Wilderness Sabyinyo

Wilderness Sabyinyo sits in the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes, a chain of eight peaks that cross three countries in central Africa. The lodge is a few minutes from Volcanoes National Park headquarters, the departure point for mountain gorilla treks — twelve habituated gorilla families live in the park, and guests are allocated to one group per trek. Golden monkeys, endemic to this bamboo forest and living in groups of thirty to eighty individuals, can also be tracked on a shorter excursion.

The property covers just over ten hectares and holds nine accommodation units: a pair of suites, a standalone family cottage with two separate en-suite bedrooms, and six standard cottages. All are built in stone and topped with terracotta tiles in the Rwandese style. Each room has a fireplace, a space heater, a large sitting area, and a verandah onto the gardens, where over forty bird species that struggle in the surrounding farmland have established themselves on the grounds. The two suites each have two decks and a four-poster king bed.

Wilderness manages the lodge on behalf of SACOLA — the Sabyinyo Community Livelihood Association — a community trust that channels rental income and visitor fees into socio-economic and conservation work in the surrounding communities. The African Wildlife Foundation is a partner in the trust structure. This arrangement makes Sabyinyo the first lodge in Rwanda built on this model.

Other activities include guided hikes toward Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke, a trek to Dian Fossey's research camp and grave site at three thousand metres, a visit to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's campus named for Ellen DeGeneres, guided community walks through Sabyinyo village, and a day trip to Lake Kivu, eighty kilometres and roughly two hours by road.