Service Information
Cultural and Cullinary Activities
Picnic
Allow us to pack a picnic for you and take you into the Nombe forest where you can relax, sip some French Champagne and having a private picnic next to Zebikire water fall or on top of a hill.
Private Romantic Dinner
This is set up for you in a variety of locations. Enjoy some of our finest wines and a gourmet dinner while our trained butlers ensure you enjoy an evening to remember.
Batwa Cultural Experience
Batwa cultural experience trial, you get to walk into one of the preserved forest called Nyamugali Pocket Forest, one of the unique forests with different albertine endermic bird species, black and white Columbus monkeys, Duikers and other animals. Its called a pocket forest because its surrounded by community farmlands, tea plantation and the lodge.
It is separated by Bwindi Impenetrable Forest by the Buffer zone with a tea plantation which prevents animals in Bwindi from entering in it and prevents animals in it to go to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park but its. This trial gives you the exact experience of the batwa staying in the forest where you are guided by a Mutwa (pigmie) with an english translator guide, in this trial the pygmies will show you different medicinal herbs, Caves, original batwa huts, local fire making, behavior in the forest,wonderful views of the forest, different tree species, Bee keeping, Batwa Artfacts and utensils, nature walks in impenetrable virgin forest and many more.
Batwa Hunting Experience
Batwa used to enjoy wild game meat from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest but when it was azette in 1942 as a protected area and as a national park in 1992 and it was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO because of 3 great apes staying together in harmony. With these developments in the forest Batwa were evicted from the forest including not allowing them to do hunting any more inside the park.
They how ever have maintained their hunting skills which is normally demonstrated in a conserved virgin indigenous forest once part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park but now conserved by AFRICODE(African Community Based Integrated Development Initiative) A none governmental organization Advocating for rights and equity of marginalized Batwa communities around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. During this batwa hunting Experience you are welcomed by a group of the Batwa community well dressed in their traditional attire,dancing traditional music,with a pygmie/mutwa guide who will furnish you will all the information about the batwa tribe since stone age up to current.
You will get to Know different medicinal shrubs they used as there medicine,locally making fire,housing, and all other materials and house hold equipment and tools they used while still living in the forest.
During this activity in the trail you will undergo live hunting that will involve looking for an animal edible by human beings in the same forest, kill it using arrows and spears, slaughter it, roast the meat(local barbeque) and cook it while in the forest. This will expose you to traditional foods like roasted Banana, sweet potatoes as well as mingled bread from maize or millet flour.
Batwa Community Homestead Visit
Batwa Community Visit
This trail takes you to current Batwa home next to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. After evicting them from the forest due to reasins to conserve better the park, civil society organizations contributed for them the land and were facilitated with construction of semi permanent houses where they stay now. It show to what extent they have reached regarding to copying up and mixing with local communities.
The have started farming and grazing domestic animals like sheep, goats, pigs and chicken. They have also started putting on clothes as well as going to school things that were un heard of in the past. Once there you enjoy their traditional dances and well as getting more information on the experience in the Forest and now in the communities.
Traditional Healers
Visit to traditional healers who demonstrates on African traditional herbs and story legends.
Volunteering in the community projects
30% of the profits from Bwindi Backpackers Lodge contributes towards funding of the community projects under AFRICODE (African Community based Development Initiative) a non-governmental organizations that works towards changing the lives of people and landscapes around Bwindi National Park through Income generating activities
The lodge also provides volunteer opportunities in the fields of conservation, Health, Education, Culture and Entertainment to empower local communities at minimal costs. Contact us for program details and costs at info@bwindibackpackerslodge.com
Visiting the Batwa Community of Nyabaremura
Mutwa woman
You walk from the lodge to the Boundary of the Bwindi Forest where you will have a chance to interact with Central Africa’s most ancient ethnic Group. A community of Batwa that left the forest and were relocated into an area of 13 hectares; where today they too are learning sustainable lifestyles.
The Batwa are the most fascinating of Ethnic groups that people can interact with: their wealth of knowledge about nature and their primitive hunter-gather ways will keep you captivated while you wonder to yourself how people live like they are still somewhat in the Stone Age and are yet so warm and friendly.
The Batwa will guide you through their lifestyles today showing you their homes and farming as well as displaying their wealth of knowledge such as the many uses of plants and their talents in basket weaving, collecting honey and many other things that are unique to these fascinating people
Community Village Tour
This tour takes you through a journey of sustainable life in remote Uganda, showing the lifestyle and culture of the Bakiga people. Interpreting the life by one of the trained community guides who leads the walks through the Nombe community.
Itinerary
Visiting the sites of brewing masters
Visit traditional homes
Visit local blacksmith
Local School
Local church choir
Community
Walk amongst the Bakiga
Photography Journey
Allow our trained guide to take you into the community and show you some of the most beautiful landscapes and people to photograph in order to add to your collection. This is truly a fun & interactive way to spend a few hours capturing the spirit of Africa and the Bakiga People.
Nature and Trekking Activities
Batwa/Pygmie Forest Experience
You walk from the lodge to the Nyamugali impenetrable Forest overlooking Bwindi National park and this is where you will have a chance to interact with Central Africa’s most ancient ethnic Group that will welcome you in their traditional attire,dance and lead you to explore their previous life experience in the forest.
