Where to stay for gorilla trekking

The single most common planning mistake we see is booking a beautiful lodge and then discovering the permit is for a sector three hours away. Permit first. Always.

Buhoma (northern Bwindi)

The widest choice in the park, in a real village with a health centre, craft co-operatives and a 30-year history of gorilla tourism.

• Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp — inside the park boundary; the most atmospheric address in Bwindi. Top end.
• Buhoma Lodge and Bwindi Lodge — excellent forest-facing bandas, minutes from the briefing point. Top end.
• Mahogany Springs — large rooms above the river, consistently well run. Upper mid-range.
• Engagi Lodge and Silverback Lodge — solid, comfortable mid-range with good views.
• Buhoma Community Rest Camp — bandas and safari tents; profits fund the community health centre. The best budget choice in Bwindi.

More about trekking from Buhoma

Ruhija (eastern Bwindi)

Simpler, colder and quieter. Ask for hot water bottles; most places provide them without being asked.

• Gorilla Mist Camp — cottages on a ridge with wide forest views. Mid-range and popular.
• Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge — comfortable mid-range close to the briefing point.
• Ruhija Gorilla Friends Resort — friendly, locally owned, good value.
• Bakiga Lodge — community-linked, funds local projects, warm and unpretentious.
• Broadbill Forest Camp — the birders' base, right by the Mubwindi Swamp trail.

More about trekking from Ruhija

Rushaga (southern Bwindi)

The fastest-growing lodge cluster in the park, serving the sector with the most permits.

• Four Gorillas Lodge — well-placed cottages a short drive from the Rushaga briefing point, with forest views and a reliable mid-range standard. One of the sector's most-requested lodges.
• Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge — hillside cottages looking across the valley; comfortable upper mid-range with a good deck for the evening.
• Gorilla Safari Lodge — the established upper-tier option in Rushaga, with a fireplace that earns its keep.
• Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge and Gorilla Valley Lodge — dependable mid-range, both close to the trailhead.
• Rushaga Gorilla Camp and community guesthouses around Rubuguri — budget rooms from around US$50; rates on request.

More about trekking from Rushaga

Nkuringo (south-western Bwindi)

• Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge — stone cottages on the ridge with the best view of any lodge in Uganda, part-owned by the community. Top end.
• Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge — a range of rooms from budget to comfortable, with a well-run community programme.
• Gorilla Heights Lodge — mid-range, panoramic, good value.
• Lake Mutanda lodges — 45 minutes away and worth the drive for an extra night.

More about trekking from Nkuringo

Mgahinga and Kisoro

• Mount Gahinga Lodge — the standout in the area, with its own Batwa community programme.
• Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp — simple bandas at the park gate, entirely community-owned.
• Travellers Rest Hotel, Kisoro — Dian Fossey's old base; modest, historic, and 40 minutes from the park.

More about Mgahinga

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

• Bisate Lodge — the famous woven villas in a reforested crater. Exceptional, and priced accordingly.
• Singita Kwitonda and One&Only Gorilla's Nest — the top of the market in East Africa.
• Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge — community-owned through the SACOLA trust, and a genuinely good place to put your money.
• Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge and Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge — reliable mid-range near Kinigi.
• Musanze town — guesthouses from US$40, 25 minutes from the briefing point.

More about Volcanoes National Park

Next

Keep planning

• Bwindi sectors compared — which sector, and therefore which lodge
• Permits and costs — how lodging fits the total budget
• Best time to trek — when lodges discount
• Gorilla tours — itineraries with lodges already matched