Singita Kwitonda Lodge stands on a 178-acre estate on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, the Rwandan reserve where more than a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live. The lodge shares a 1.2km border with the park, the closest of any lodge, and the headquarters where treks begin is under ten minutes away by road.
The setting is a landscape of wetlands and lush meadows beneath the Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura volcanoes of the Virunga range. Opened in 2019, this was Singita’s first property in Rwanda and the culmination of a five-year project tied to the company’s wider work conserving the gorillas and the forest they depend on. The lodge takes its name from a well-known silverback remembered for his gentle nature, and it sits within a wider conservation effort to give those gorillas more room.
The architecture was designed in response to its surroundings rather than imposed on them. Buildings are crafted from volcanic rock, river stone, handmade ceramic tiles and oven-fired clay bricks made by surrounding communities, with woven bamboo ceilings and eucalyptus screens. More than 500 local artisans and builders worked on the construction, and most components were made on site from materials sourced nearby.
Few lodges anywhere place you this close to the mountain gorillas.
Each of the eleven suites at Singita Kwitonda Lodge has a private heated plunge pool, a wellness treatment area, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and large timber-framed windows that draw the volcano views inside. The buildings were designed to eco-conscious standards set by the One Planet Council, so that over time the bamboo, ferns and forest trees will grow back around them.
Volcanoes National Park was established in 1925 and is among the oldest protected areas in Africa. It is the front line of mountain gorilla conservation, and Singita Kwitonda Lodge is the closest lodge to the park, sharing a 1.2km border with it. The short transfer to the park headquarters means more of the day is spent with the gorillas rather than travelling to them.
Gorilla trekking is the signature experience, with golden monkey trekking a worthwhile second outing. Treks vary in length and difficulty depending on where the family groups have moved, and a guide and trackers lead the way through bamboo and forest to reach them.
A quarter of a million saplings have been replanted to give the gorillas more room.
Conservation runs through the property. Since 2017 Singita has worked with neighbouring communities to restore former dairy pasture and farmland around the park, replanting it with indigenous trees and shrubs native to the Virunga range. The work creates a buffer zone between farmland and the rainforest, and within a year of opening some 250,000 saplings had been replanted across the estate.
At the centre of this is the Akarabo Nursery, whose name means little flower in Kinyarwanda. Around 60,000 saplings have been raised at the on-site nursery, and guests can walk the rows of young trees or plant one themselves as a lasting contribution to the reforestation programme. The nursery sits alongside a chef’s garden of herbs and vegetables that supplies the lodge’s farm-to-table kitchen, and the wider estate rewards time spent in it. Guests can walk the rows of young trees, meet local artisans such as basket weavers at work, take herbal teas at the teahouse, and look out across the wetlands and meadows to the three volcanoes that define the skyline at Singita Kwitonda Lodge.
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accommodation
Singita Kwitonda Lodge has eleven suites, each with a private heated plunge pool, a wellness treatment area, indoor and outdoor fireplaces and large timber-framed windows framing the volcanoes. The neighbouring Kataza House is an exclusive-use villa with four suites for private parties and families.
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activities
Gorilla trekking is the headline activity, with the park headquarters under ten minutes away. Golden monkey trekking, guided walks through the Akarabo Nursery and chef's garden, visits with local artisans and time taking in the views of the Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura volcanoes round out the days.
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conservation
Since 2017 Singita has worked with local communities to replant former farmland around the park with indigenous trees, creating a buffer zone for the gorillas. Within a year of opening, 250,000 saplings were planted, around 60,000 of them grown at the on-site Akarabo Nursery, which guests are invited to visit.
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.
Singita Kwitonda sits right on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, sharing a boundary with it, and the trekking headquarters is under ten minutes away by road. You fly into Kigali International Airport and transfer by road, a drive of roughly two and a half to three hours up through the hills. We arrange the transfer as part of your stay.
A private helicopter charter from Kigali is available if you would rather save the time, cutting the journey to under an hour.
Yes. Everyone tracking the mountain gorillas needs a permit from the Rwanda Development Board, and it is charged separately from your lodge rate. It costs 1,500 US dollars per person for a single trek at the time of writing, but confirm the current price with us at booking, as it is government-set and can change. With the lodge barely ten minutes from the trekking headquarters you are well placed for an early start, and we secure your permits in advance so the date is held.
The permit gives one hour with the gorilla family, in a group of eight, with a minimum age of fifteen. The walk to reach them can take from one to several hours over steep, forested slopes, and a porter from the trailhead eases the way. Golden monkey tracking is available on a separate, lower-cost permit if you would like to add it.
The park sits high in the mountains, at around 2,500 metres, and the cool air at that height keeps malaria-carrying mosquitoes scarce, so the risk is low. It is not zero. No part of Rwanda is officially malaria-free, and the drive up from Kigali passes through lower, warmer country where the risk climbs.
Because the right precautions depend on your own history and on guidance that shifts year to year, we always suggest confirming the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and covering up against bites after dark.
This is cool, wet mountain forest, so pack for rain and mud whatever the month. A waterproof jacket, sturdy hiking boots you have already worn in, and a pair of gardening gloves for gripping thorny and stinging vegetation are the essentials. Long trousers and long sleeves protect against nettles, and light layers suit 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, though 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.
Gorilla trekking is limited to guests aged fifteen and over, a park rule that applies here as everywhere in Volcanoes National Park. The lodge suits families well all the same: the neighbouring Kataza House is an exclusive-use villa of four suites taken for private parties and families, which gives you the run of your own space while older members trek and younger ones stay close.
Tell us the ages of everyone in your party and we will confirm the current policy and arrange the days so the trekkers and the non-trekkers are both looked after.
Yes. Singita Kwitonda provides complimentary wifi in the suites and public areas, dependable enough for email, calls and browsing when you are back from the mountain. Out on the trek itself the signal drops away, as it does throughout the forest.
If you need to stay reachable on a particular day, tell us and we will plan around the hours you will be in the park.
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