Wild Route Trips

Lake Bunyonyi winding between terraced hills under a blue sky, seen from the hills above the lake, Uganda

South-western Uganda

Lake Bunyonyi: rest by a lake of 29 islands after your gorilla trek

Private stays on Lake Bunyonyi in south-western Uganda, 7 km from Kabale: paddle a canoe or take a boat past the islands, walk up to the viewpoints, and rest before or after your gorilla trek in Bwindi.

Plan my Lake Bunyonyi stay
01

Lake Bunyonyi, mapped: the islands, Kabale and the roads to the lake

Lake Bunyonyi is a flooded valley that runs about 25 km north from the border with Rwanda, through the steep hills between Kabale and Kisoro, the Ministry of Tourism says. Tap an island or a road to read about it. None of the three lodges publishes its position, so they have no pins.

KabaleHeiseseroAkampene, Punishment IslandBwamaBushara IslandKyahugye IslandRwandaLake BunyonyiKabaleHeiseseroNjuyeeraItambiraHabukomi
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Shared by Kabale and Rubanda districts

Lake Bunyonyi

56 km² of water, 1,973 m above sea level and 40 m deep at most, scientific studies of the lake say. The Ministry of Tourism counts 29 islands, and loosely translates the name as 'lake of many little birds'.

  • On the water: dugout canoes and boats; the Ministry says there are no hippos or crocodiles
  • Birds: over 200 species, the Ministry says
  • Market: Fridays and Mondays at Harutindo landing, the Ministry says
02

Where to stay on Lake Bunyonyi: three lodges by the water or above it

All three lodges look over the lake. Choose by how you want to spend your rest day: canoes at the dock, a spa and family suites, or a deck of your own facing the islands.

Price level: Mid-rangeOur guide to price level; ask us for rates for your dates.

Two lodges at the water's edge, each with its own dock

Both lodges run boats and canoes from their own docks: Birdnest's canoes are free for its guests, and Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's island tours leave from the resort itself.

Lake Bunyonyi seen from Birdnest Resort's terrace under a thatched eave, with wooded hills and a blue sky

Birdnest Resort

By the water
Price level: Mid-range
  • 14 rooms
  • Canoes free for hotel guests
  • A sauna; the pool is closed until about 24 January 2027

Best for: Paddling yourself: the canoes are free for hotel guests, with paddles and life jackets on request, or a guided canoe trip booked at reception, the lodge says. Its Grande Executive room can become a honeymoon suite.

Look elsewhere if: you want a pool before 24 January 2027, when the lodge expects to reopen it after its conversion.

Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's main building, cottages and pool on the green lakeshore, seen from the air

Bunyonyi Safaris Resort

By the water
Price level: Mid-range
  • Two-bedroom family suites
  • Sauna, steam bath and massages by the lake
  • Island boat tours at 9:00 and 14:00

Best for: Families and groups: two-bedroom family suites with a kitchenette, and island tours that leave from the resort itself.

Look elsewhere if: you want a small, quiet lodge, as it also has a dormitory for up to 15 and a party boat, MV Bunyonyi.

Cottages looking out over the islands

25 cottages, each with its own deck facing the islands, the lodge says.

A grass-thatched cottage and its deck high above Lake Bunyonyi and its islands, Arcadia Cottages

Arcadia Cottages

Island views
Price level: Mid-range
  • 25 cottages
  • A viewing point with binoculars
  • Hiking, cycling and quad bikes

Best for: A view of the islands from your own deck, and a viewing point with binoculars for watching the fishermen on the lake, the lodge says.

Look elsewhere if: you need a family room, as the lodge's site names none.

Facts: the lodges' websites, read in October 2026. None of the three publishes its position, so they are not pinned on the map. We book every lodge here; ask which suits your trip.

03

Things to do on Lake Bunyonyi: canoes, island boat trips, viewpoint walks and the market

Paddle a dugout canoe, take a boat past the islands, walk up to the viewpoints, or shop at the lakeside market: here is what you can do on Lake Bunyonyi, and which lodge offers it.

A blue boat and a red-hulled boat moored at a timber jetty below a wooded hill, Birdnest Resort, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Painted boats at a busy lakeside landing with stalls on the shore, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
A therapist giving a massage on a jetty above Lake Bunyonyi, Bunyonyi Safaris Resort, Uganda

Four ways to spend a day on the lake, and the lodges that offer them

  1. 01

    Paddle a dugout canoe

    Everything travels to the islands by dugout canoe, the Ministry of Tourism says, and it says you need not worry about hippos or crocodiles while you paddle: neither lives in the lake.

    Birdnest Resort's canoes are free for its guests, with paddles and life jackets on request, or a guide if you would rather not paddle, the lodge says. Uganda's tourism board calls the lake ideal for peaceful paddling.

