Rushaga · Luxury
Gorilla Safari Lodge
Forest cottages and suites with fireplaces, close to the Rushaga trailhead.
A forest-edge lodge in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi, about 10 minutes from the park office where every gorilla habituation day begins.
Four Gorillas Lodge sits on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the Rushaga sector, in Kisoro District in Uganda’s far southwest. It is 6 km from the Uganda Wildlife Authority briefing point at Rushaga, around a 10-minute drive, which matters on a habituation morning when you need to be registered and briefed by about 7:30 am.
The cottages are set among the trees with private verandas looking over the forest. Inside, the lodge mixes traditional and modern design, with timber finishes, high ceilings and big windows in the main building that face the canopy. Evenings in Rushaga are cool, so the fireplace in the main lounge gets regular use.
It is a comfortable, well-run base rather than a showpiece, and that is why we use it: you sleep close to the trailhead, eat well and get back quickly after a long day with the gorillas.
Habituation note: Rushaga is the only sector in Uganda where the Gorilla Habituation Experience runs, so staying here means no long pre-dawn drive on your habituation day.
The lodge offers three room types: Double, Standard and Honeymoon. Every room has a private bathroom, and the cottages are spread out so you hear the forest rather than your neighbours.
Tell us how many people are travelling and we will match room types to your group when we check availability.
Stays are on a full-board basis, so breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. Drinks from the bar are charged separately. The restaurant cooks both Ugandan and international dishes, and vegetarians are well catered for. If the weather is kind you can eat on the patio facing the forest.
On trekking days the kitchen prepares an early breakfast and a packed lunch so you can leave on time. Wi-Fi covers the lodge, which is useful for sending your gorilla photos home the same evening.
Pack warm layers. Temperatures at the lodge often sit between about 12 and 18 °C, and rain can fall at any time of year.
A habituation day is long. You register at around 7:30 am, walk in with the trackers, spend up to four hours with the family and then walk out again. Being 10 minutes from the briefing point means a later alarm and a shorter drive home when you are tired and muddy.
Rushaga is also home to several standard trekking families, so the lodge works just as well if you are adding a second gorilla encounter, as on our Double Family Experience. And because the lodge arranges transfers to both the Rushaga and Nkuringo briefing points, we can still use it when permits are only available in the neighbouring sector.
It features on our 5-Day Habituation Immersion and the Double Family Experience, and we can swap it into any other package on request.
Gorillas are the reason to come, but the days either side are worth filling well.
Habituation with the Bikingi or Bushaho family, or a standard one-hour trek with another Rushaga family.
Time with the Batwa, the forest’s original inhabitants, learning about their traditional life in Bwindi.
Forest-edge trails with a local guide, good for birds, primates and the plants of Bwindi.
Bwindi is one of East Africa’s best birding forests, with many Albertine Rift species.
Basket weaving and craft making with local families in the hills around Rushaga.
A boat trip among the lake’s islands, an easy stop on the drive to or from Rushaga.
All transfers are arranged as part of your trip. Read the Rushaga sector guide for the wider area.
Compare Four Gorillas Lodge with the other places we use for habituation.
Forest cottages and suites with fireplaces, close to the Rushaga trailhead.
Colourful chalets above Lake Mutanda, about an hour from Rushaga.
About 6 km, which is roughly a 10-minute drive to the Uganda Wildlife Authority office where gorilla habituation and trekking days start.
Yes. Habituation in Uganda runs only in Rushaga, and the lodge’s short transfer to the briefing point makes an early start much easier.
Yes, stays are full board with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Drinks from the bar are extra. Packed lunches are provided on trekking days.
Yes, the lodge has internet coverage across the property.
Yes. Children under 15 cannot go gorilla trekking, but they are welcome at the lodge and can join community and craft activities while adults are in the forest.
It is one of the lodges we use on our habituation packages. Ask when you enquire and we will confirm which lodge your quote includes, or price an upgrade.
Send us your dates. We will check habituation permits and lodge availability together, so the two line up.
+256 716 068 279 Check Availability