Bwindi Orugano Lodge

Nkuringo has tracked mountain gorillas since the sector opened at Bwindi's southern edge, and Orugano Bwindi Lodge was built into the ridge above it to put guests within walking distance of the trailhead. The lodge went up in eucalyptus felled on site, a practical choice that also keeps its footprint light in forest managed for one of the last strongholds of the mountain gorilla. Eight cottages sit spaced through the trees, each with its own bathroom and a window framed on the forest canopy and, beyond it, the Virunga volcanoes. The family cottage runs to 100 square metres across two bathrooms and four beds. Meals are taken in an open-sided dining room, cooked from produce grown nearby. It is a short walk to the Nkuringo park office, and a 40-minute drive gets guests to Rushaga, so a stay here covers both trekking sectors and the habituation experience that only Rushaga permits. Staff include guides who have worked on gorilla habituation themselves, useful knowledge before an early start into steep, wet forest. Check-in runs from noon. Guests can also arrange golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga, a canoe trip on Lake Mutanda, or a walk with Batwa guides through the nearby Buniga forest, all inside a day's reach of the lodge.