Bwindi Guest House
Bwindi Guest House is one of the budget accommodation facilities to use while on a safari in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The lodge is situated in Buhoma region which is found on the northern side of the park. Buhoma is home to five mountain gorilla families which travelers staying at Bwindi Guest House have an opportunity to encounter for one hour. Mountain gorilla families which guests staying at Bwindi Guest House can trek include Mubare, Habinyanja, Muyambi, Katwe, and Rushengura.
Bwindi Guest House started with 3 guesthouses that were built by DR. Scott and Mrs. Carol but as of today, there are 6 guest houses of which 3 were built by the volunteers who were helping the Batwa to improve their lives. The six guest houses are now owned and operated by volunteers. The place has a health sector that treats people around the community and also guests staying at the lodge. Guests staying at Bwindi Guest House are offered a free tour around the hospital and the nursing school.
Bwindi Guest House has self-contained rooms with single, twin, and double beds. The rooms are well built giving fantastic views of Bwindi forest which just a 5 minute walk from the lodge. The security at the place is tight, there is free parking, laundry services, ironing service, a safety deposit box, a shared TV area, shuttle service, bar with soft and hard drinks, a restaurant with delicious local food, free breakfast, and a campfire.
A double room at Bwindi Guest House
Getting there
Bwindi Guest House is located on the northern side of the park in Buhoma sector and can be accessed using air transport or road transport. Using road transport, you can access the guest house from Kampala by driving through Masaka, Mbarara, Runkungiri, Kabale, and Kisoro to Buhoma region where the lodge is found. The journey takes 9-10 hours with different stopovers and great views of the surrounding areas. Travelers from Kigali can access Bwindi Guest House in Buhoma by driving to Uganda Rwanda border and crossing to Uganda using Katuna birder in Kabale or Cyanika border in Kisoro.
Travelers that want to fly during their safari can book their seats with airline companies in advance. Bar aviation Uganda and Aerolink Uganda are some of the airline companies that organize flights to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Travelers visiting Buhoma region and are to stay at Bwindi Guest House will fly from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kihihi airstrip where road transport is used to access the lodge.
Activities to do while staying at Bwindi Guest House
Encountering mountain gorillas: A lot of travelers staying at Bwindi Guest House are those that are intending to encounter mountain gorillas in the jungles of Bwindi. Travelers staying at this lodge can only trek mountain gorillas in the Buhoma region and families available include Reshengura, Muyambi, Katwe, Habinyanja, and Mubare. To trek these mountain gorillas while staying at this lodge, you must have gorilla permits which must be from Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Gorilla trekking starts early in the morning with a briefing from the park wardens, armed ranger guides lead the trek, and groups don’t exceed 8 people. The search for mountain gorillas takes you through thick vegetation cover for 2-7 hours which depends on the location of the gorilla family as well as the speed of trekkers. When the mountain gorilla family is spotted armed ranger guides do give trekkers 1 hour to be around these apes watch them do daily activities, take photos and learn about gorilla habits.
Birding: Birding lovers staying at Bwindi Guest House can encounter several bird species in Buhoma sector of the park with a help of a ranger guide. There are over 350 bird species in Buhoma sector of Bwindi and these can be seen using different nature walk trails. Birds to look out for in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park include hammer kop, wooly necked stork, pink backed pelican, little grebe, southern pochard, bat hawk, black kite, black bishop, long-crested eagle, brown snake eagle, long-crested eagle, augur buzzard, black crake, olive pigeon, red-eyed dove, yellow bill, white-browed coucal, narina tragon, white-throated bee-eater, yellow rumped tinker bird, greater honeyguide, African pitta, and rock martin among others.
Batwa cultural tour: A tour to the Batwa people starts at the lodge and takes you around the forest of Bwindi for a simple nature walk. The nature walks are done to help tourists know how these people live in the jungle, what they fed on, and much more. After the nature walks the tour takes you to the Batwa communities where you interact with the members and see how they live the day to day life, you can visit shops and health centers, and traditional healers who still use plants as local medicine and you will be entertained by traditional dancers.
Nature walks in Bwindi forest
Nature walks: The nature walks were put in place to enable travelers to explore nature on foot, Different nature walk trails are in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and they help travelers encounter plants, animals, and birds. The nature walk activities are guided and they are normally done in the evening hours. During the nature walks, tours do get to see different plant species, animals such as olive baboons, chimpanzees, buffaloes, duikers, giant forest hogs, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, elephants, bush pigs, and birds such as great blue turaco, black bishop, crowned hornbill, grey crowned crane and narina tragon among others.
Best time to stay at Bwindi Guest House.
Bwindi Guest House is open throughout the year for travelers visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The dry season is the best time for travelers to visit Bwindi and stay at Bwindi Guest House and it happens from June to September and December to February. What makes these months the best is because they are characterized by little or no rainfall that miles the trekking trails stay dry, the vegetation is short and thin with good views of the animals and the roads leading to the park and lodge are in good conditions.
Travelers especially budget travelers have rainy seasons as the best time to stay at Bwindi Guest House because during these months, the accommodation is at a low price. The rainy season that occurs from March to May and October to November is however characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall with unclear views of the park animals and the roads leading to the park and lodge are in poor conditions.
