Nshongi Gorilla Resort: Rubuguri Lodge for Rushaga Gorilla Trekking

Nshongi Gorilla Resort is a small, simple lodge in Rubuguri Parish on the southern edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a short drive from the Rushaga gate where Rushaga gorilla trekking starts. Travellers look at it as a budget to mid range base for Rushaga permits, with Nkuringo also within reach. Listings for it are old and we could not confirm that it is currently taking guests, so check before you plan around it.

Name confusion is the first thing to sort out. Nshongi Camp, a separate property with its own website, stands a few minutes’ walk from the UWA post at Rushaga, and several directories mix up the two. This page is about the resort in Rubuguri.

Is Nshongi Gorilla Resort Still Open for Gorilla Safaris?

We could not confirm it. The resort has no website of its own that we could find, its social media page shows no recent activity we could read, and the traveller reviews that turn up in searches date back several years. Directory listings repeat each other, and one rates sheet carries a note that it was last updated years ago.

That does not mean it has closed. Plenty of small lodges in Kisoro District trade through safari companies and word of mouth without any web presence. But a lodge you cannot verify is a risk on a gorilla safari, where the permit is fixed to a date and a sector and cannot simply move if your bed falls through.

The safe move is simple. Ask a licensed safari company to confirm in writing that the resort is open, how many rooms are in use and what meal plan applies, before you pay a deposit. If they cannot, pick another Rushaga lodge.

Location in Rubuguri and Access to the Rushaga Trailhead

The resort stands in Rubuguri, the small trading centre on the road between Kisoro and the southern trekking sectors. It sits on the forest edge with gardens looking toward the trees, and listings describe it as being in the middle of the ranges of several habituated families, including Nshongi, Mishaya, Kahungye and the Nkuringo group.

From Rubuguri, the Rushaga gate and its UWA briefing point are a short drive, usually quoted at around fifteen to thirty minutes on murram road. Nkuringo, on the ridge to the west, is further and the road is steeper. Briefings start at around 7:30, so a Rushaga permit is the comfortable match; with a Nkuringo permit you will be leaving well before dawn.

Rooms at Nshongi Gorilla Resort

Room details depend on which listing you read. One describes nine self contained rooms, made up of one single, four twins and four doubles, each with hot and cold running water. Another gives eighteen rooms including doubles, a two bedroom family room and a couple of deluxe rooms. A third lists single, double, twin and family cottages with camping in the gardens.

The likeliest reading is a modest guest house block plus a few cottages, with space to pitch a tent. All sources agree the rooms are en suite. Older guest reviews found the rooms dated and plain, and praised the staff and the location for trekking. Expect basic comfort, cold nights and simple furnishings, and confirm what you are getting before you book.

Food, Facilities and the Church Partnership

Meals are served in a main building with a dining area and a bar. Listings say the kitchen will cook to guests’ requests, which in practice usually means a set menu with some flexibility if you ask in advance. Order a packed lunch the night before a trek.

One directory mentions wifi in the lounge and rooms. Treat that as unlikely to be reliable in rural Kisoro District, where many lodges run on solar panels and the mobile signal comes and goes.

The resort was built on church land. According to one operator listing, the local church community receives a share of the profits, around thirty percent, which goes to community needs and the running of the church. We could not confirm the current arrangement, but it is the kind of question a guest can ask directly.

Who Nshongi Gorilla Resort Suits

If it is operating, the resort suits budget minded travellers and small groups on a Rushaga permit who want a simple bed near the trailhead and like the idea of a lodge with a community stake. Overlanders with their own tents may find the campsite option useful. It is less suited to anyone who needs reliable wifi, step free access or a polished lodge experience.

Families should note that gorilla trekking is only open from age fifteen, and a family cottage would need an adult to stay behind with younger children on trekking day.

Gorilla Trekking Safari from Rubuguri

A gorilla trekking safari from Rubuguri is built around a Rushaga permit, the sector with the most habituated families in Bwindi. Permits are sold for a sector and a date, never a named family. After the briefing, rangers allocate eight trekkers to each family, and the hike can take anything from under an hour to most of the day. You spend one hour with the gorillas, keeping the 10 metre distance UWA asks for.

The resort shares its name with the Nshongi family, Rushaga’s first habituated group, which opened to visitors in 2009 and later split to form Mishaya and Bweza. Our profile of the Nshongi gorilla family tells that story, and staying here does not give you any right to trek with them. Rushaga is also the only sector in Uganda offering the four hour gorilla habituation experience. Read our Rushaga gorilla trekking guide, and if you hold a Nkuringo permit, our Nkuringo gorilla trekking guide explains the steeper hike from the ridge.

Other Activities: Birding, Batwa Visits and Village Walks

The gardens attract plenty of birds, and birding walks along the forest edge are an easy rest day option. UWA guided nature walks start from Rushaga. Batwa cultural visits run in the Kisoro area, and village walks through Rubuguri show the potato, sorghum and tea farming that runs right up to the park boundary.

Lake Mutanda, a short drive toward Kisoro, has dugout canoe trips with volcano views, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, with golden monkey tracking, is within a day trip.

Getting to Rubuguri for Your Gorilla Safari

By road from Kampala or Entebbe, allow eight to ten hours through Mbarara and Kabale. From Kigali, the drive via the Cyanika or Katuna border takes about four to five hours, which is why many travellers pair Rushaga with a Rwanda flight. Light aircraft fly from Entebbe to Kisoro airstrip, roughly an hour to an hour and a half by road from Rubuguri. Our guide to getting to Bwindi covers each route, and the best time to go gorilla trekking page explains how rain slows the murram roads.

How It Compares with Other Bwindi Lodges

Several Rushaga lodges can be verified more easily, among them Gorilla Valley Lodge close to the ranger post, and lakeside bases such as Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge outside Kisoro. For Nkuringo, the Nkuringo Gorilla Campsite is a long running budget choice, and in Buhoma the Buhoma Community Rest Camp is a community owned option with a similar spirit. Our Bwindi lodges by sector page lists the rest.

Nshongi Gorilla Resort FAQ