Karongi is a district (''akarere'') in

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. The district's capital is

Rubengera Rubengera, also known as Mabanza, is a town and sector in Rwanda. The town is the capital of Karongi District in Western Province, Rwanda. Rubengera lies in the western mountains of Rwanda between Lake Kivu and the divide that separates the cat ...

. However, it comprises Kibuye, provincial capital and a major Rwandan lakeside resort. It is one of the districts with the lowest population density of as of the 2022 census.

Tourism

Tourism is one of Karongi's main economic sectors. The main source of Karongi's popularity comes from the popular attraction of Lake Kivu. There are many resorts and hotels which have been built in recent years outside the town of Kibuye, most of which are on the shores of

Lake Kivu Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which ...

. One of the most frequently visited islands in Karongi is Napoleon Island, which is known for

straw-coloured fruit bat The straw-coloured fruit bat (''Eidolon helvum'') is a large fruit bat that is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, across forest and sava ...

s and district-provided hiking trails.. Other islands in Karongi are Monkey Island, which has a small population of

vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus '' Chlorocebus''. The five distin ...

s, and Amahoro or Peace Island. Another source of tourism comes from traditional night fishing. Resort in Karongi

Geography

The district lies on the shores of

, about halfway down the lake between

Gisenyi Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is the second largest city in Rwanda, located in the Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma as it was formerly also part of now Democratic Republic of the Congo, t ...

and Rusizi. Rubengera is approximately 100km from the national capital,

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

Sectors

The Karongi district is divided into 13

sectors Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a ...

(''imirenge''): Bwishyura, Mutuntu,

, Gitesi, Ruganda, Rugabano, Gishyita, Gishari, Mubuga, Murambi, Murudi, Rwankuba and Twumba.

References

*
Inzego.doc
— Province, District and Sector information from ''MINALOC'', the Rwanda ministry of local government.
Information about Karongi from the Kivu Belt Destination Management Unit
{{Districts of Rwanda Districts of Rwanda