One&Only Nyungwe House, Rwanda

Housed within five wooden clusters disguised by the emerald foliage, Nyungwe House’s collection of rooms and suites is like living regally in the rainforest. Each one has a jungle-facing balcony so you can keep watch for curious Ruwenzori colobus monkeys and majestic toucans in the treetops. The rooms and suites themselves have been built using responsibly sourced timber and delicate touches of Rwandan culture fill them with character, including gorgeous geometric Imigongo artwork. There’s a wood-burning stove to keep things cosy when it gets chilly in the mountains and a ridiculously comfy four-poster bed for flopping into after an exhilarating jungle experience. The Two-Bedroom Forest Suites are perfect for a family.

Using the rainforest and surrounding tea plantation for inspiration, dishes in the Dining Room are tailored to Rwandan traditions and the seasonal changes of the environment. Nyungwe House channels a farm-to-fork concept, with recipes built around the harvests drawn from the kitchen’s garden, while food such as Indagara broth with African dried carpenter fish and cruchy cassava with pulled lamb are nods to age-old Rwandan recipes with a modern twist. The signature dish, Nyungwe green goddess pasta, is like your emerald surroundings have been scooped up onto your plate. Set within a tea plantation, it should come as no surprise that Nyungwe House has its own Tea House, where you can sip local blends (possibly even from the very fields you look out onto) with sumptuous pastries and snacks. However, this eye-popping landscapes can look way too inviting while you’re at a dining table and Nyungwe House’s array of dining experiences mean you can immerse your mind, body and body in the outdoors, whether it’s a picnic on a grassy hilltop or drinking tea in the tea fields.

You’ll likely stay at Nyungwe House because you’ve got one eye on trekking with Nyungwe Forest National Park’s chimpanzees – and we don’t blame you. It’s the signature experience here and Nyungwe House offers guided treks to see a troop of chimps in the steaming rainforest – a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. You get two complimentary experiences every day as part of your stay here and we heartily recommend you pencil in chimpanzee trekking for one of those slots. However, Nyungwe Forest has far more than just chimps swinging in its canopies and the lodge’s expert guides can tailor your jungle hikes to see more of its wildlife. In fact, around a fifth of Africa’s primate population lives here, with 13 different species, so as well as the chimpanzees you can also spy L’Hoest’s, blue, golden and owl-faced monkeys chattering among the canopies. There’s 300 bird species here you can glimpse as well, from the gabar goshawk to the great blue turaco, while the sheer diversity of trees and orchids Nyungwe Forest boasts means your imagination will be utterly spoilt during every step of your trek. You can also walk across treetop walkway – the only one of its kind in East Africa. Away from the rainforest, you can engage in a traditional African tea ceremony or learn more about the tea process itself, spend an evening stargazing or see Nyungwe Forest from an alternative perspective, whether it’s a night-time walk or a bird’s-eye view from a helicopter.

If being cocooned in a tranquil tea plantation wasn’t calming enough, the One&Only Spa is a luxurious dose of holistic wellness and a jaw-dropping environment. Each treatment is designed by eco-friendly skincare brand Africology, so every scrub, facial and body wrap has its ingredients (such as Rwandan coffee and African potato) firmly rooted in the continent. Essential oil massages will help your body recover after a long day trekking, while manicures and pedicures will nourish and revitalise your hands and feet after being exposed to the jungle elements.