Rwanda>Volcanoes National Park>Bisate
Bisate is a stylish, cosy and high-end lodge close to Rwanda’s gorilla trekking HQ.
What’s Bisate Really Like?
The last stretch of the journey to Bisate is a long and rather bumpy road. Like so many of the very best destinations this is a little of a challenge to get to. However, waiting for you is one of the most extraordinary lodges we’ve seen in Africa. The rooms are six cosy nests, ranged along the hillside and looking out over the countryside. Each nest, more officially known as a “forest villa” has a deck to admire the view from, a cosy fireplace, and an ensuite bathroom. There’s also wifi in the rooms if you can’t resist sharing your gorilla trekking photos as soon as you return.
The main area of the lodge is designed in a similar style- thatched domes make up the restaurant, lounge and bar, where guests can often be found swapping tales of their adventures on the mountain. Food is warming and homely- it is often wet and cold up in the rainforest, and these cosy wholesome meals are ideal. Hospitality is equally warm, with sweet friendly staff who’ll take care of every little detail, right down to cleaning the mud from your boots after your gorilla trek.
What can I do at Bisate?
Obviously visitors to Bisate come for the chance to trek for mountain gorillas, and almost every guest does this. However, there’s a lot more to do in this area. If you’d like a warm up (or down) from seeing the gorillas, the golden monkey trek is a nice way to stretch your legs, and you can also hike up to Dian Fossey’s research base. This is much the same route she took to collect her weekly shopping and we were left impressed by her fitness! You can also visit the lodge’s tree nursery and your hosts in the local community nearby. One thing we particularly loved (a fairly costly extra, but well worth the while for anyone with more than a glancing interest in conservation) was a visit to the Gorilla Doctors who look after these amazing creatures.
Giving back at Bisate:
We’d challenge anyone to visit Rwanda and not want to give something back to this extraordinary country. Bisate partners with the local community to buy fresh produce, creating an income for local farmers. There is a reforestation project to return trees to this densely populated land, and guests are encouraged to plant a tree during their stay to contribute to this ongoing initiative.
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