One&Only Nyungwe House

At the edge of Nyungwe Forest, one of Africa’s oldest rainforests, tea fields run up to the trees. One&Only Nyungwe House sits between the two, with 22 rooms scattered through the greenery and wooden walkways leading into the forest. Timber, woven materials and local craftsmanship give the interiors their distinctly Rwandan character, while balconies look across the tea plantation and forest beyond. In the suites, fireplaces are lit each evening, bringing warmth as the sounds of the forest take over. Tea is part of the rhythm of the house, from walks through the plantation to tastings at the Tea Lounge, where the leaves are followed from picking to drying, while the restaurant draws on the produce of the surrounding region. The spa turns to local botanicals and traditional knowledge, with treatments inspired by coffee, mint and the rainforest. Beyond the estate, Nyungwe offers some of Rwanda’s most remarkable encounters: chimpanzees, endemic birds and monkeys in the forest, or the canopy walk high among the ancient trees.