One&Only Nyungwe House is a luxury lodge set within a working tea plantation on the edge of Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda, with 22 rooms and suites across six wooden villas. Rates start from around $1,500 per person per night on a fully inclusive basis, covering meals, most drinks, and two activities a day, with the chimpanzee trekking permit charged separately at around $250 for a shared trek. The lodge is the southern Rwanda property in the One&Only group, sits in Gisakura near Lake Kivu, and is the main high-end base for chimpanzee trekking and forest walks in one of Africa’s oldest rainforests.
Many guests pair it with the group’s Volcanoes National Park property to combine chimps with gorillas. The lodge is striking and well located, though some reviews describe the rooms as dated relative to the price, so it is worth weighing the setting and activities against the room hardware. This guide covers the villas, the tea and dining, the activities, what a stay costs, and how to reach it.
The Villas and Suites at One&Only Nyungwe House
Accommodation is arranged as 22 rooms and suites across six wooden villas, set in clusters among the treetops between the rainforest and the tea fields. Rooms have jungle-facing balconies, fireplaces, and African craft details, with in-room trekking kit including ponchos, gaiters, and backpacks, plus an iPad, a coffee machine with Rwandan coffee, local tea, and Africology bath products.
Families and groups can book a two-bedroom Canopy Villa set between forest and tea plantation. The design uses dark floors, bamboo features, and local artwork, and the villas are spaced for privacy. Some recent guest reviews are critical of the rooms feeling dated for a property at this price point, so set expectations on the hardware while valuing the setting, which is the lodge’s real strength.
Tea, Dining, and the Spa at One&Only Nyungwe House
The tea plantation is central to the experience, with a Tea Lounge and tea-tasting sessions that walk through fermentation, drying, and tasting before a freshly brewed cup. Dining is farm-to-table, with a menu personalised in the evening and built around Rwandan flavours, served in a glass-walled dining room with a fireplace, plus barbecue nights with traditional dance and dinners set out among the tea plants.
There is a wine cellar stocked largely with South African wines, and signature touches such as a tree tomato jam and green chilli pepper oil that guests mention. The One&Only Spa offers indigenous-inspired treatments, including longer rituals that begin out in the forest, alongside a gym with personal trainers and fitness classes and a yoga deck. An infinity pool overlooks the rainforest, open from early morning into the evening.
Chimpanzee Trekking and Activities from One&Only Nyungwe House
The main draw is chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park, one of the oldest rainforests in Africa, spanning roughly 1,020 square kilometres of forest, bamboo, grassland, and swamp. Unlike gorilla trekking, you do not choose a group in advance, since the chimps move constantly, so guides head out and assign whichever family they locate. Treks start early, and there is no fixed one-hour limit once the chimps are found. The permit is around $250 for a shared trek, with a private option at a much higher price.
The lodge’s fully inclusive rate covers two activities per person per day, drawn from options such as a canopy walk, guided forest hikes, colobus monkey and L’Hoest’s monkey treks, birding, a conservation walk, tea plantation tours, archery, spear throwing, cycling, and the monthly Umuganda community work day. The mix of included activities is one of the lodge’s strengths, and guides actively encourage guests to get out and use them rather than only relax on site.
One&Only Nyungwe House Rates and What to Budget in 2026
Rates start from around $1,500 per person per night on a fully inclusive basis, covering all meals, most drinks, two activities a day, and a reasonable amount of laundry, with the chimpanzee permit charged separately. Pricing moves by season and room category, and transfers carry their own cost. Use the estimator to combine nights and chimp permits into a rough per-person total.
From around $1,500 per person per night, fully inclusive of meals, most drinks, and two daily activities.
Around $250 per person for a shared trek, booked separately, with a private trek available at a much higher price.
Around $450 for up to three passengers each way between the lodge and Kigali or Kamembe, on top of the rate.
Available from Kigali to Nyungwe’s helipad through a charter operator, at a premium, for those shortening the drive.
