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Added by Jopie, at 09 September 2017
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4 Reviews
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10 April 2018
Un lugar perfecto para escapar del caos de Goma!
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13 December 2017
Such a lovely place, nice atmosphere and perfect volcano view
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13 November 2017
In Lake Kivu, just off the coast between Goma and Sake, is a tiny little island called Tchegera. In August we twice visited this exotic island, which is actually the crater ridge of an old volcano within the lake. It has a central lagoon that corresponds to the crater, and the island itself circumscribes about ¾ of the lagoon.
Tchegera Island belongs to the Virunga National Park, and has been developed into an eco friendly tourist destination. The central part of the island has been made a beautiful garden, whereas indigenous vegetation has been retained on the rest. The island is composed of two semilunar halves, one northwest of the lagoon, and the other southeast of it; and they are interconnected with a narrow isthmus in southwest. There is a sandy beach on the inside of the island (i.e. towards the lagoon), but being old lava powder, the sand is black and not golden. To the northeast the lagoon of the island is open to Lake Kivu.
The boat trip from Goma to Tchegera is amazing, and offers a wonderful view of the western four Virunga Mountains of Nyamuragira, Nyiragongo, Mikeno and Karisimbi. Moreover, if you know where they are located, it is also easy to spot some of the smaller volcano craters in the area, such as the one containing Lac Vert (the Green Lake) within its crater, and the one that has Lac Noire (the Black Lake) within.
In the central part of the island, close to the isthmus connecting the two halves of it, are located a reception tent and a restaurant tent, as well as a little administration cottage and a kitchen. Along the inside of the southeastern half of the island, starting from the reception tent, are located eight quite luxurious safari tents, four for twin and four for double accommodation. The tents all have a quite spacious bedroom in front, and a slightly smaller bathroom in the back. The bedroom has a little table and a couple of chairs in addition to the beds, and the bathroom houses a shower, a flushing toilet, and a washbasin with running water. Hot water is heated by a solar power system, and another solar system provides some electricity for each tent. Sure, the tents can’t compare to a five star hotel in a big city, but for a remote island they offer far more luxury than you could expect there. Moreover, there are some kayaks and surfboards on the island for use by visitors.
There are no large animals on the island, but it nevertheless has an abundance of wildlife. There’s a lot of birds, as well as lizards and chameleons. When asked, a staff member on the island reluctantly told me he had even seen green mamba on the island, but they are very rare.
The island is ideal for relaxation after a gorilla trek in the forests of Mount Mikeno, or after a volcano trek on Mount Nyiragongo. At night, unless the sky is very cloudy, it offers a spectacular view of Mount Nyiragongo. The Nyiragongo crater has a lava lake within it, and with the naked eye you may se it lighten up the sky above the mountain. Furthermore, if you bring a tripod for your camera, you could make an amazing long exposure photograph, on which the lava within the Nyiragongo crater will make a spectacular light show in the sky and in any clouds or vapour above the volcano.
There is a large staff on the island, to ensure your comfort, and to cook, clean the tents before new guests arrive, and to take care of any maintenance that is needed; but you won’t see much of most of them, as they have their own staff’s tents behind the edge of the north western crescent of the island. The same goes for security. The park has a number of armed rangers on the island at any time, but unless you go for a walk on that part of the island, you won’t notice.
Wind might at times be quite strong on lake Kivu, and there is a risk you may have a rough boat trip to the island, or a stormy night in your tent, especially if your booking is in the rain season. If an adventure holiday is what you’ve been longing for, however, that shouldn’t frighten you off.response / report this review -
16 September 2017
Clean but spartan accommodations made highly memorable by a professional staff and magical location.
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