Bwindi Lodge

Bwindi Lodge sits at the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Buhoma, on the western side of Uganda. A stream runs between the lodge grounds and the forest, and the ten bandas all face the tree canopy across it. The primary reason to be here is gorilla tracking: groups of no more than eight visitors are permitted per gorilla family each day, and a trek into the forest can take anywhere from three to eight hours depending on where the gorillas have moved.

The ten bandas were renovated in 2021 — eight standard rooms (six doubles and two twins) and two deluxe bandas, both doubles. Each has an en-suite bathroom with hot and cold running water and a private terrace facing the forest. Rooms have fireplaces, mosquito nets, and a safe. A lounge and library were also reimagined during the same renovation.

The lodge restaurant serves Ugandan and European dishes, including luwombo — chicken wrapped and cooked in banana leaves. A short walk away in the village, the Bwindi Bar was established by the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust as a training venue for young people from the local community; it serves informal tapas-style food and cocktails in a garden that looks toward the forest.

Beyond gorilla tracking, guided walks follow the river up into the park past three waterfalls. The park holds three hundred and fifty bird species, twenty-three of them endemic to the region, along with chimpanzees and a range of primates audible from the lodge grounds. A natural pool in the river is accessible on the thirty-minute river walk through the lodge gardens.