This New Rwandan Lodge Offers a Stellar Base Camp for Gorilla Trekking
Those who’ve seen one in its natural habitat will agree: There are few African wildlife encounters as soul-stirring as locking eyes with one of our closest relatives, the gorilla. Perhaps it’s their eerily human behavior. Maybe it’s those man-like fingers, or that mutual gaze of curiosity in the beady eyes staring back. Either way, travelers are increasingly pining for primate encounters, and Africa’s gorilla trekking industry is reaping the benefits.
Last year, Rwanda’s critically endangered mountain gorillas saw an all-time high of 25,927 trekkers shuffle around their turf in the Virunga Mountains. In little-visited Gabon, a chart-topping 400 travelers met the western lowland gorillas of the Loango National Park in 2023 (trips are bookable via the Explorations Company). Permits given out by Kamba African Rainforest Experiences, a series of plush jungle lodges and the leading gorilla trekking operator in northern Congo’s Odzala-Kokoua National Park, are on track to match or even topple previous records. It’s no wonder then, that primate trekking specialist Natural World Safaris (launched in 2005 as World Primate Safaris) has noticed gorilla trekking permits—sold with strict daily limits—in some of Africa’s most popular trekking destinations now selling out months in advance.
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“As our society evolves, people get more in touch with themselves and the natural world,” says Will Bolsover, Natural World Safaris’ founder, who has guided great ape expeditions in Gabon, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, and the DRC. “Nowadays, people crave more intimate experiences, such as the intense connection we feel when we look into the eyes of a primate. There’s a multitude of wildlife experiences available across the globe, but most separate you from the animals either by a 4×4, a boat, or other forms of transport. On primate expeditions, you’re on foot, in their domain, and fully at their mercy.”
Over the past few decades, northern Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, a stretch of the border-crossing Virunga Mountains range that’s home to the lion’s share of habituated mountain gorillas, has emerged as Africa’s prime primate trekking spot. Botswana-based Wilderness turned heads when it opened the six-villa Bisate lodge in 2017, while power players such as Singita and One&Only upped the luxe-factor in the years that followed. But with last September’s launch of Bisate’s ultra-luxe extension, Bisate Reserve, Wilderness might’ve just reclaimed its perch at the top of Rwanda’s luxury lodge circuit.
Pitched up on the same estate as the original Bisate lodge (but on a hillside with even better views of the surrounding volcanic peaks), the Reserve turbocharged its sibling’s best traits. The nest-like villas, similarly inspired by the thatch-covered King’s Palace in Nyanza, doubled in size, and private decks now come with a wood-fired hot tub. Each villa has a separate living room with a fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen, and sofas in buttery suede, while a detached second kitchen offers room for a private chef. “We wanted to give guests the luxury of space, so we increased the size of the rooms to allow for a lounge and butler service within the villa, with more space for in-room dining and spa treatments,” says Grant Woodrow, Wilderness’s chief business development officer.
Even though there would’ve been plenty of space and demand for a resort double its size (Bisate’s villas are notoriously hard to book in the high season), the Reserve has intentionally been limited to just four villas—two of which can be connected into a family retreat. “By keeping Bisate Reserve small and intimate, we’ve created an opportunity where guests can book out the lodge privately for their families and friends,” Woodrow says. “It would work extremely well for multi-generational travelers looking for privacy and exclusivity.”
South African interior designer Caline Williams-Wynn, who also masterminded the look of the original lodge, infused the timber-clad interiors with local materials and Rwandan crafts. On their bases of bamboo, volcanic stone, and mats from woven reed, the villas feature plush lounge chairs and cushions with floral embroidery by Ibaba, a social enterprise supporting women in the village of Rutongo. Chandeliers from recycled glass and leather offcuts hang from the rounded ceilings, while gorilla-themed artworks by local artist Rigobert Uwiduhaye, Rwandan pottery, and woven baskets scatter the shelves, walls and corners in between.
And while gorilla treks are, of course, its raison d’être, the Reserve offers plenty of excursions and perks to justify lingering around an extra day or two. The roster of off-resort activities includes bird-watching walks and guided visits to the nearby village. The lodge’s communal living room, warmed with wood fire and fitted with an eclectic mix of leather sofas, rattan chairs, and African art, hosts wildlife presentations and live painting sessions with the aforementioned Uwiduhaye. In the late afternoon, the green-tiled bar shakes up punchy passion fruit martinis, which prelude farm-to-table dinners (the daily-changing menu could include everything from cassava gnocchi with miso-cashew creme or oven-roasted chicken in chardonnay sauce) at the adjoining restaurant.
A $300 million, 3,740-hectare extension of the national park, which will increase the gorillas’ habitat by almost a quarter of its current size, will gradually roll out over the coming years. Wilderness’s ambitious reforestation program has already revived swathes of Bisate’s formerly agricultural setting with more than 100,000 indigenous trees (nurtured from seed to sapling in the on-site nursery), which will soon blend in with the national parks’ native jungle. Since the program started in 2017, birdlife diversity has increased from just seven species to more than 60, and camera traps have caught golden monkeys, serval cats, and even a lone silverback passing through the reforested land. When the park extension eventually finishes, Bisate’s plot will sit within its confines, and gorilla sightings from the villas’ balconies could become a regular event.
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