Singita recently broke ground on Singita Kwitonda Lodge. Set on 188 acres at the edge of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, the spot for gorilla trekking in Rwanda, the ultra luxury lodge will accommodate guests in 8 suites and a private villa.

Planned to open in August 2019, Singita Kwitonda Lodge will have magnificent views of the Sabinyo and Gahinga volcanoes. The project will cost about $16 million, and is expected to provide direct employment to 70 people.

Singita partially funds the protection and preservation of land and wildlife populations, and helps create economic independence within local communities surrounding the reserves.

Singita was established in 1993 in South Africa. The new lodge is named after Kwitonda, a silverback gorilla who died five years ago.

For many years luxury lodge options in Rwanda were hugely limited. If you were going gorilla trekking you could choose between Volcanoes Virunga Lodge and Sabinyo Silverback Lodge.

The Dubai-based luxury resort company, One & Only has two new properties in Rwanda, One & Only Nyungwe House and One & Only Gorilla’s Nest. Nyungwe opened in July 2017 and Gorilla’s Nest will open in 2018. General Manager Justin Stevens was one of the namers of baby gorillas at the Kwita Izina ceremony held in Kinigi, Rwanda on September 1, 2017.

Wilderness Safaris’ Bisate Lodge, which also opened in 2017, is set in the natural amphitheatre of an eroded volcanic cone. The area has dramatic views of the peaks of the volcanoes Bisoke, Karisimbi and Mikeno of nearby Volcanoes National Park. It has 6 en-suite rooms.

With 12 award-winning lodges and camps across South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, Singita is considered a leader in terms of luxury eco tourism safaris. Kwitonda is their latest luxury safari property and it should pair very nicely with their Tanzanian offerings. We imagine booking clients to see gorillas in Rwanda and then flying them directly to Singita’s Serengeti properties in Tanzania. What a pleasure!