    Offered byBirdnest ResortBunyonyi Safaris Resort

  2. 02

    Take a boat past the islands

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's guided boat tour takes 3 hours and leaves at 9:00 and 14:00 daily, by speedboat or its cruise boat, past Punishment Island, Bushara and Kyahugye among others, the resort says.

    Birdnest Resort's boat trip takes 2 or 3 hours and passes Punishment Island, and Arcadia Cottages runs a motor launch for cruises on the lake.

    Offered byBunyonyi Safaris ResortBirdnest ResortArcadia Cottages

  3. 03

    Walk up to the viewpoints

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort leads a 4-hour guided hike to the viewpoints on the Bunyonyi peninsula, through forest and village gardens, it says. The Ministry of Tourism says you can also walk on the islands and round the lake to caves, at an easy pace.

    Offered byBunyonyi Safaris ResortArcadia Cottages

    Two walkers with sticks looking over Lake Bunyonyi and its terraced hills, Bunyonyi Safaris Resort, Uganda
  4. 04

    A massage by the lake

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort has a sauna, a steam bath and a massage room on the lakefront, with a wooden deck for lying in the sun, it says. Birdnest Resort lists no massage, but its sauna stays open while the pool is closed.

    Offered byBunyonyi Safaris Resort

More to do around Lake Bunyonyi

  • The market at Harutindo landing

    Fresh food and handmade goods every Friday and Monday, the Ministry of Tourism says.

    Harutindo landingFriday and Monday

  • Birdwatching

    Over 200 bird species live around the lake, the Ministry says, grey crowned cranes, herons, egrets and weavers among them. On its boat trip you may even see an African otter, Birdnest Resort says.

    Around the lake

  • Visit a Batwa community

    Birdnest Resort arranges a visit to a Batwa community: about four hours, with a 20-minute walk, and part of the fee goes to the community, the lodge says. Bunyonyi Safaris Resort takes visitors by boat to Kyevu to meet the Batwa there, the resort says.

    Birdnest ResortKyevu

  • A sundowner on the dock

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort serves sundowner dinners and cocktails on its waterfront dock, it says.

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort

  • Quad bikes and cycling

    Arcadia Cottages offers quad biking, cycling and hiking from the lodge, it says.

    Arcadia Cottages

Sources: the Ministry of Tourism's Lake Bunyonyi page; the Uganda Tourism Board; the lodges' websites, read in October 2026.

04

When to go to Lake Bunyonyi, month by month

No official source names a best month for Lake Bunyonyi. A 2021 study of the lake gives the Kabale area's seasons: long rains from March to May, short rains in October and November, and June to August the driest. Pick a month; the buttons start on this month.

Driest monthsRainy seasonsBetween the rainsBirdnest's pool expected openBirdnest's pool closed (to about 24 January 2027)

January

Not one of the two rainy seasons the study names. UWA says Bwindi can be visited any time of the year.

Between the rains
RainNot one of the two rainy seasons the study names
On the lakeIsland tours at 9:00 and 14:00 daily, Bunyonyi Safaris Resort says
Birdnest Resort's poolClosed from 26 October 2026 for conversion; expected to reopen on 24 January 2027, the lodge says

Seasons: the study of Lake Bunyonyi in SN Applied Sciences, 10 June 2021. Bwindi: UWA. Pool: Birdnest Resort's home page, read 27 October 2026.

05

A rest day on Lake Bunyonyi after your gorilla trek

One way to spend a day on the lake, with the times the lodges give. The deck, the tours and the canoes belong to different lodges, so we shape the day around the one you stay at.

  1. Start on your deck

    Each of Arcadia Cottages' 25 cottages has its own deck facing the islands, the lodge says.

  2. The island boat tour

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's guided tour leaves at 9:00 for 3 hours, past Punishment Island, Bushara and Kyahugye, it says.

    Boats pass Punishment Island; we found no source that says visitors may land there.

  3. Paddle a canoe, or walk to a viewpoint

    Birdnest Resort's canoes are free for its guests, the lodge says. Or take Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's 4-hour hike to the viewpoints on the peninsula.

    The Ministry of Tourism says there are no hippos or crocodiles in the lake.

  4. The market at Harutindo landing

    Fresh food and handmade goods, the Ministry of Tourism says.

  5. A sundowner on the dock

    Bunyonyi Safaris Resort serves sundowner dinners and cocktails on its waterfront dock, it says. Or end the day in Birdnest Resort's sauna.

Red umbrellas over tables on the waterfront deck of Bunyonyi Safaris Resort, above Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Lake Bunyonyi at dusk under a pink and blue sky, with wooded shores and green bushes in front, Uganda

Times: the lodges' websites, read in October 2026; the market: the Ministry of Tourism. Photos: the lake at dusk by Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

06

The islands of Lake Bunyonyi: their history, and how you see them

The Ministry of Tourism counts 29 islands. You can see them from a boat or from a viewpoint above the lake. Here is how long each way takes, and the islands with names and a history.

