Explore Rwanda with Purpose – Introducing the Ubumwe Women’s Trail
In the remote northwest of Rwanda, jagged volcanic giants rise over a thick blanket of tropical rainforest, shrouded in mist and dripping with humidity. Among the trees and along the slopes, and in the farmland around these Virunga mountains, life abounds.
Volcanoes National Park is one of the most biodiverse landscapes on Earth; home to endangered mountain gorillas, who shelter in its bamboo forests, and golden monkeys who leap across its canopies; Rwenzori turacos, avian patchworks of colour that have recently returned to Singita’s concession thanks to our team’s ongoing rewilding efforts, and vibrant communities that have formed part of this ecosystem for generations.
Introducing the Ubumwe Women’s Trail
In February 2027, Singita, in partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, will host the first-ever Ubumwe Women’s Trail. This multi-day event involves a 15–18-kilometre trail run, a gorilla trek, offering a close-up encounter in their natural habitat, and a hike to the site of the original Karisoke Research Center, where Dian Fossey spent 18 years and now rests alongside the gorillas she devoted her life to protecting.
Participants will also enjoy a behind-the-scenes visit to the award-winning Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where they will meet front-line conservationists and see first hand how science, protection, and community engagement work together to save gorillas.
Stronger together
In Kinyarwanda, “Ubumwe” means “unity” or “togetherness”. It’s a philosophy of acting for the collective benefit of one’s community rather than for individual gain. And it captures the spirit of this event, which aims to support local women to become powerful leaders for transformative, community-driven conservation and climate resilience efforts that benefit their entire ecosystem.
The event will benefit the Fossey Fund’s Village Vitality Project, which takes a community-driven, equitable, village-level approach to livelihood development. Recognising that lasting conservation depends on strong, resilient communities, the project offers women affordable access to direct grants, as well as facilitation and technical support, strengthening collective decision-making, providing economic empowerment, and ensuring projects are locally relevant and sustainable.
Ecosystems thrive when women do
History shows us that when women thrive, families thrive, communities thrive, and the wider ecosystem thrives. This event aims to support them, in honour of the spirit of Ubumwe.
Entries for the Ubumwe Women’s Trail will open on the 2nd of February.
