Our next stop was the relaxed lakeside town of Karongi (commonly known by its old name, Kibuye), another good place to enjoy Lake Kivu. We hired a boat (50 USD / 4 hours) and visited the lake’s islands. Most famous is Napoleon Island, named for its resemblance to the pint-sized French...
Rwanda may be landlocked, but it didn’t stop us from enjoying a day at the beach. Kivu’s gently lapping waters and soft sands do the trick – throw in a few beach bars and palm trees to add that tropical feel. Rubavu (which most locals still call Gisenyi) is a sprawling town...
Our journey continued through some of Uganda’s most incredible crater lakes. On the first day, we had terrible luck with the weather, so we did it again the next day on motorbikes (boda boda). On the highest hill behind Lake Nyamirima, we visited the viewpoint Top of the world, where you...
We arrived from Kampala in an hour through a modern expressway (10000 UGX) to the pleasant and chilled city of Entebbe. It is set just outside Kampala, near the banks of Lake Victoria. This buzzing city is the former capital and has made Hollywood connections through numerous films about...
We finally arrived at the final frontier, the lakeside city of Kisumu. Since its founding in the early 20th century, Kenya’s third city has always had a bit of a different flavor than the rest of the country. Kisumu has been home to many Luo people, a community with roots in the Nubian...
Since there were no safe parking spots, we stayed overnight at the Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu. This 1-sq-km sanctuary is home to a small impala herd and provides substantial grazing grounds for local hippos. In addition to the impala, there are cages of other Kenyan antelope and monkeys...
We arrived late in the afternoon at Lake Nakuru, and it took us quite some time to get approval from rangers to park there overnight. This park is among Kenya’s finest national parks, flanked by rocky escarpments, pockets of acacia forest, and at least one waterfall. The park is...
Today, we hired a small car with a driver (half day 2000 KES) to explore the surroundings of Lake Naivasha and Lake Oloiden. Lake Naivasha, hugged by grassy banks and shingled with cacti and sand olive trees, is the Rift Valley’s highest lake (1884m above sea level). You can hire a...
We drove around the largest lake in the Caucasus (1240 sq km) and one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world, set at 1900m above sea level. Its colors and shades change with the weather, forming dazzling azure to dark blue hues. We stopped near the elevated site...
We got sunny weather today, so we decided to hike from Lake Parz back to Dilijan. In the morning, we ordered a Yandex taxi (4000 AMD) and went to lake Parz in the Dilijan National Park. The lake was formed by natural climatic changes. In 2017 the TransCaucasian Trail was created to...