Gorilla Heights Lodge

Gorilla Heights Lodge is one of the eco-friendly luxury accommodation facilities in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Gorilla Heights Lodge is found in Nkuringo sector which is found in the southern sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Nkuringo sector is one of the four regions of 6the park where mountain gorilla trekking activities take place. 2 mountain gorilla families named Nkuringo and Christmas are available for gorilla trekking activities at any time of the year. Nkuringo is famous for being one of the areas where mountain gorilla habituation takes place and therefore travelers that would want to spend 4 hours with the mountain gorillas can habituate Bushaho gorilla family in this region.

If you are visiting Nkuringo region and looking for a luxury accommodation facility then Gorilla Heights Lodge is available for you anytime. The luxury lodge is located 10 minute walk from the starting point of gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation point. Gorilla Heights Lodge has 15 cottages which include 1 family, 5 deluxe, and 9 standard cottages. All the cottages are contrasted in an African design and the rooms feature bathrobes, fireplace, coffee maker, extra long beds, safe, wardrobe, satellite TV, telephone, clothes rack, en suite bathrooms, refrigerator, kitchenware, hair dryer, bottled water, iron, minibar, electric kettle, sofa, sitting area, and a private balcony. The lodge has a bar with soft and hard drinks, a restaurant with delicious foods made by professional chefs, they have a gift shop with handmade crafts.

Have an eye catching view of Bwindi forest from Gorilla Heights Lodge

Getting there

Gorilla Heights Lodge can be accessed using road transport from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, or Kisoro road to Nkuringo sector, and the journey takes 9-10 hours that are full of great views of different attractions and stopovers. Gorilla Heights Lodge can still be accessed from Kigali by using Katuna border in Kabale or Cyanika border in Kisoro to Nkuringo sector and the journey takes 4-5 hours.

For those using air transport, there are chattered flights to Kisoro airstrip every day from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe international airport and they take 1 hour and 45

minutes. From the airstrip, you use road transport to get to gorilla eights lodge which takes about 1-2 hours. Flights are done by Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda and you must book your seats in advance.

Activities to do while staying at Gorilla Heights Lodge

Encountering mountain gorillas: Mountain gorilla trekking and mountain gorilla habituation are the most done activities by travelers staying at Gorilla Heights Lodge. The activities can only be done by those that are 15 years and above and they must have valid gorilla trekking permits. Christmas gorilla family and Nkuringo gorilla families are the ones available for trekking while Bushaho gorilla family is up for habituation purposes only. Gorilla trekking will give you an opportunity to encounter mountain gorillas for 1 hour while for gorilla habitation you will be around mountain gorillas for 4 hours while making them get used to human presence around them.

Birding: You can visit Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for birding and stay at Gorilla Heights Lodge in Nkuringo region. Birding activities give you an opportunity to spot birds such as augur buzzard, ayres hawk eagle, shikra, black kite, southern pochard, African hobby, crested guinea fowl, black bishop, cattle egret, great blue turaco, African crowned eagle, crowned hornbill, long-crested eagle, African jacana, common sandpiper, black crake, red-eyed dove, scaly francolin, alpine swift, narina tragon, malachite kingfisher, bar-tailed tragon, horus swift and spotted eagle owl among others.

Batwa culture experience: Most of the travelers staying at Gorilla Heights Lodge love to explore the African culture. These guests are picked up by the Batwa guides who first take them around the forest for a simple nature walk. During the nature walks, they are able to know how these people lived in the jungle and survived without growing crops. Later they are taken to the communities of the Batwa where they visit different homesteads and interact with the members, see them do daily activities, and taste their local foods. A visit to the Batwa community also takes you to the traditional healers who use plants to cure illness, you will visit gift shops and in the end, you will get entertained by the traditional dancers through music and sports.

Nature walks: Nature walks are activities done by those travelers that want to explore the national park on foot and encounter different park animals, birds, and plants. Nature walks are guided by armed ranger guides around the park or the lodge. Different nature walk trails are around the sector and the armed ranger guide will use what is good for you a d what you want to see. During the nature walks, you will be able to see different plants, animals such as elephants, buffaloes, duikers, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, chimpanzees, bush pigs, and birds such as grey crowned crane, crowned hornbill, regal sunbird, and cattle egret among others.

Book a single room at Gorilla Heights Lodge

Best time to stay at Gorilla Heights Lodge

Travelers can book and stay at Gorilla Heights Safari Lodge during their safari in Nkuringo region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park at any time of the year but there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months from June to September and December to February are the best to visit Nkuringo for gorilla trekking and then stay at Gorilla Heights Lodge. This is because they are characterized by little or no rainfall that keeps the trekking trails dry, the vegetation is short and thin with good views of the wild animals around the lodge and the park and the roads leading to the park are in good condition.

Travelers most especially budget travelers can book and stay at Gorilla Heights Safari Lodge during their safari in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and they will benefit from huge discounts on accommodation facilities. Travelers should know that the rainy season which occurs from March to May and October to November is characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of the park animals and the roads leading to the park are in poor condition.