Jack Hanna Cottage

Volcanic peaks rise directly behind the cottage, their slopes dark with forest and often lost in cloud by mid-morning. Jack Hanna Cottage sits at Kinigi, close under the Virunga range, restored with care to keep its original architecture and layout intact. It is a compact stay. Inside, a fully equipped kitchen hosts cooking classes run by the property's executive chef, and a games room gives guests somewhere to sit out the afternoon mist that gathers on the lower slopes. A library holds material on Rwanda's conservation work, useful reading before or after a day spent tracking gorillas through the surrounding forest. Trackers and rangers work the nearby concession daily, and guests can arrange treks into Volcanoes National Park directly from the cottage. You can hear birdsong through the windows most mornings, before the volcanoes clear. The setting favours travellers who want a quiet base rather than a large resort: the cottage reads as domestic and lived-in, its restoration true to the original building rather than built new. Rooms are warmed against the mountain chill, useful given Kinigi's elevation. Check-in runs from early afternoon. Its position near the foothills makes it a practical stopover for gorilla trekking, with the volcanoes themselves forming the constant backdrop to every window and terrace.