By The UNCHARTED® editors · 4 min readGorilla encounters are family affairs: Toddlers playfully bang their chests and tumble around, mothers groom one another, and the mighty silverback leader sits back and observes it all. Locking eyes with these incredible creatures is an experience you’ll never forget. Nothing can prepare you for the palpable sense of interconnectedness.
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Known as The Land of a Thousand Hills, Rwanda has an impressive diversity of wildlife, the mountain gorilla being the most revered.
But, without a doubt, the country also has a complicated past. Yet, it has risen phoenix-like from its troubled history and today is Africa’s economic poster child, and a model of reconciliation, regeneration, and sustainability.
In the 29 years since its genocide, the country has embraced the concept of umuganda—which roughly translates to “community work.” In fact, the last Saturday of every month is a national holiday devoted to just that project. But this phrase means more than social welfare, or relief, or good deeds, or any other words that come to mind when you think of “community work” in the standard sense. The ethos is more like: Devote to revive.
Dian Fossey’s conservation efforts made wild gorillas renowned long before the massacres of the mid-90s. But even back then, she was hesitant to share the creatures with the world. Poachers abound, and, ultimately, her work resulted in her unsolved murder. Decades later, the Rwandan government has devised a selective permit system, which entirely funds the animals’ conservation efforts—another form of umuganda, so to speak. And with only 1,000 estimated mountain gorillas left in the wild, reviving is exactly what they need.
At UNCHARTED, we know that where you stay and who guides you can truly make or break a trip.
So, we’d like to introduce a newsletter we’ll be publishing every now and then called One Unbelievable Outpost. It is meant to shine light on a property that our travelers love staying at and embodies a narrative we fully support. For our inaugural issue, we give you Bisate, a lodge nestled deep in the emerald hills of Rwanda, ringed by a chain of active volcanoes, and the absolute best place to base your gorilla adventure:
Everything is carpeted in green and draped in mist in this volcanic landscape.
The proximity of Bisate lodge to Volcanoes National Park is what really makes this Outpost. Sitting within the amphitheater of an eroded volcanic cone, it was designed to reflect vast bird nests tucked into the trees (the park has over 200 species), and takes inspiration from the Royal Palace in Nyanza.
The six villas overlook the rainforest and three brooding volcanoes, and are crafted with brick showers, fireplaces furnished out of volcanic rock, and imigongo art. Local designer Teta Isibo imparted an indigenous feel and all the materials were locally sourced. The lodge is designed to have minimal impact on the surrounding environment.
For post-primate activities, Bisate has a library and spa. Trekking the 3,000 to 4,000 foot mountains in this area is no easy feat, and the Outpost itself has many stairs since it is built into the hillside, so refreshing with a deep-tissue massage followed by a bath in a black stone tub off your private balcony is a must. Guests are regularly provided with ginger-cinnamon tea to aid in any altitude sickness.
Since opening in 2017, Bisate has grown a robust garden that provides much of the food, and the wine cellar is stocked with top-end varietals.
The lodge is also highly involved in reforestation programs, and their efforts are a conservation success story: The population of mountain gorillas in Rwanda has been steadily increasing in recent years. Volcanoes National Park is now estimated to house at least 340 out of the 1,000 remaining mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif, which spans Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gorillas in the area are divided into several habituated families.
But gorillas are not the only animal encounters—plan to spot several Golden monkeys. While they are the park’s “secondary” primates, they are nonetheless impressive. Moreover, Rwanda is a birdwatcher's paradise, with numerous endemic and migratory bird species, so there will always be a flurry of avian activity.
All in all, Bisate offers an unrivaled wildlife experience, and it is an excellent choice for travelers seeking a luxurious and eco-conscious option while exploring the incredible biodiversity, history, and cultural heritage of the area. Direct flights between Kigali and the Serengeti also make Tanzania and Rwanda a wonderful safari combination.
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