Virunga Lodge Ruhengeri

Virunga Lodge is perfectly set up for the gorilla trekking – the package rates including transport and permit seemed crazily high, but as an east African resident, I got the rates of the hotel much cheaper and by not doing a package trip, saved a lot of money.

The lodge is stunning and has the best views of any place I stayed in.

My room (I say room although it was more like a small cottage!) had views of the volcanoes and the lakes...nothing nicer than to come back from the trek and chill on your own private porch looking out at the view.

Food was amazing – you get a choice of breakfast and dinner every day which you submit to the chef in advance.

As it’s only got 8 rooms, all guests eat together which is great, as you just end up comparing gorilla experiences!

All drinks are included in the price, and they have a lovely lounge/bar area with a fire in the evening where guests can sit and chat.

Had a complementary massage after my trek which was quite possibly the worst massage i’ve ever had.

The concept of a complementary massage is really very nice, but i think the lodge would do better to charge for massages and provide someone who has been properly trained

The Gorilla experience is just amazing. The 45 minute ride to the Park is not too bad given that there is a lot of time spent waiting at the park while one is being allocated a group and after that there is usually quite a bit of a ride to the location where the actual trek starts so in the overall scheme of things it does not matter too much.

Strongly recommnded as a place to stay for anyone doing the Gorilla trekking