A theatre in the wild

700’000 Heures Impact voyage will be in Rwanda from May to August 2026 | 700,000 Hueres Impact

A new alternative to static stays.

The last few decades have played host to an explosion of hotel and resort experiences, but across No igloos, tree top cabins and sky beds there’s one constant; they all remain rooted in the same place. Thierry Teyssier’s 700,000 Heures offers a radical alternative: the ephemeral hotel.

Named after the average lifespan of a human, the project moves its entire operation every six months and, this year, will bring its theatre-like approach to Rwanda. Bookings are available between May and August 2026 with an itinerary spanning eight days, and a maximum capacity of four people and two rooms.

While there’s plenty of Rwandan lodges focusing on the spectacle of Mountain Gorillas, the 700’000 Heures Impact voyage takes guests through interactive storytelling. The journey takes guests through a three part performance covering Rwanda’s landscapes, history and people, with local villages becoming the stage. Local communities will draw guests into the moment, augmented by actors guiding participants through the story.

Dinner might be served in a clearing staged to evoke a lost era of exploration, or a journey might be interrupted by a planned cultural happening.

Because the hotel will eventually vanish, the experience cannot be replicated or Instagrammed into a cliché. It is a soulful, high-stakes approach to travel that prioritises human connection and the art of surprise over the permanence of marble bathrooms.

But is it for you? For travellers who like to wake in the morning to an empty schedule and write their own story of the day, this won’t be a match. For those who are seeking a deep interaction with their destinations and a novel approach, 700,000 Heures should be on 2026’s must-do list.