Sustainability and Community at One&Only Nyungwe House
The lodge presents itself around responsible tourism and community support, set within a working tea plantation that employs local people and ties the property into the surrounding area. Practices include rainwater harvesting, waste reduction, and community employment, and guests are encouraged to take part in the monthly Umuganda day, a nationwide community work morning where Rwandans come together on shared local projects.
Guests can also join in plantation life, picking tea leaves, learning the processing steps, and joining conservation walks in the forest. The lodge frames these as a way to connect a luxury stay to the place it sits in, rather than treating the setting only as a backdrop. For travellers who value that link between a high-end stay and the local area, it is part of the appeal alongside the primate trekking.
Who One&Only Nyungwe House Suits Best
The lodge suits travellers who want a high-end base for chimpanzee trekking and forest activities and who place a high value on setting, service, and included experiences. The tea-plantation location, the infinity pool over the rainforest, the spa, and the spread of two daily activities are the strengths, and pairing the stay with the group’s Volcanoes property makes a complete primates trip.
It is worth going in with clear expectations on the rooms. Some recent guest reviews describe the hardware as dated for the price and the property as feeling more like a large resort than an intimate lodge, so travellers who prioritise room design above all may want to weigh that against the location. Those who value the forest setting, the activities, and the service over the latest interiors tend to come away happiest. A stay of two or more nights is sensible to use the included activities fully.
How to Reach One&Only Nyungwe House and When to Go
The lodge is in Gisakura, southwest Rwanda, just south of Lake Kivu near the Burundi border. By road it is a scenic drive of five hours or more from Kigali, with the final 90 minutes passing through the national park. Guests in a hurry can take a 35 minute domestic flight to Kamembe airstrip, about a 45 minute drive from the lodge, while helicopter transfers from Kigali to Nyungwe’s helipad can be arranged through a charter operator. The drive north to the group’s Volcanoes National Park property takes about four and a half hours.
Nyungwe can be visited year-round, but the drier months from June to September and December to February give firmer forest trails for trekking, while the wetter months bring more rain, denser greenery, and strong birding. Children aged ten and over are welcome to stay, with those fifteen and over able to join the primate treks, in line with the national rule. Most guests stay two or more nights to use the included activities and the chimpanzee trek.
How much does it cost to stay at One&Only Nyungwe House?
Rates start from around $1,500 per person per night on a fully inclusive basis, covering meals, most drinks, two daily activities, and laundry. The chimpanzee permit is separate at around $250 for a shared trek, and road transfers cost roughly $450 for up to three passengers each way.
What is there to do at One&Only Nyungwe House?
The rate includes two activities a day, drawn from chimpanzee trekking, a canopy walk, forest hikes, colobus and L’Hoest’s monkey treks, birding, tea plantation tours, archery, spear throwing, cycling, and a monthly community work day. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is the main draw.
How many rooms does One&Only Nyungwe House have?
The lodge has 22 rooms and suites across six wooden villas set among the treetops between rainforest and tea fields, including a two-bedroom Canopy Villa for families and groups. Rooms have jungle-facing balconies, fireplaces, and in-room trekking gear, though some guests describe the rooms as dated for the price.
How do I get to One&Only Nyungwe House from Kigali?
It is a scenic drive of five hours or more from Kigali, with the last 90 minutes through the national park. Alternatives are a 35 minute domestic flight to Kamembe airstrip followed by a 45 minute drive, or a helicopter transfer from Kigali to Nyungwe’s helipad arranged through a charter operator.
Can I combine One&Only Nyungwe House with gorilla trekking?
Yes. Many guests pair it with the One&Only property at Volcanoes National Park to combine chimpanzees with gorillas, a drive of about four and a half hours north. Nyungwe focuses on chimpanzee trekking, forest walks, and the canopy walk, while the Volcanoes property covers mountain gorilla trekking.
What is chimpanzee trekking at Nyungwe like?
Treks start early, and unlike gorilla trekking you do not pick a group in advance, since the chimps move constantly, so guides head out and assign whichever family they locate. There is no fixed one-hour limit once they are found. The shared permit is around $250, with a private trek available at a much higher price.
