Live Chat

Kibale Lodge
Book Our New Primates of the Great Rift Valley Safari

Primates in the Forest

Kibale Lodge, Volcanoes Safaris’ new chimpanzee lodge in Uganda, is now open!

Kibale Lodge will comprise eight bandas, plus spa and pool. Four bandas are open and four more by the end of the year. The lodge is built in the renowned Volcanoes handmade style by an in-house design and build team of African artisans.

Kibale Lodge sits on a ridge with stunning views of the Rwenzori Mountains towards the west and the Queen Elizabeth plains and the Kazinga channel to the south.

Stay at Kibale Lodge as part of our new ‘Primates of the Great Rift Valley’ safari, combining Kibale with seeing the ‘Lost Chimps of Kyambura’ at Kyambura Gorge Lodge and trekking the enchanting Nyakagezi gorilla family at Mount Gahinga Lodge. Book this safari before 31 December 2024 and receive a free night at Kibale Lodge.

Book Now Rates

Lodge Overview

8 unique hand-built luxury bandas (6 deluxe and 2 standard). 4 bandas are now open and a further 4 by the end of 2024. The 150 acre site is surrounded by lush homesteads on the rolling hills around Fort Portal, known for its warm and welcoming climate.

Exceptional hospitality embodying the deep traditions of the local Batoro people, based on values and respect for family and elders. Personal butler service for all guests.

Kibale Lodge Spa has two double massage rooms, sauna and swimming pool (pool open by 1 September). All massages are complimentary and subject to booking and availability.

Locally inspired food menus, such as Filinda, a classic delicacy traditionally served at marriage ceremonies.

Trek chimpanzees in Kibale Forest – the Primate Capital of the World. Join the chimpanzee habituation program and spend 4 hours with a chimp group as part of the habituation process.

Participate in community and conservation activities including a visit to a local primary school as part of the Roots and Shoots program and to the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation.

Kibale Lodge is an hour’s drive from the Kasese airstrip. Kibale Forest, the base for chimpanzee trekking, is a thirty-minute drive from the lodge.

Book the new ‘Primates of the Great Rift Valley’ safari before 31 December 2024 and receive a free night at Kibale Lodge.

Make your stay even more special and book the lodge on an exclusive use basis.

Lodge Rates Kibale Fact Sheet View Map

Locally Inspired and Built

Kibale Lodge has been hand-built to a new level of elegance and luxury by Volcanoes’ in-house teams of artisans from the countries of the Great Lakes, including local engineers, fundis, decorators and upholsterers.

The team of 400 workers has been led by Cyprien Serugero, who built the iconic Virunga Lodge in Rwanda 20 years ago and John-Bosco Tukamuhabwa, the site supervisor who rebuilt Mount Gahinga Lodge in recent years. They are supported with careful craftsmanship by Joseph Nsabimana, Head Carpenter and furniture maker, Wycliffe Tuyambaze, upholsterer.

Lead botanist, Celine Ishimwe and her team of 50 gardeners have planted over 200,000 indigenous plants seedlings in the central 23 acres of land over the last year.

Community and Conservation Partnerships

At Kibale, we are working in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to organise community outreach programs through the Roots and Shoots program, particularly to build up women leaders in conservation.

We are also working with the Jane Goodall Institute and wider participants of the Albertine Apes Alliance, an informal advocacy network bringing together stakeholders in conservation and ecotourism in the Albertine Rift, to promote responsible ecotourism in Kibale Forest.

A new cultural partnership with the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation, set up by Rungwe Kingdom, will bring sculptures relating to the traditional clans of Uganda to the lodge.

Volcanoes is building a new vocational centre at Sadhguru School, located near Kibale lodge.