoes — is the essence of the twin lakes and what draws travellers looking for the most authentic rural Rwanda today. Unlike the big destinations, the appeal here is not monuments but everyday life and the landscape: the fisherman paddling at dawn, the woman climbing the slope with her harvest, the children waving from the terraces. A slow-paced, genuine Rwanda.
The lakes' volcanic origin, which left Burera and Ruhondo at different heights, found a modern use in the 20th century. Around the middle of the century, the Ntaruka hydroelectric power station was built to take advantage of the natural drop between the two lakes, making it one of the first and most important in Rwanda. Water falling from the upper lake to the lower one turns the turbines and generates electricity, a neat example of how geography can be put to work for development.
For decades, Ntaruka was a key part of the country's power system, and it is still a defining feature of the area. Its presence gives the lakes a historical and technical interest, and is a reminder that this seemingly remote corner has in fact been tied to Rwanda's modernisation. Managing the lake levels and the water flow for the station has long been an important issue, especially in times of drought or changing rainfall.
This modern layer sits on top of the ancestral landscape without taking away from its beauty: terraces, canoes and volcanoes coexist with the infrastructure that lights up the region. For the curious traveller, knowing that these calm lakes also serve an energy purpose adds another dimension to the visit, and shows how Rwanda has tried to balance protecting its landscapes with the needs of its development.
Over the past two decades, with Rwanda's stabilisation and the boom in gorilla tourism in nearby Volcanoes National Park, the twin lakes have begun to emerge as a destination for ecotourism and community tourism. Being close to Musanze — the base for gorilla treks — makes them the natural add-on for anyone looking for rest and scenery after the intensity of high-altitude hikes. Little by little, eco-lodges, community experiences, hiking routes and canoe trips have appeared, showcasing the beauty and authenticity of the area.
In line with Rwandan policy, this tourism development has taken a sustainable, community-benefit approach: local guides, fishing and women's cooperatives, homestays and projects that aim to make tourism bring direct income to local people without harming the environment. The idea is for the lakes to remain a quiet, genuine place, far from mass tourism, where the experience is the landscape, nature and human contact.
Today, Lakes Burera and Ruhondo are one of those destinations that reward travellers who step off the most beaten tracks. They offer some of the most spectacular views in Rwanda — the Virunga volcanoes reflected in the water between terraced hills — a slow pace and real contact with rural life in the north. Their history, written by the fire of the volcanoes and the patient work of the communities, can be felt with every stroke of the canoe paddle and at every viewpoint over the thousand hills. A peaceful corner that rounds off, with beauty and calm, the experience of volcanic Rwanda.