How long each way of seeing the islands takes

Birdnest Resort's boat trippast Punishment Island
2 or 3 hours
Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's island tourat 9:00 or 14:00
3 hours
The hike to the viewpointswith Bunyonyi Safaris Resort
4 hours
29islands in the lake, the Ministry of Tourism says
56 km²of water, 40 m deep at most, scientific studies say
1,973 mabove sea level, the same studies say
25 kmof flooded valley running north from the border with Rwanda, the Ministry says
Sources and photo credits

Sources: the Ministry of Tourism's Lake Bunyonyi page; Ssenkuba et al., PLOS One, 30 June 2026, and SN Applied Sciences, 10 June 2021; Birdnest Resort and Bunyonyi Safaris Resort, read in October 2026. The Ministry's own page gives a depth and a height that these studies do not support; we print the studies' figures. Photos, via Wikimedia Commons: Punishment Island by Mosmas, CC BY 3.0; the island village by Shaayflix Dr Shaay, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Akampene, Punishment Island: a small grassy island with one bare tree, seen from a boat on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
An island with fields, houses and a winding track in deep blue water, seen from the hills above Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda

The islands by name, and how you see them

IslandWhat it isHow you see it
Akampene, Punishment IslandIn the past, girls who became pregnant before marriage were taken here by canoe and left, the Ministry of Tourism says: they starved, or drowned trying to swim ashore.From the boat: Birdnest's trip passes it and Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's tour includes it. We found no source that says visitors may land.
BwamaA leprosy hospital and an Anglican church set up by a missionary doctor, Leonard Sharp, in the 1920s, the Ministry says; today a school for children from the surrounding communities.From the water: it is a school, and no source we found says visitors may land.
BusharaOne of the islands Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's guided tour visits, the resort says.On the resort's 3-hour tour, at 9:00 or 14:00.
KyahugyeAnother island on Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's guided tour, the resort says.On the resort's 3-hour tour, at 9:00 or 14:00.
Sharp's Island and Upside-Down IslandTwo names on Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's tour. The Ministry of Tourism's page links the name Sharp's Island with Bwama and Njuyeera.On the resort's 3-hour tour.
Njuyeera, Itambira and HabukomiIslands named on the map; the Ministry of Tourism lists Njuyeera among the lake's islands.From a boat or from the viewpoints above the lake.
07

Lake Bunyonyi's birds and lake life: over 200 bird species, and no hippos or crocodiles

Over 200 bird species live in and around Lake Bunyonyi, the Ministry of Tourism says. No one can promise you any one bird.

A grey crowned crane standing among green bushes, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
200+

Bird species

Around the lake, the Ministry of Tourism says, grey crowned cranes, herons, egrets, weavers and the African harrier hawk among them. Pictured: a grey crowned crane at Bunyonyi.

People paddling a dugout canoe below terraced hillside fields, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
0

Hippos or crocodiles

None in the lake, the Ministry of Tourism says, so you need not worry about them while you paddle. Pictured: a dugout canoe on Lake Bunyonyi.

A hand holding a crayfish at Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Crayfish

Mudfish and crab fish, not tilapia

The lake's depth and layers make it hard for Nile perch and tilapia to breed, the Ministry of Tourism says. It has mudfish and what it calls crab fish, a delicacy. Pictured: a crayfish at Lake Bunyonyi.

A yellow weaver perched on a reed leaf, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Weavers

Among the lake's birds

The Ministry of Tourism names weavers among the lake's birds. Pictured: a weaver at Lake Bunyonyi.

Sources and photo credits

Source: the Ministry of Tourism's Lake Bunyonyi page. Photos, via Wikimedia Commons: the crowned crane and the crayfish (enlarged by us) by Rod Waddington, and the dugout canoe by Carine06, CC BY-SA 2.0; the weaver by Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0.

08

Getting to Lake Bunyonyi: by road from Kampala, Kabale or Bwindi

The shortest road to the lake runs through Kabale, 7 km away, the Ministry of Tourism says. Kampala to Kabale is about 6 hours on tarmac, UWA says, and it names Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi as places to stay for Bwindi's Ruhija trailhead.

KampalaKabale

On tarmac all the way, approximately 6 hours, UWA says.

414 kmUWA's figure
KabaleLake Bunyonyi

The shortest way: a graded murram (unpaved) road through Kiyoora and past Kacwekano, the Ministry of Tourism says.

7 kmThe Ministry's figure
KabaleRuhija, then Buhoma (Bwindi)

About 4 hours on a winding murram road, UWA says. UWA names Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi as places to stay for the Ruhija trailhead.

