Rwanda is set to welcome a new hotel at the edge of Volcanoes national park next year, writes Ayla Soguksu.
In partnership with the Rwandan Development Board (RDB), conservation company and resort operator Singita will be opening the doors of Singita Kwitonda in late 2019.
Founder of Singita Luke Bailes said the focus for the hotel would be very sustainable, with architects and interior designers set to use locally sourced materials.
Local communities have also been involved in the project as they have been building traditional dry stone walling for areas within the landscape.
As part of the sustainability approach, the company will be building a nursery planting more than 60,000 tree saplings in and around the hotel.
Bailes said: “We believe this project will set a new standard for construction and landscape design in Rwanda.”
Offering eight suites and a villa, Singita Kwitonda will sit on 178 acres on the edge of the national park with views of the Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabara volcanoes.
Guests will also be able to go gorilla-trekking as the area is home to an estimated 320 mountain gorillas.
In addition to the gorillas, travellers will have the options of visiting the Nyungwe Forest national park and exploring Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali.
Singita Kwitonda is one of several new additions to Rwanda in recent years, with Wilderness Safaris opening Bisate Lodge last summer and One&Only opening a pair of resorts in 2019. Sheraton is also set to open a 136-room Kigali hotel in 2023 to accommodate the country’s growing tourism interest.