Kyaninga Lodge

Built by hand from local logs on the rim of Lake Kyaninga, this is one of the more unusual buildings in Uganda: eight cottages raised on platforms and linked to the main lodge by wooden walkways, with the Rwenzori Mountains filling the horizon on a clear morning.

Why We Love It

The craft of it. Owner Steve Williams, a carpenter, designed and built the place with local craftsmen, and the result feels Alpine in shape yet entirely Ugandan in material. Below the decks lies one of the clearest crater lakes in the country, and one of the few in Uganda that is safe to swim in.

The Experience

Cottages have hand-carved timber frames, claw-footed baths and private verandas over the water. Steps cut from volcanic rock drop to a jetty at the lake edge. There is a pool, a grass tennis court, a croquet lawn and a trail circling the crater that guests walk or run before breakfast.

Need to Know

Kibale is about an hour away, so most guests track chimpanzees in the morning and are back for a late lunch. It is the Kibale base on our Great Primate Expedition. Read our Kibale guide for tracking detail.