We were about 10 miles in, mountain biking along Lake Kivu on a rugged, 21-mile stretch of Rwanda’s Congo Nile Trail, when we realized we might not be able to reach our planned destination, Kinunu, a community named after an eponymous coffee plantation.
“The bridge is out,” announced Callixte Gakire, our local cycling guide. He’s one of the founders of this 141-mile-long multipurpose adventure trail, which is named after the watershed between the Congo and Nile Rivers, and goes from Gisenyi to Cyangugu on Rwanda’s western side. So he knows all about its ups, downs, singletracks, and subtrails created since its inception in 2009. I was there fifteen years later, dedicating five days of a weeklong trip to biking through Rwanda’s villages, coffee plantations, and bridges—but sometimes weather-related damage can be unpredictable.
Gakire scanned the situation. It wasn’t long before he pointed out a shallow part of the river in the distance where we could make the crossing on foot. Maneuvering down big rocks, we rolled and carried our bikes to the riverbank. I took off my cycling shoes and socks to keep them dry, and pushed my mountain bike across, the cool waters gracing my knees—a welcome sensation on such a hot and humid spring day.
Meanwhile, curious children from a nearby village couldn’t help but observe us with wide smiles. “Mzungu!” (“Foreigner!”) we’d often hear from villagers waving hello.
The sight of cyclists in Rwanda is actually no novelty, as there has been an evolving cycling culture throughout the country since the 1970s. Before then, bicycles were just used as a common means of transportation and moving goods and crops short distances.
But friendly local district competitions evolved into a bigger race on a national scale: the Tour du Rwanda. Eventually, riders from other nations were invited to compete. Now, with the race garnering international recognition by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling is the second most popular sport in Rwanda after soccer. There’s a formidable national Rwandan cycling team that competes globally, and the country itself hosts several annual cycling race tours of every style—road, mountain bike, gravel, and bikepacking. In fact, Rwanda is slated to host UCI’s World Cycling Championship in September 2025, reinforcing its position as a bona fide cycling destination.
The Congo Nile Trail can be completed on foot, by bike, or even by kayak.
Photo by Erik Trinidad
While I’m an avid cyclist, I was not in competitive shape to do such a race. But Gakire, who had been on many team tours, led me and a small group of mountain bikers on a more casual, unofficial “Tour du Rwanda"—five stages in different parts of country (totaling around 100 miles), the primary focus of a bespoke tour to experience what this hilly central African nation has to offer. Rwanda’s undulating topography has garnered it the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills,” and there’s no greater way to truly feel the intensity of these earthy mounds than on a foot-powered bicycle.
“The most important thing is courage,” Gakire said, the last word in French, to motivate us.
I was up for the challenge as he first led us on an easy route from the palm-lined highways of the capital Kigali out to the countryside’s dusty village roads. From there, rides got progressively more challenging, especially when he led us up a 9-mile incline straight up one of the foothills of Rwanda’s volcanoes. (It was there that our tour paused for a couple of days to visit and marvel at the must-see wild mountain gorillas, endemic to the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park.) However, the most challenging cycling stage was a grueling and rainy 49-mile stretch of gravel roads with 2,600 feet of elevation gain, biking from the mist-covered volcanoes of the north to tropical Lake Kivu in the west.
As arduous as some of the rides may have been, the natural beauty of Rwanda fueled me, with inspiring views of tropical foliage, rolling green hills, the occasional waterfall, and Lake Kivu’s little islands seemingly floating on the surface. However, more than the inspirational landscape, it was the people on the sidelines that were truly motivational, perpetually cheering us on to pedal farther.
“Amakuru!” we’d greet passing villagers in their native language of Kinyarwanda, the standard greeting asking “How are you?” Sometimes we’d get the standard response “Ni meza” (“I’m fine”), but many times we’d get an “Amakuru” in return, or a “Hello!” in English, and at one point a “Bonjour! Ça va?” in French. However, nothing was ever lost in translation when the intent of good spirits was there to motivate us.
A couple of boys cheered us on as I put my socks and shoes back on after climbing out of the riverbank where the bridge had been. From there, encouragement continued as we biked the eleven remaining miles to Kinunu, which was not devoid of more challenging inclines on the way. It’s the Land of a Thousand Hills, after all.
There are plenty of cycling tour operators that can take you through the country and help navigate any unexpected detours.
Photo by Ryan Van Duzer
Know before you go
- Getting there: Rwanda’s airport is in the capital of Kigali, where all tours, cycling or otherwise, start from. There are also shops to hire bikes.
- Suggested tour operators: Some tour companies have integrated cycling into their itinerary offerings—including Rwanda Bike Tours, Cycle Rwanda Holidays, and Rwandan Adventures—and they handle the logistics of bicycles, support vehicles, and accommodations. Packages range from $1,200–$1,600 for tours upwards of five days. While it’s possible to rent a bike at Kigali Rides or Tugende and ride independently, it’s highly recommended to go with one of the tour operators that specializes in cycling tours.
- Where to stay: Take a couple extra days in Kigali and stay at The Retreat, a 20-room boutique hotel that features locally made wooden furniture, private patios, and saltwater plunge pools.
