When Bisate Lodge opened in June 2017, it became Rwanda’s first genuinely luxurious, eco-sensitive safari lodge, arriving ahead of the properties that would follow. It stands on 42 hectares of former farmland on the southern boundary of Volcanoes National Park, within the eroded amphitheatre of an old volcanic cone. The Kinyarwanda word bisate means pieces, describing how erosion wore the once-whole cone away.
The land carries a human story. In 2016 the Tuzamurane Co-operative was formed when the lodge’s founders approached Bisate villagers to buy parcels of their agricultural land. Many of those same community members helped build the lodge and work there today, supplying labour and produce. The result is a place where staying and conserving belong to the same act, guided by a philosophy that treats purpose, not polish, as the real measure of luxury.
Six spherical, thatched villas rise from the hillside like giant bird’s nests, an award-winning design by Nicholas Plewman Architects rooted in Rwandan royal tradition and the King’s Palace at Nyanza. Interiors by Artichoke and locally curated pieces from designer Teta Isibo layer volcanic stone, basket-weave and forest greens. From the higher decks the panorama spans six volcanoes, among them Bisoke, Karisimbi and Mikeno.
A camera trap recorded a silverback crossing the property, and forest-elephant dung was found at the helipad.
Those sightings are the clearest measure of the reforestation work here. Ground that was once farmland is becoming gorilla habitat again, with more than 120,000 indigenous trees hand-planted to date and wildlife steadily returning to the slopes around the villas.
Bisate Lodge lies in north-western Rwanda at roughly 1,850 metres in the Afro-alpine zone of the Virunga Massif. Kigali International Airport is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, and the Kinigi park headquarters, where treks depart, is around twenty minutes by road. Helicopter transfers are available via a private helipad. The site’s topography screens out the lights of nearby Kinigi and Musanze, so the lodge feels held within the park itself.
Each of the six Forest Villas measures 91 square metres and is raised on its own deck. A bedroom, living area and en-suite bathroom wrap around a central volcanic-stone fireplace, opening to a private deck with volcano views. A small cloakroom holds muddy trekking boots between outings. The structures were prototyped in Cape Town, then disassembled and rebuilt on the steep Rwandan site, and the lodge runs largely off-grid.
Staying and conserving belong to the same act here.
Gorilla trekking is the reason most guests come. Volcanoes National Park holds twelve habituated mountain gorilla families, and visitors are assigned to one, with a maximum of eight guests per group, two rangers and a strict one-hour limit in the gorillas’ company. The minimum age for trekking is fifteen, a park rule rather than a lodge preference.
Beyond the gorillas, guests can track Virunga-endemic golden monkeys, summit Mount Bisoke, or hike to the Karisoke Research Centre founded by Dian Fossey, where she is buried beside her gorilla Digit. Two short trails along the crater rim can be walked without a guide, and the lodge offers tree planting with the resident agronomist, birding, coffee and wine tastings, and evening talks with a gorilla expert.
Conservation runs through everything. The lodge removes invasive eucalyptus and replants indigenous species grown from seed in an on-site nursery, passing 100,000 trees by the end of 2024 and over 120,000 to date. The Tuzamurane Co-operative, formed in 2016, supplies the kitchen, while Children in the Wilderness funds school scholarships for local students. Dining follows an earth-to-plate approach under Executive Chef Angelus Karangwa, with produce picked daily from two kitchen gardens.
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accommodation
Bisate Lodge has six Forest Villas, each 91 square metres and raised on its own deck. Spherical and thatched in the shape of a bird's nest, every villa centres on a volcanic-stone fireplace, with a bedroom, living area and en-suite bathroom opening onto a private deck framing the volcanoes. Interiors layer basket-weave, timber and forest greens.
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activities
Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is the headline, limited to one hour with each family and a minimum age of fifteen. Guests can also track golden monkeys, summit Mount Bisoke, hike to Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Centre, walk the crater-rim trails, or join tree planting, birding and wine tastings.
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conservation
The lodge clears invasive eucalyptus and replants indigenous trees grown on site, passing 100,000 by the end of 2024 and over 120,000 to date, rebuilding gorilla habitat on former farmland. The Tuzamurane Co-operative, formed in 2016, supplies the kitchen, and Children in the Wilderness funds scholarships for local students.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Bisate stands on the southern edge of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda's north-west. You fly into Kigali International Airport, then it is a road transfer of roughly two and a half hours up to the park, a scenic climb through the terraced hills to the lodge. Most guests come by road, and we arrange the transfer as part of your trip.
For those who would rather save the time, a private helicopter charter from Kigali is possible and brings the journey down to well under an hour. We can build either into your itinerary.
Yes. Tracking the mountain gorillas from Bisate requires a permit issued by the Rwanda Development Board, and it sits outside your lodge rate. At the time of writing it costs 1,500 US dollars per person for a single trek, but do confirm the current figure with us when you book, as the government sets it and it can move. We secure your permits well ahead, because the daily number is capped and the dry-season dates go months in advance.
A permit buys one hour with the gorilla family once you reach them, in a group of no more than eight, with a minimum age of fifteen. The walk in can run from an hour to several over steep ground, and a porter, hired at the trailhead, makes it easier. Golden monkey tracking is a separate, lower-cost permit we can add alongside it.
Volcanoes National Park sits high in the mountains, at around 2,500 metres, where the cool air keeps malaria-carrying mosquitoes scarce, so the risk here is low. It is not nil, though. No part of Rwanda is officially malaria-free, and the drive up from Kigali passes through lower, warmer country where the risk is higher.
Because health guidance changes from year to year and depends on your own history, we always suggest confirming the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual precautions against bites after dark whatever they advise.
Volcanoes is cool, wet mountain forest, so pack for rain and mud whatever the month. The essentials are a waterproof jacket, sturdy hiking boots you have already worn in, and a pair of gardening gloves for gripping thorny, stinging vegetation on the climb. Long trousers and long sleeves guard against nettles, and light layers handle mornings that start cold and warm as you climb.
Rwanda has two rainy seasons, the longer from March to May and a shorter one around October and November, but a downpour is possible at any time of year up here. Gaiters and a dry bag for your camera are worth the space, and a porter at the trailhead can carry your daypack.
Bisate welcomes children from the age of six, so families can stay together, but gorilla trekking itself carries a firm minimum age of fifteen set by the park. Younger children remain at the lodge with a parent or minder while the older members trek, and there are gentler activities around the lodge and the reforestation project to fill their day.
Tell us the ages of everyone travelling and we will shape the days around them, including who treks and who stays back.
Bisate offers complimentary wifi in the villas, so you can stay in touch from your own space between treks. Coverage is set up for the villas rather than the whole property, and once you are out on the mountain tracking the gorillas the signal falls away, as it does across the forest.
If staying connected matters on a given day, tell us and we will let you know what to expect and plan around the hours you are in the park.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
