Arcadia Lake Bunyonyi spreads twenty-five cottages along a high green ridge in the terraced hill country around Kabale, in Uganda’s far south-west, each with a private deck turned to the water. Below lie the lake’s 29 islands and the fields stepped up its slopes. Fishermen work the channels between them, in a lake that locals have long known as the place of many little birds.
Below lie the lake’s 29 islands and the fields stepped up its slopes.
The ridge makes a natural pause on either side of gorilla trekking in Bwindi, a place to rest before the forest or recover after it, with nothing more demanding than the view. Mornings start with coffee on the deck as the lake changes colour in the climbing light. Evenings draw in around the bar and lounge once the highland air turns cold, and then the whole ridge goes quiet.
Binoculars are left out at the main viewing point above the water, and it pays to pick them up. Through the lenses, the lake becomes a working place. Fishermen tend their nets and boats cross from one island to the next. The slow business of island life goes on along the shores far below, and the cottages are spread along the ridge so that every deck gets its own share of the view.
Fishermen tend their nets and boats cross from one island to the next.
The cottages are built three ways, in timber, grass thatch or brick. Highland nights turn cold early on the ridge. The brick cottages are solidly built, with large windows over the lake, while the thatched ones have wide panoramic windows of their own. Whichever build you choose, the deck still faces the islands.
Time on the water begins aboard the lodge’s motor launch, which threads slowly between the islands, past the fishermen working the channels. Birdwatching runs through the whole outing. Through a lens, the reedbeds and island shores explain the lake’s local name. On the way past Akampene, better known as Punishment Island, the guide on board tells its story. Early starts on the lake are cool, and a jacket earns its place in the boat even when the sun is out. Back on the ridge, the birdwatching carries on from the decks.
Guided hikes leave the lodge on footpaths through the terraced farmland, climbing into the surrounding hills, and with every rise the lake opens out in a new shape. Mountain bikes take on the steeper tracks, and quad bikes cover longer loops on the dirt trails. Those terraces have their own story, and visits to the neighbouring Bakiga communities tell it. These are the families who farm the slopes framing every view from the decks, and a morning among their homesteads and fields explains the landscape better than any viewpoint.
Through a lens, the reedbeds and island shores explain the lake’s local name.
Lake Bunyonyi lies between Kigali and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, so a night on the ridge breaks the journey. Kigali in Rwanda is the closer international arrival point, reached by road across the Katuna border, while Entebbe is most of a day’s drive away. Kabale town is a short drive from the lodge. Guests coming in from Rwanda with a private driver-guide can settle in on the ridge for the evening, then set off for the trekking sectors the next morning with the longest stretch of road already behind them.
Family cottages make the ridge workable for parents travelling with children, and younger guests find plenty to do on the water and the trails. The launch and the bikes start from the lodge, as do the community visits, so a rest day here still has some shape. Beyond that, lake days carry no schedule at all. Late in the afternoon, guests drift off the decks into the lodge’s lounges as the highland air cools. Boots come off, the islands fade slowly into the dusk below, and dinner is the only fixed point left in the day.
accommodation
Arcadia Lake Bunyonyi's 25 self-contained cottages come in three builds: timber, grass thatch and brick. Every one has an en-suite bathroom and a private deck facing the lake and its islands. Layouts run to singles, doubles and twins, plus family cottages. The thatched and brick ones have large windows onto the water.
activities
Motor launch cruises among the islands, passing Punishment Island; birdwatching from the boat and the decks; guided hikes through terraced farmland; mountain biking and quad biking on ridge tracks; and visits to neighbouring Bakiga communities. Gorilla trekking takes place in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a drive away.
dining
Meals are served in the lodge restaurant, where wide windows look straight out over Lake Bunyonyi and its islands. The menu blends local Ugandan and international cooking, and you can choose where to sit: by the windows for the view, at a family table, or at the bar. There is also a lounge for a quiet drink or a book in the evening, and the bar keeps a good list of wines, beers and spirits.
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.
Arcadia sits on the ridge above Lake Bunyonyi, a short drive up from Kabale town in the far south west of Uganda. The quickest way in is a scheduled flight from Entebbe to Kisoro or Kihihi, the airstrips that serve Bwindi, and then a drive over the hills to the lake. We set the flight and the road transfer into one plan.
For your own timings, a private charter in a Cessna Grand Caravan, which seats eleven, can fly you from Entebbe to Kisoro. By road all the way from Entebbe it is a long day through the south west. Rwanda is close too: the Katuna border crossing is just beyond Kabale, so the lake joins a Rwanda trip easily.
Yes. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates the whole of Uganda as high risk for malaria, and the CDC lists every part of the country as a transmission area, so the lake is included. At around 1,960 metres the evenings are cool, but the altitude does not take the risk away.
We are travel planners, not doctors, and we do not make medical recommendations. Whether antimalarial tablets suit you, and which, is a conversation for your own doctor or a travel clinic. At the lake itself, long sleeves and repellent from dusk are worth the packing space.
Most of the day is spent on or around the lake. Tell us which of these appeal and we will build them into your stay.
The timber cottages, if the view is the point, because they look straight out over the lake. There are three kinds in all, timber, grass-thatched and brick, and every one is self-contained with a private deck or veranda.
The grass-thatched cottages have the more traditional feel and the brick ones the homelier one. Meals are in the restaurant and bar, inside or out with the lake below, and a viewing point higher up has binoculars for watching the canoes and fishermen on the water. Tell us who is travelling and we will match the cottages to them.
June to September and December to February, Uganda's dry seasons. The hills are clear, the lake is calm for the launch and the canoes, and the roads to and from the gorillas are at their quickest. Of the two, June to September is the longer and steadier window.
The wet months, March to May and November, have a real case of their own. The hills are at their greenest, there are fewer visitors on the water, and the birding is at its busiest, with breeding birds and migrants along the shore. The rain tends to fall in heavy bursts and clear, and at this altitude the evenings call for a fleece in every month.
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
