Multi-award-winning hospitality and conservation brand, Singita, has officially opened Singita Kwitonda Lodge and Kataza House in Rwanda on 1 August 2019. Set on 72ha on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, Kwitonda Lodge boasts eight luxurious suites, while Kataza House, an exclusive-use villa, features four spacious suites.
Singita has operated iconic ecotourism lodges and camps in Africa for the past 26 years. The brand’s expansion into Rwanda supports the company’s 100-year purpose to preserve and protect large areas of African wilderness for future generations. To this end, Singita has committed to extensive reforestation initiatives in Rwanda, helping to increase the range and numbers of endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. The opening of Singita Volcanoes National Park also brings much-needed attention to the plight of the gorillas and the urgent need to expand and protect their habitat.
Singita Founder and Executive Chairman, Luke Bailes says, “It’s an absolute dream to expand our conservation footprint in Rwanda – a beautiful country with a remarkable conservation success story. Contributing to the Government’s enormous efforts to protect the country’s wildlife is both a privilege and a serious responsibility. We’re thrilled with the elegant, exceptionally sustainable lodges we’ve created here. They allow guests to connect deeply with nature in the heart of Africa, after a humbling encounter with the gorillas.”
The warm and welcoming spirit of the people of Rwanda embodies a sense of goodwill that encapsulates their remarkable recovery from a painful past. The gentle energy that drives them forward in their country’s rebirth is truly inspiring. It is within this context that Singita is privileged to open Singita Volcanoes National Park, contributing significantly to conservation, community partnerships and ecotourism. To honour Rwanda’s people and its fertile land, Singita has built one of the most sustainable lodges in Africa.
Singita Kwitonda Lodge, named after a legendary silverback gorilla known for his humility and gentle nature, is made up of a collection of small buildings laid out along the natural contours of the ground.
The design and construction of the lodge and villa followed Singita’s stringent sustainability principles which informed everything from site design and materials used to energy and water systems and interior design. The design team worked tirelessly with the local community to source most building materials in the immediate Musanze district, and a majority of the elements selected by interior designers, Cécile & Boyd and Hesse Kleinloog (HK) Studio, are made in Africa.
The lodge’s on-site nursery, Akarabo (which means “little flower” in Kinyarwanda) has to date provided approximately 250,000 indigenous forest shrubs, bamboo shoots and trees for an extensive reforestation initiative.
