Tranquil retreat at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Among rainforest and bamboo, volcanoes and lakes, critically-endangered mountain gorillas roam across Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, providing tourists the chance to follow and get close to habituated armies of these intriguing but endangered gorillas.  For those wishing to explore the park, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge—only ten minutes from the entrance—is the perfect starting point.

Praised as the first national park on the continent, Volcanoes National Park not only conceals mountain gorillas inside its borders.  With the aid of a professional guide, spot and track golden monkeys; meanwhile, watch for buffalo, spotted hyena, black-fronted duiker.  Other park attractions are tours of its lakes and caverns, visits to Dian Fossey’s grave, and one to two day hikes on Bisoke and Karisimbi Volcano respectively.

Comprising 30 separate chalets built from locally available material, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge features a sitting space, fireplace, en suite bathroom, and private verandah in each.  While the on-site bar is packed with all your home favorites, the main lodge’s restaurant dishes up excellent local food gotten from farm fresh produce.