Silverback Lodge

Silverback Lodge is one of the luxury accommodation facilities in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Silverback Lodge is located in the Buhoma region of the park which is on the northern side of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The lodge is located 5 minutes walk to the headquarters gate of Buhoma sector. Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is home to endangered mountain gorillas with over 21 mountain gorilla families of which 5 are found in Buhoma region where Silverback Lodge is found. Silverback safari Lodge is owned by the Marasa who are one of the largest lodge owners in East Africa.

Silverback Lodge is situated at a higher elevation overlooking Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Guests staying at this lodge will always view different animals passing by the lodge among which include the mountain gorillas. Silverback Lodge comprises of 7 twin rooms, 4 double rooms, and 1 single room with each having en suite bathroom, hot and cold showers, extra long beds, mosquito nets, and private verandas outside the rooms that give amazing views of the surrounding areas.

The lodge has a fireplace where guests do gather in the evening hours to get some warmth, get to know each other, and talk about the gorilla trekking experience. They have a restaurant that serves delicious food prepared by well-trained chefs and a bar where you can get hard and soft drinks. They also have a garden where you can relax getting fresh air from the plants and also listen to great sounds of birds. The lodge has a craft shop, free parking, laundry services, free wifi, luggage storage, health and fitness center, sauna, conference halls, and solar energy. Silverback safari Lodge is one of the luxury places to stay of you are having a safari in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park.

Getting there

There are daily flights from Entebbe international airport and Kajjansi airstrip to Kihihi airstrip which is found in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. These flights are organized by different airline companies such as Bar Aviation Uganda, and Aerilonk Uganda and to use a chartered flight you need to book your seats in advance. From Kihihi airstrip, you can use road transport to get to Silverback Lodge and this takes 1-2 hours.

Travelers that can afford flying to Kihihi airstrip can drive from Kigali or Kampala/Entebbe and access Silverback Lodge within a single day. Using road transport from Kampala to Silverback Lodge in Buhoma takes you 9-10 hours from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, and Kisoro. Those coming from Kigali take 4-5 hours to access Silverback Lodge by using Cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale.

Activities to do from Silverback Lodge

Gorilla trekking activity in Bwindi

Gorilla trekking: Silverback Lodge is an ideal base from which to begin gorilla trekking in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. There are over 5 mountain gorilla families open for trekking in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and each group can be trekked by a maximum of 8 people.

Gorilla trekking starts early in the morning at the sector offices with a briefing about from the park wardens. These do teach about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity and group people not exceeding 8. Each group is led by armed ranger guides until they locate the gorilla family. The moment the gorilla family is located, trekkers are given 1 hour to be around them watch them do daily activities, take photos, and learn about gorilla habits.  During the search for mountain gorillas, trekkers do meet different park animals such as buffaloes, elephants, giant forest hogs, blue monkeys, bush pigs, olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys, and birds among others.

Birding: Bwindi has over 350 bird species that can be seen in all the sectors of the park. Bird lovers staying at Silverback Lodge can be part of the bird species where they will encounter several bird species among which include the endemic ones. Different birding trails are found in Buhoma region and birders will be led by armed ranger guides who do protect them from dangerous wild animals.

Birds to look out for in Buhoma region of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park include African goshawk, black kite, hadada ibis, African hawk eagle, ayres hawk eagle, southern pochard, scared ibis, long crested eagle, peregrine falcon, black crake, African jacana, great blue turaco, grey crowned crane, great blue turaco, African wood owl, black swift, yellow bill, diederik cuckoo, scarce swift, white-throated bee-eater, yellow spotted barbet, lesser honey guide, rock martin, cape wagtail, olive woodpecker, and forest robin among others.

Batwa experience: The Batwa experience starts from the lodge with nature walks around the jungle with the Batwa guides. These move telling you stories of how they used to survive in the jungle feeding on meat from small animals, fruits, and honey. They will show you how different plants were used as local medicine and they will continue you to their communities where you will visit different homesteads and interact with local people. You will listen to stories from the elders, visit traditional dancers, gift shops and in the end, you will get entertained by the traditional dancers.

Nature walks: Guests staying at Silverback Lodge can ask the lodge owners or the local tour operators to organize for them nature walk activities around the lodge and inside the national park. Nature walks around the national park are the best and they are done using different trails based on what you want to see. During the nature walks, you will explore the park on foot and you will have opportunities of meeting different park animals such as bush pigs, duikers, giant forest hogs, elephants, monkeys, buffaloes, and birds such as African jacana, great blue turaco, ross turaco, grey crowned crane and crowned hornbill among others.

Book a double room at Silverback Lodge

Best time to stay at Silverback Lodge

Travelers can stay at Silverback Lodge during their safari in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park at any time of the year however there are months that are better than the rest and these are the dry months. The dry months from June to September and December to February are the best to visit Buhoma region of Bwindi and stay at Silverback Lodge because they are characterized by little or no rainfall that keeps the roads connecting to the park and lodge passable, the trekking trails in the park are dry, and the vegetation around the lodge and inside the park is short with good views of the mountain gorillas.

Travelers most especially budget travelers can stay at Silverback Lodge during their safari in Buhoma sector of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park to enjoy the huge discounts on accommodation. The rainy season occurs from March to May and October to November and is characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trekking trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation around the lodge and inside the park is tall with unclear views of the park animals and the roads leading to the park are impassable.