Mount Gahinga Lodge
Mount Gahinga Lodge is perfect luxurious safari lodge in Mgahinga National Park and was the first lodge to be built by Praveen Moman and officially opened in 2002. The lodge is an excellent base to go for gorilla trekking on the Ugandan side of the Virungas, track the unique golden monkeys, climb a volcano, walk through local villages and experience the amazing culture of the Batwa, the oldest inhabitants of the Centre African rain forest.
The lodge is inspired by traditional design and building techniques and has been re- imagined in 2019 featuring; the dining room, the lounge, garden haven been remodeled and two new deluxe bandas have been opened for visitor’s stay.
These built bandas reflect the magic of the aesthetic traditions of the Bufimbira people. Each Banda offers an en-suite luxury shower room, fireplace and private porch.
Mount Gahinga Lodge offers eight ‘’8’’ traditional hand-built guest bandas facing the magical Virunga Volcanoes ‘’Two deluxe and six standard rooms’’.
The best activity done by the visitors on stay to Mount Gahinga lodge is gorilla trekking which can be trekked in one gorilla family –Nyakagezi family and watching the rare golden monkeys in the Mgahinga National Park.
Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga starts right from the lodge with our direct private footpath to reach gorilla trekking in popular Mgahinga National Park.
They have excellent restaurant with well trained staff and cheff who prepares delicious food both local and intermationally .
The lodge offers personnel butler service for all guests.
The lodge has fireplace area in each room ,
They features with laundry services ,free parking ,free internets ,fitness center with Gym .
The lodge also features with excellent family rooms .
They provide WiFi throughout the lodge and all-inclusive premium drinks menus.
Along your comfortable stay to Mount Gahinga Lodge ,you can go visit Gahinga Batwa Village and share the culture of the oldest inhabitants of the Central Africa rain forest.
Activities Offered at Mount Gahinga National Park
They includes:Gorilla trekking ,Golden monkey tracking ,Climb a Volcano ,Birding ,Community walk , Visit Gahinga Bwindi Bar experience Uganda rolex and delicious traditional food and drinks among others.
Gorilla trekking ; This is the best done activity at the lodge and in the park . Gorilla trekking takes through the dense African forests which is a magical experience .Only eight visitors are allowed to participate in a gorilla group on particular and to minimize possible transmission of human diseases and for that reason trackers are asked to keep a distance of 10 meter from the gorillas. In general ,trekking can take from 3 to 8 hours and requires some agility and fitness .Although ,body fitness levels are needed and on one should feel deterred from missing this once in a lifetime experience .
Golden Monkey Tracking
In Uganda golden monkey tracking can be tracked in the foothills of the Volcanic mountains of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda and in Volcanoes National park in Rwanda .
Golden monkey species are characterize by its bright shining golden body ,cheeks and tail ,with contrasting black limbs ,crown and tail end .More so ,they are known as playful primates and it is a great pleasure to watch. Both tracking destination Uganda and Rwanda –golden monkey experience takes you from the bamboo stands and forested gorge on the lower levels of the volcanoes, to the elevated heath and moorland higher up areas of Virunga ranges.
Climb Volcanos
One staying at Mount Gahinga Lodge have easy access to the Virunga chain of volcanoes which offers challenging hikes and rewarding panoramas. Climbing experience takes along three most stunning volcanoes to climb ; Mount Sabyinyo ,Mount Gahinga and Mount Muhavura. The hikes can cover full day and starts at 7:00am from the park headquarters, from where visitors drive to the base of the volcano.
Birding Experience
Uganda is one of the world’s best birding experience ,with wide range of various bird species . However, Uganda hosts more than 1095 bird species with over 159 bird species found only in Uganda.some of birding checklist in Uganda; African pygmy –goose ,Northern shoveler ,African black duck ,Yellow-billed duck ,Red-billed duck ,Green-winged teal ,Tufted duck ,Knob-billed duck ,White-baked duck ,Fulvous whistling dusk ,Maccoa duck ,Northern shoveler ,Spur-winged goose ,Southern poched ,shoebill ,Great turaco among others. Rwanda also a good birding destination that boosts with over 700 bird species and home with the largest number of Albertine endemics region. Each of our lodge offers the chance to encounter different birds with the vast majority endemic to the region.
Community walk ; On visit to the lodge , you can opt to go experience a community walk interact with the locals and also get amazed about their life style filled with great memories.
The lodge offers complimentary activity to their guests such as ; Gahinga Batwa Village where you can per a visit of one of the oldest surviving indigenous Batwa people . Visit the Batwa Bar that offer training to local youths to support the community.
In general ,Mgaghinga National Park is located in south western region of Uganda , estimating about 8 to 9 hours drive and by flight –Bar aviation from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro Airstrip takes 1:30 hours to land. The park is popular because of the mountain gorillas and golden monkey species among others as well as various bird species and Batwa people –the indugious people in area.
