Cormoran Lodge: The Lowdown

Comoran Lodge is a simple, charming, and well-located base to spend a few nights beside Lake Kivu.

What’s Cormoran Lodge really like?

Sweet little Cormoran Lodge sits perched high above Lake Kivu in the small lakeside town of Kibuye. It’s a short drive out of town down a bumpy-ish road, but nothing that a carefully driven car couldn’t handle. The views and the peaceful location in fragrant gardens falling steeply down to the lakeshore are the definite high points of the lodge. The main bar and dining room has a balcony where you could easily while away a few hours with a book. You can eat your meals here enjoying the view, or tucked away inside to shelter from the wind. Food is simple with a few clear French influences, though we’re told the pizza is also a good bet. Ours was warming and tasty, but you shouldn’t come expecting too much in the way of haute cuisine.

The main building and the rooms are all in little cabins scattered up and down the steep hillside overlooking the lake. There are just 7 wooden chalet-style rooms with a simple bedroom, and an ensuite bathroom. Each one has a small balcony outside. One of these chalets is used for families, as it’s double height with one room above another. Unfortunately due to the steep drop down to the Lake (we estimated this was about 50m down from the main entrance to the water) this is not suitable for disabled travellers.

This part of Rwanda isn’t overrun with luxury lodges, so in all we’d say this was a low-key, lodge, that would be excellent for a night or two of relaxation beside the lake.

What can I do at Cormoran Lodge?

Generally we’d come to Lake Kivu to put our feet up, however there are kayaks on site and a small man made beach where there were a few children’s toys and swings. In fact, there were a few children here when we visited and we thought it would be a fun spot for families, though we’d stress that due to the steep drops around the lodge, parents would need to keep an eye on younger travellers. Beyond the sandy beach there are a few slippery rocks, and then a pontoon which guests were using for swimming in the lake- after a hot dusty day on the road this looked extremely enticing! The lodge also offers motorboat rides out onto the lake to visit some of the nearby islands.

Want to know more? We’ve been here so just