This seven-night trip links Kigali with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda’s north-west. It opens in the capital, a clean, hill-spread city of memorials, markets and arts that serves as the country’s arrival hub. From there it moves to the southern edge of Volcanoes National Park, base for mountain gorilla trekking in the Virunga Massif, before a final night back in Kigali.
You travel by private driver-guide, with the option of a helicopter transfer to the park. The heart of the trip is five nights at Bisate Lodge, twenty minutes from the Kinigi headquarters where treks depart. Kigali is handled by a private house on Rebero hill and a boutique hotel in Kiyovu, each a calm base at either end of the route.
Begin in Rwanda's capital, a city spread across ridges and valleys around thirty minutes from the airport. Villa Kigali is a four-bedroom private house on Rebero hill in the Kicukiro district, taken on sole use with a private chef and a butler. High enough on the hill that the city noise falls away, it has a garden, a pool and a veranda that runs the length of the house, looking across the folded country beyond. Meals are built around whatever the group wants rather than a set menu.
Five nights at Bisate Lodge, on 42 hectares of former farmland within the eroded amphitheatre of an old volcanic cone on the southern boundary of Volcanoes National Park. The lodge sits at roughly 1,850 metres in the Afro-alpine zone of the Virunga Massif, around twenty minutes by road from the Kinigi park headquarters where treks depart. Each of the six Forest Villas measures 91 square metres, raised on its own deck around a central volcanic-stone fireplace, with a cloakroom for muddy boots between outings. A camera trap here recorded a silverback crossing the property.
Return to the capital for a final night at Hemingways Retreat Kigali, a 20-room boutique hotel of stone and teak on a quiet street in the leafy Kiyovu neighbourhood, a short drive from the airport, markets, galleries and memorials. Rooms and suites pair peaked ceilings with locally crafted teak furniture and private patios. At the centre of the grounds is a solar-heated saltwater pool with a jacuzzi, and dining runs across two restaurants, Fusion and Heaven.
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
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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.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.
