Buhoma Lodge is one of only two properties built inside the boundary of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, in the northern Buhoma sector of southwestern Uganda. That position changes the rhythm of a gorilla safari: guests walk roughly five minutes to the park headquarters and the trekking briefing point rather than drive out before dawn.
The lodge stands on raised wooden platforms, with ten individually designed chalets stepped above the main area to look across the forest canopy. Each is built from locally sourced materials and opens onto a private veranda. The central lounge and dining area sits under thatch, with open fireplaces, free Wi-Fi and wide windows onto the trees.
Staff are drawn largely from the surrounding communities, and the kitchen uses produce grown nearby. On rare occasions mountain gorillas have wandered into the garden, a reminder that this is a lodge within the forest rather than beside it.
Bwindi was gazetted as a national park in 1991 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Its forest holds almost half the world’s mountain gorillas, with around 459 counted in the 2018 census. Gorilla trekking here follows the same statutory rules for every operator, set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Eight visitors, one habituated family, a single hour in their company.
Each habituated group can be visited by a maximum of eight people per day, for no more than one hour, and trekkers must be at least fifteen years old. Five families are tracked from the Buhoma sector, including Mubare, the oldest, first visited by tourists in 1993. Beyond the gorillas, the park records around 350 bird species, making it one of Africa’s leading birding destinations. Forest walks, a waterfall hike and community visits fill the days between treks.
The lodge looks out over one of Africa’s oldest rainforests, with altitudes in the park ranging from about 1,160 to 2,607 metres. The dense vegetation that gives Bwindi its name supports roughly 120 mammals, 51 reptiles, over 200 tree species and around 310 butterfly species, several of them Albertine Rift endemics.
Most guests reach Buhoma by flying from Entebbe to Kihihi Airstrip, around an hour and three quarters, followed by a road transfer. Road journeys are also possible from Kigali, Entebbe and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The lodge sits on wooden walkways and stairways, so it is not suited to wheelchair users.
A forest gazetted in 1991 and protected by the world since 1994.
Conservation and community work shape daily life at Buhoma Lodge. The lodge makes annual donations to Bwindi Community Hospital, founded in 2003 by Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann as a clinic under a tree serving the displaced Batwa. It now runs as a 155-bed hospital and has given rise to the Uganda Nursing School Bwindi.
Guests can also visit Ride 4 a Woman, a charity founded in 2009 by Evelyne Habasa and her husband Denis Rubalema, which supports local women through sewing, weaving, basketry, microloans and bicycle rental. The lodge buys, uses and sells their products. A Batwa cultural experience supports communities displaced when the forest gained protected status.
Activities include guided nature walks, a three to four hour waterfall hike, birding and village walks taking in a traditional healer, a banana brewery and Mukono Primary School. After a trek, guests are offered a complimentary in-house massage, with boots cleaned and ponchos and gaiters provided. Power comes from solar and water from a gravity-fed supply, and the lodge can arrange childcare so younger children stay safe while parents trek.
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accommodation
Buhoma Lodge has ten individually designed chalets on raised platforms, each with a private veranda, large windows and an en-suite bathroom with a rain shower and ample hot water. Some have a bathtub, and one family chalet adds a separate lounge with an open fireplace. Solar lighting, insect screens and an in-room safe feature throughout.
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activities
Gorilla trekking is the headline, with five habituated families tracked from the Buhoma sector under Uganda Wildlife Authority rules. Days also hold guided forest walks, a three to four hour waterfall hike and birding among some 350 recorded species. Community visits and a Batwa cultural experience round out the programme.
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conservation
The lodge donates annually to Bwindi Community Hospital, a 155-bed facility begun in 2003 to serve the displaced Batwa. Guests visit Ride 4 a Woman, founded in 2009 to support local women through sewing, weaving and microloans. Solar power, gravity-fed water and local employment underpin daily operations.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
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Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Most guests fly. A light aircraft from Entebbe reaches Kihihi airstrip in around an hour and a half, and from there it is roughly one to one and a half hours by road to the Buhoma sector and Buhoma Lodge, one of only two lodges inside the park boundary. We build the flights and the transfer into your trip so the day joins up cleanly. We can also arrange a private charter to Kihihi, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your arrival into Entebbe.
The alternative is the drive from Entebbe or Kampala, around eight to nine hours through the western highlands. It is a long day but a scenic one, and it can be broken with a night on the way if you would rather not do it in a single stretch.
Yes. Malaria is a year-round presence in Uganda, and Bwindi is no exception, so it is not somewhere we would call malaria-free. The Buhoma sector is high, cool forest, which means fewer mosquitoes than the lowland parks and a lower risk overall, though the sensible course is still to travel with antimalarial cover.
Because health advice is reviewed regularly, we recommend checking the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you set off, and keeping to the usual precautions against bites once the sun is down, with repellent, covered skin in the evening and the net down at night.
Yes. Every visitor who treks needs a gorilla permit, and it is the one thing to secure early. The Uganda Wildlife Authority issues a fixed number each day for a single hour with a habituated family, and in the busy months they sell out well ahead, so we book yours in advance as part of arranging your stay.
At the time of writing a gorilla permit is 800 US dollars per person for foreign non-residents, a figure we confirm at the time of booking as the Authority reviews it periodically. The minimum age to trek is 15. The park headquarters and briefing point are about five minutes' walk from the lodge, one of only two inside the park. The forest is steep and often muddy, so a reasonable level of fitness helps, and we recommend a porter to carry your daypack and lend a hand on the climbs, which we arrange at the trailhead.
Yes. Among the ten chalets is a family chalet with a separate lounge and open fireplace, and the lodge's position a few minutes' walk from the park headquarters makes for an easy start to the day. Gorilla trekking itself is limited to guests aged 15 and over.
Younger children who cannot trek stay at the lodge, with guided forest walks, a waterfall hike and a Batwa cultural visit close by. Tell us the ages of everyone travelling and we will reserve the family chalet and shape the days to suit.
Pack for a wet mountain forest and a hard walk. The essentials are a waterproof jacket and over-trousers, sturdy walking boots already broken in with good ankle support, and a pair of garden gloves for gripping wet vegetation and pushing past nettles on the climb. Long sleeves and long trousers you can tuck into your socks, gaiters, insect repellent and a small daypack with plenty of water complete the kit. Neutral colours are best.
It is cool at altitude, so bring a warm layer for the early start and the evenings at Buhoma Lodge, where the fire is usually lit. We recommend hiring a porter to carry your daypack and lend a hand on the steeper ground, and we arrange one for you at the trailhead.
Buhoma Lodge has free wifi in the central lounge, which is more than many forest lodges offer, though it is best treated as enough for messages and email rather than video calls or streaming. Mobile signal on MTN and Airtel reaches the Buhoma area in patches and fades inside the forest on the trek.
If you need to stay reliably reachable, tell us and we will confirm the current setup before you travel and plan around the quieter stretches.
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