Four villas, each 212 square metres, with two fireplaces, private decks and wood-fired hot tubs, separate lounges, and space for massages. Villas 1 and 2 connect for families.
Wellness area for treatments, walking trails, reforestation participation, boutique, library, wine selection, and Wi-Fi. Staff numbers mean each guest receives close attention throughout their stay.
Guests may plant a tree in the ongoing reforestation effort. More than 120,000 indigenous trees have been hand-planted, restoring forest cover and creating wildlife corridors.
Multiple habituated groups occupy different sectors of the park, with permits issued daily for each family. Rangers locate the gorillas before trekkers depart, and the hike takes you through bamboo and montane forest to reach them. One hour with a gorilla family allows observation of feeding, infant care, and silverback behaviour at close proximity.
Habituated troops occupy the bamboo zone, moving fast through dense vegetation where visibility drops and positions shift quickly. Following them means pushing through stands where the monkeys feed on young shoots and leap between stems. The experience runs shorter than gorilla trekking but brings you closer to a species restricted to the Virunga-Bwindi region
The trail to Bisoke’s summit climbs through vegetation zones that change with altitude, ending at a crater lake enclosed by the rim. Steep sections pass through mud and dense growth, demanding full-day commitment and reasonable fitness. From the top, the crater opens below while neighboring peaks line the horizon in clear conditions.
A half-day trek brings you to the site where Dian Fossey lived and worked until her death. The station sits in a saddle between Bisoke and Karisimbi, accessible through gorilla habitat. Fossey’s grave lies beside those of gorillas she studied, maintained as part of the conservation history of this park.
The trek to Fossey’s burial site passes through forest where gorilla groups range, combining historical interest with wildlife possibility. Guides explain her research methods and the threats that gorillas faced during her years at Karisoke. The grave sits within a small cemetery where several gorillas, including the silverback Digit, are also buried.
