Sabinyo Silverback Lodge

On the edge of Volcanoes National Park - only 10 minutes away from park HQ where your gorilla trek begins.

From arrival in the car park there’s a short climb up to eight cosy cottages scattered across the hillside. There five standard cottages, and three suites, including a family suite. All are snug, with deep bath tubs, fire places and plenty of blankets on the bed for cool winter evenings. Each room has a verandah, which is a great place to sit with your morning coffee and admire the views.

There’s a bar, dining room and library in the main lodge. Sabyinyo places a real emphasis on supporting the community here, so most of the staff are local and are keen to make your stay a special one. There are hot water bottle on chill winter evenings, and snacks to take with you while you are trekking.

The highlight of any stay at Sabyinyo (or in Rwanda for that matter) has to be the gorilla trekking. An hour spent in the company of these magical creatures passes in a flash. As the chances of seeing them are (almost) guaranteed, most visitors will only do one trek, but a two or three day stay at Sabyinyo has so much more to offer. There are hikes to see the golden monkeys and Dian Fossey’s grave, and two pretty nearby lakes (Burera and Ruhondo) which make for a pleasant potter after a hard day’s gorilla trekking.