The Batwa are the most fascinating of Ethnic groups that people can interact with: their wealth of knowledge about nature and their primitive hunter-gather ways will keep you captivated… while you wonder to yourself how people live like they are still somewhat in the Stone Age and are yet so warm and friendly.
The Batwa will guide you through their lifestyles by physically demonstrating on how they lived in the forest, building style and huts, defensive mechanisms and security against enemies and wild animals, honey extraction, cooking and any other routine procedures during the forest before they got integrated with the developing and a bit civilized communities they currently live with now of the Bakiga tribes.
Chameleon Tracking
This is a three horned Jackson’s chameleon tracking experience. This type of chameleon lives at an altitude starting from 1700 metres above the sea level. The tracking is normally done near our lodge between 1800 meters above the sea level to 2022 meters above the sea level where our lodge is located.
This is a rare species of chameleon and its endangered and is found around the Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park a world heritage site sharing the same ecological setup with gorillas. It is unique from other chameleons due to the fact that it lives for 17 to 18 years on a free range, the female gives birth to live offsprings unlike other chameleons where a female has to have eggs and once they are mature it bursts for offsprings to be born. Its not poisonous and friendly.
They are on a free range so you get the opportunity to search your self though you will be with the guide and it is guaranteed that you see them because we have conserved many of them. The trial has a lot of nature scenic views and during the tracking you encounter different tree shrubs of which the guide furnishes you with the information on their uses in respect to traditional and current uses.
Canoe Trekking on lake Mutanda
Lake Mutanda is a volcanic lake that is Bilharzia free, with no hazards like crocodiles and it is a fresh water lake with the better views of the volcanoes ranges of Mt Muhabura, Mgahinga and Sabyinyo.
Walking Safari
Walk from the lodge to Kisoro via communities with fantastic sceneries and by dug out canoe through Lake Mutanda. This takes a day.
Batwa cave trail in Mgahinga
This activity is done from Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and guiding is done by the Batwa themselves who were hunter-gatherers and fierce who depended on the forest for shelter, food and medicine.
Golden Monkey Tracking
The endangered golden monkeys is endemic to Albertine rift, and Mgahinga Gorilla National park offers a rare chance to track these striking creatures, high in the dense bamboo forest on Gahinga trail. There is an estimated 3000-4000 individuals in the virunga area of which 42-60 are habituated in Mgahinga Gorilla National park.
Volcano Hiking in Mgahinga
From the lodge you can also hike the volcano Mountains of:
Itinerary
Mt. Muhabura
Mt.Gahinga
Mt Sabyinyo
Hakitute Hill Climbing
This mountain takes a hiking through communities and while you are on top of this hill you enjoy the great scenery of the volcano ranges, Lake Mutanda, Lake Murehe, Kigezi hills and the great western rift valley.
Hill Hiking
View from the hill
From the lodge you hike on top of a hill normally called top of heaven because it is the highest point where scenery from here is very rewarding.
It is on a high altitude that on a clear weather you see the whole of volcano ranges(Mt.Muhabura, Mt Mgahinga.Mt Sabyinyo,Mt Nyiragongo,Mt.Karisimbi and Mt Nyamuragira),Kabale,Rwanda and Western rift Valley and Democratic republic of Congo.
You go through a number of communities and emerge your self into Bakiga culture
A walk through the Nombe Forest
Nature Walks
There is a small but beautiful forest near the lodge, which has been protected by the government as it hosts a number of endemic bird and plant species. A trained nature guide will take you on a walk, allowing you to admire the beauty of the forest and water falls at your own speed.
Bird Watching
The varied habitats of Uganda’s oldest forest mean it is the ideal habitat for a variety of birds, with 350 species recorded, including 23 endemics (90% of all Albertine Rift endemics) such as the Short-tailed Warbler and Blue-headed Sunbird as well as seven IUCN red data listed species.
Easy to see are the African Emerald Cuckoo, Common Bulbul, African Blue and White-tailed Blue Flycatchers and Red-headed Bluebill.
Enjoy bird-watching in Mgahinga and Bwindi, with a viriety of birds including the African piculet, Dwarf Honeyguide, Short Tailed Warbler, Tabora Cisiticola, African Green Broadbill, to the large Handsome Francolin, Black wattled casqued hornbill.
Be lead by some of the best birding guides south-western Uganda has to offer. Whether walking and viewing, or sitting in a hide and watching from a distance is your thing, we will be able to provide a birding experience which will be sure to impress any birder. If you are a beginner, our guides have the passion and knowledge to open this whole new world up to you.
Gorilla Tracking
This is a prime activity in Bwindi Impenetrable National park and here we can organise for you a gorilla tracking permit as well as transport and accomodation.
You can walk from the lodge and track Nkuringo Gorilla group and you easily drive to Rushaga which is the gorilla tracking starting point for 5 Gorilla groups of Nshongi, Mishaya, Kahungye, Bweza and Busingye. This activity is normally planned for a whole day because tracking gorillas can take from 30 minutes walk to 9 hours walk depending on movement of Gorillas.
Gorilla Groups that can be tracked easily from Bwindi Backpackers Lodge. The lodge is located on the southern Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National park the home to 480 gorillas out of 880 gorillas according to 2011 gorilla census. It is close to Nkuringo and Rushaga Tourist zones (Gorilla tracking starting point for 6 gorilla groups)
Kabaya Cave & Rock Trail
This is a very attractive trail that allows you also move through the community to visit one of beautiful cave among other beautiful sceneries of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Contact Us NOW