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 Provin ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. The capital being

Rubengera Rubengera is a community in Rwanda, part of the Mabanza commune. It 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 catchment ...

, the district also contains Kibuye, the provincial capital and a major Rwandan lakeside resort. It is one of the districts with the least population density of as of 2012 census.

Tourism

Tourism is one of the main economic sectors of Karongi. Karongi's location near

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 ...

, the beautiful scenery and its many islands are the main draws. There are many resort and hotels which have been built recently outside the town of Kibuye, most on the shores of

. One of the most popular islands to visit in Karongi is Napoleon Island; a large island which is popular for hiking and for viewing one of Africa's largest colonies of straw colored fruit bats which resides on the Island. 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 distinct ...

s and Amahoro or Peace Island which used to have a camping site. Resort in Karongi

Night fishing is another popular pastime in Karongi. At night, fishermen sail on three wooden boats bound together by smaller poles and use gas lanterns to lure small Isambaza or

Tanganyika sardine The Tanganyika sardine is known as kapenta or matemba in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe (a related but different fish known as dagaa or ndaga is ''Rastrineobola argentea''). Kapenta is two species (Lake Tanganyika sardine, ''Limnothrissa miodon'' a ...

s into their nets. Some fishermen allow tourists and other visitors to join them on their boats. Night Fishing

Geography

The district lies on the shores of

, about halfway down the lake between

Gisenyi Gisenyi, historically rendered as Kisenyi, is a city in Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Overview The city features a resort on th ...

and

Cyangugu Cyangugu (formerly Shangugu) is a city and capital of the Rusizi District in Western Province, Rwanda. The city lies at the southern end of Lake Kivu, and is contiguous with Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, but separated from it by the Ru ...

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 p ...

(''imirenge''): Bwishyura, Gishyita, Gishari, Gitesi, Mubuga, Murambi, Murundi, Mutuntu,

Rugabano Rugabano is a sector (umurenge) in Karongi district, in Western Province, Rwanda. Its office is near Gakuta center, on the foot of Gisunzu mount. Its capital is Rugabano market, in a center of shops and cattle market (isoko ry'inka). The sector ...

Ruganda Ruganda is a sector in Karongi District, 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 (S ...

, 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