Bisate Lodge, Volcanoes National Park RWANDA

Listing Details

Owner

mpagi

Telephone

+256.772.788.426, +44.790.863.9450

Contact Details

Email: karibu@kariburwanda.com
Mobile: +256.772.788.426
What sup: +256.772.788.426
Fixed: (+44)208.765.1058
:(+44)790.863.9450
Email: travel@kariburwanda.com

Description

Bisate
The Experience
From your sumptuous villa on the slopes of an eroded volcanic crater, designed in the traditions of Rwandan royalty, gaze through a curtain of mist at two extinct volcanoes, Bisoke and Karisimbi. Where primatologist Dian Fossey ran her research station, Karisoke, dedicated to saving mountain gorillas from extinction. Hike through verdant rainforest, up to nearly 3 000 metres, to visit Karisoke’s haunting ruins and Fossey’s grave, next to her beloved gorilla, Digit. Here, gorillas, now numbering more than 1 000 throughout the Virunga massif, await you. For one precious hour, your allocated family may deliver your life’s most astonishing encounter.

Gorilla trekking is the star attraction, but nearby Volcanoes National Park offers other adventures: golden monkey trekking; the Fossey hike; scaling Mount Bisoke. On lodge property, explore nature trails where birds proliferate and a camera trap recently recorded a first: a silverback gorilla lumbering along the path. Plant a tree towards Bisate’s reforestation project, helping to lure wildlife back to the area. Follow the hum rising from the local villages below, and meet some of the community whose lives are so integral to the lodge.

Wildlife at Bisate
Aside from the area’s iconic mountain gorillas, other mammals that call Volcanoes National Park home include the golden monkey, side-striped jackal, serval, black-fronted duiker, buffalo, elephant, tree hyrax, bushbuck and Egyptian mongoose. A variety of squirrel and genet species are also to be found here. Of the 178 bird species in the area, at least 13 are endemic to the Virunga area such as Archer’s robin chat, mountain black boubou, strange weaver, Rwenzori batis, mountain masked apalis and Rwenzori (collared) apalis.

Bisate’s vision of reforestation and rehabilitation means that each guest contributes to biodiversity conservation and local community upliftment – making a far-reaching positive impact on an iconic endangered species: the mountain gorilla.

The Place
Bisate Lodge perches dramatically on the edge of Volcanoes National Park in north-west Rwanda – one of the most thrilling safari destinations in Africa.

The Lodge
Since opening in 2017, Bisate has racked up 34 awards and continues to inspire superlatives. Six en-suite Forest Villas embody Rwanda’s rich culture. Edifying cultural interactions, sophisticated, health-conscious dining, and exuberant hospitality all make your stay superior.

Facilities:

Mountain Gorilla Conservation
Bisate aims to become a Centre of Excellence for great ape research, focusing on mountain gorillas and ultimately growing a local, sustainable conservation-based economy. This purpose, it is hoped, will facilitate an increase in the population of Critically Endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Community Partnership
Through our partnership with the surrounding community, including the purchase of the Bisate site from 103 community members and injecting $500 000 into the community, over 200 people from the local community were employed for the property’s construction while another 24 community members are permanently employed at Bisate. A community cooperative has been formed for equitable procurement of fresh produce and other goods from land adjacent to the site.

'Every guest is a philanthropist’
To date we have planted more than 20 000 indigenous trees on Bisate’s site. To continue our reforestation initiative, we encourage our guests to spend time in the tree nursery and to plant a tree during their stay, thus contributing directly to the restoration of the area.

Rating