Lodge building with a planted roof and terrace facing the volcanoes — Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Kinigi, Musanze · Rwanda

Availability

Year-round

Per unit

11 suites + 1 villa · 2–8 guests

Region

Musanze

Price range

$$$$

Price range

$$$$

Per unit

2–8 guests

Type

Lodge

Suite with a woven ceiling, red bedding and a wide window onto the fields
Glass-walled lodge building and sunken terrace at sunset, volcano behind
A golden monkey in the grass near trekkers, Volcanoes National Park
Suite bedroom with a window seat facing green fields
Bathroom with a freestanding bath and a massage table by the window
Four-poster bed, desk and stone fireplace under a woven ceiling
Dressing area with open wardrobe, mirror and massage table
Stone and red brick buildings of the lodge below the volcanoes
A suite of volcanic stone and red brick among young trees, volcanoes behind
Long lodge room with a wooden table, chandeliers and glass walls
Bar with copper tableware, stone walls and windows onto the fields
Leather sofas and display cabinets facing the valley at sunset
Vegetable beds of the Akarabo Nursery garden, volcano behind

Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Kinigi, Musanze

Lodge · $$$$

11 suites + 1 villa · Year-round

  • 250,000 indigenous trees on former farmland
  • Chef school for young Rwandans since 2021
  • Built from volcanic rock and village-made bricks
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Welcome to Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Singita opened Kwitonda in 2019 on 72 hectares of former farmland along Volcanoes National Park. 250,000 indigenous trees were planted during construction, and the land is becoming a strip of forest between the park and the surrounding fields, where wildlife can range beyond the park boundary. The lodge holds two MICHELIN Keys.

The 11 suites are built from volcanic rock and red bricks made in the nearby villages. Each has indoor and outdoor fireplaces, a heated plunge pool and views of the volcanoes, and mechanical ventilation brings in outside air to cool the rooms instead of air conditioning. On the same land, Kataza House is a private villa for up to 8 guests, with its own chef and host.
Meals and drinks are included, and much of the produce comes from the lodge's garden. The evening before a trek, a Singita conservationist briefs guests on the gorilla families and the park rules, and the lodge lends the trekking gear.

The lodge stands at Kinigi, facing the Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura volcanoes, 10 minutes by road from the park headquarters where the treks begin. Buffalo graze around the lodge, and forest elephants sometimes come down from the park.

Farm-to-table kitchenSustainable architecture

Accommodation

11 suites + 1 villa

Capacity

2–8 guests per unit

Availability

Year-round

Price range

$$$$

Amenities

Pool · Restaurant · Wi-Fi

Included

All meals and drinks, premium wines included · Laundry · Trekking gear on loan · Wine tastings · Tree planting, cycling and yoga

Good to know

  • Gorilla permits are extra. Minimum age is 15 for gorillas and 12 for golden monkeys, and treks last 1 to 8 hours on steep, muddy ground.

  • Minimum stay of 2 nights with one park activity, 3 nights with two.

  • Children of all ages are welcome, with childminders during treks.

  • Around Volcanoes National Park the altitude reaches about 2,600 metres: nights are cool and rain is possible all year.

  • One suite is wheelchair friendly, according to the lodge's site plan.

Why it's a Positive Escape

A lodge of volcanic stone on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, on former farmland that Singita is turning back into forest for the mountain gorillas.

Wildlife

  • 250,000 indigenous trees planted

    on former farmland bordering the park, with saplings from local nurseries, following research by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

  • A forest buffer for the park

    the 72 hectares are part of the protected buffer zone planned to enlarge Volcanoes National Park by about 23%: a band of forest between the park and the farms where wildlife can move freely

  • Stone wall keeping buffalo out of fields

    built in 2025 at the foot of the property so buffalo no longer raid the neighbours' crops. Singita says illegal grazing, cropping and poachers' snares have since dropped by 99%

Community

  • A chef school for young Rwandans

    set up by Singita in Musanze in 2021: a year-long course, with scholarships that cover tuition, board, transport and a monthly allowance. 20 graduates by 2023, about 85% of them in work

  • Health insurance for nearby villages

    in 2025, Singita helped over 2,500 households and individuals in the area obtain health insurance

Energy

  • No air conditioning

    mechanical ventilation brings outside air into the rooms, which are double-glazed and insulated

  • Heat pumps and solar water heaters

    for hot water, underfloor heating and the pools

Food

  • Local produce and a kitchen garden

    60% of produce bought within 100 km, 75% within Rwanda (Singita, 2023), and much of it grown in the lodge's garden

Waste

  • All food waste recycled

    100% of the lodge's food waste (Singita, 2023)

Materials & Construction

  • Volcanic rock and village-made bricks

    walls of volcanic rock, river stone and red clay bricks made in the surrounding villages

  • Up to 50% less concrete

    thanks to a steel frame structure

Transparency

  • Figures published, misses included

    Singita publishes a progress review with the lodge's emissions, water use and food sourcing, with comments from Bioregional, a British sustainability charity that advised Singita until 2024. It includes the targets the lodge missed. Latest edition: 2023

Travel mindfully

  • Gorilla trekking: 8 visitors per family per day, 1 hour with the gorillas, 7 metres away and masked. Anyone with cold or flu symptoms is turned away, to protect the gorillas from human diseases.

  • Reaching Kwitonda takes 3 to 4 hours by road from Kigali. A longer stay amortises the carbon cost of the journey.

Getting there

Bus station · 11 km

Musanze

Nearest town. Buses run from Kigali in about 2 hours, but the lodge requires its own vehicle and driver guide for every day of the stay.

Airport · 115 km

Kigali International Airport (KGL)

3 to 4 hours by road with the lodge's driver guide.

Photos · © Singita

Last verified: October 2026

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