Ndali Lodge

the best base for chimpanzees in Uganda

Ndali Lodge is located in the Kibale Forest area of western Uganda.

Set alongside a flooded volcanic crater amidst the most beautiful rural scenery, the lodge is centred on a cluster of modest thatched main buildings, leading out to a lovely swimming pool area.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Ndali Lodge is in nine units, each with a private verandah and indoor bathroom …

• Cottages : x8
• Honeymoon Cottage : x1 : slightly larger

Activities

Ndali Lodge provides access to the following activities …

• Chimpanzee tracking
• Forest hikes
• Bird-watching
• Farmland hikes
• Tea plantation tours
• Cultural visits

Of the roughly 30-50% of visitors to Uganda who choose to explore beyond the gorillas of Bwindi Forest, almost everyone deploys nights in the Kibale area.

The usual stay duration in this area is 3-5 nights.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Kibale Forest is generally considered to be during the May-Sep and Dec-Feb dry seasons.

The is dominated by a tropical rainforest climate, which is characterised by high temperatures year round. It also tends to rain year round, but some months are usually slightly drier than others.

Getting around

Up to around 2015 getting around Uganda was something of a mission. The only real option was to travel by guided overland safari, which might sound great, but the reality was that most of the hard miles were on relatively uninteresting main roads rather than interesting safari areas. It was both tiresome, time consuming and, for smaller groups, surprisingly expensive.

Fortunately there is now a reliable schedule of light aircraft flights connecting the main safari areas, operating out of the hub airport at Entebbe and visiting Bwindi Forest, QENP, Kibale Forest, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley.

However we are big fans of overland safari when done in the right areas, so we now maintain a fleet of safari vehicles out in the Western Rift Valley, which enables us to connect by road between Bwindi Forest, QENP and Kibale Forest, as an optional inset to a flying safari.

The Kibale Forest area can therefore be connected by light aircraft, usually in a clockwise loop, in from Bwindi Forest or QE and out to Murchison Falls or back to Entebbe. There are multiple airstrips in the area to serve the various lodge locations.

Kibale Forest is also the usual end point for the overland segment driving north from Bwindi Forest and through QE.

usually combined with the gorillas of Bwindi Forest