95 kmUWA's figure
KabaleNkuringo (Bwindi)

Approximately 4 hours in total, UWA says. UWA names Kisoro and Lake Mutanda as places to stay for Rushaga and Nkuringo.

105 kmUWA's figure
The Kisoro roadHeisesero

The tarmac road to Kisoro reaches the lake at Heisesero, the Ministry says; another way leaves the Katuna border road for Rubaya, Rukole and Kitoma.

TarmacThe Ministry's route
Sources and photo credits

Sources: UWA's Bwindi page and brochure; the Ministry of Tourism's Lake Bunyonyi page. None of the three lodges gives a transfer time on its own website, and UWA gives none from Rushaga, so we time that drive for your dates. The photograph at the top of this page: Sjoerdug, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pair Lake Bunyonyi with Bwindi's gorillas, Queen Elizabeth National Park or the Fort Portal crater lakes

UWA names Lake Bunyonyi as a place to stay for Bwindi's Ruhija trailhead. Queen Elizabeth National Park adds savanna game drives, and the crater lakes near Fort Portal another quiet stay by the water.

Travellers photographing up into the forest, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Uganda, north-west of the lake

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, for gorillas

UWA names Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi as places to stay for Bwindi's Ruhija trailhead.

A candelabra euphorbia above golden grass, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Uganda, the west

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Savanna game drives in Uganda's west.

Three walkers on a grassy crater rim near Kyaninga Lodge, looking over the crater-lake country near Fort Portal, Uganda
Uganda, the west

Fort Portal and the Crater Lakes

Crater lakes and lakeside lodges near Fort Portal, in western Uganda.

09

Our Uganda safaris with nights on Lake Bunyonyi

A Uganda honeymoon with three quiet nights on the lake after a gorilla trek, and a gorilla safari that can add two nights here. We change either to suit your dates.

The terraced shores and islands of Lake Bunyonyi from above, UgandaTypically 7 to 10 daysUgandaUganda Honeymoon Safarifrom USD 4,200per personSee the itineraryA silverback mountain gorilla looking directly out from thick forestTypically 3 to 5 daysUgandaUganda Gorilla Trekkingfrom USD 3,450per personSee the itinerary
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Questions about Lake Bunyonyi

Answered from the Ministry of Tourism's Lake Bunyonyi page, scientific studies of the lake, the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the lodges' websites.

Are there hippos or crocodiles in Lake Bunyonyi?
No, the Ministry of Tourism says: neither lives in the lake, so you need not worry about them while you paddle. Still wear a life jacket; Birdnest Resort gives them out on request with its canoes, the lodge says.
How many islands are there on Lake Bunyonyi?
29, the Ministry of Tourism says. Among them are Akampene (Punishment Island), Bwama, Bushara and Kyahugye. Boat trips pass Punishment Island; we found no source that says visitors may land there or at Bwama, which is a school.
What is Punishment Island?
Akampene, a small island where, in the past, girls who became pregnant before marriage were taken by canoe and left, the Ministry of Tourism says: they starved, or drowned trying to swim ashore. Birdnest Resort's and Bunyonyi Safaris Resort's boat trips pass it.
How deep is Lake Bunyonyi?
40 metres at its deepest, two scientific studies of the lake say (2021 and 2026). They also give its area as 56 km² and its height as 1,973 m above sea level. Claims you may read of far greater depths are not supported by these studies.
How far is Lake Bunyonyi from Bwindi?
It depends on your trailhead. From Kabale (7 km from the lake, the Ministry of Tourism says), UWA gives about 95 km and 4 hours by road to Ruhija and on to Buhoma, and about 105 km and 4 hours to Nkuringo. UWA also says the Ruhija trailhead can be reached from hotels at Lake Bunyonyi. It gives no time from Rushaga, so we time that drive for your dates.
How do we get to Lake Bunyonyi from Kampala?
Drive about 414 km on tarmac to Kabale, approximately 6 hours, UWA says. The lake is 7 km on from Kabale on a graded murram road, the Ministry of Tourism says.
When is the best time to visit Lake Bunyonyi?
No official source names a best month. A 2021 study of the lake gives the Kabale area's long rains as March to May, its short rains as October and November, and June to August as the driest months.

Send your dates and we email you a Lake Bunyonyi plan and price.

Tell us roughly when you can travel, how many of you there are, and whether the lake comes before or after a gorilla trek, so we can plan the road and the nights around your permit.

  1. 01Send your datesRoughly when, how many of you, and your gorilla permit date if you have one.
  2. 02Get a plan and a price by emailLodges, nights and the road for your dates, with the cost per person.
  3. 03Change the plan until it fitsThe month, the lodge or the number of nights.

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