Wild Olives Lodge, Rubuguri: Budget Base for Rushaga Gorilla Trekking

Wild Olives Lodge is a budget guesthouse of nine rooms in Rubuguri, the small trading town just outside the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, aimed at travellers on a Rushaga or Nkuringo gorilla trekking permit. It has been booked directly or through its office in Kabale. We could not confirm that it still operates, so verify before you book.

Is Wild Olives Lodge Still Open for Rushaga Gorilla Trekking?

This is the first thing to settle. Wild Olives appears on a few lodge directories, and its owner described it in a travel news post some years back, but the lodge’s own website no longer loads its pages and we found no recent guest reports. Small guesthouses in Rubuguri change names, owners and phone numbers often, and directory listings tend to outlive the businesses they describe.

So treat everything below as a description of the lodge as last published, not a promise. A licensed safari company working in the south can usually confirm within a day whether a Rubuguri guesthouse is trading, and that check costs you nothing.

Where Wild Olives Sits in Rubuguri for Your Gorilla Trek

Rubuguri is the last town before the Rushaga gate, a strip of shops, guesthouses and farm plots on the hills at the southern edge of Bwindi. Terraced slopes run up to the park boundary, and on clear days the Virunga volcanoes show to the south. It is a working village rather than a resort area, which keeps prices down.

For Rushaga gorilla trekking, lodges in and around Rubuguri quote about 15 minutes by road to the UWA post at the Rushaga gate, where briefings start around 7:30 in the morning. Nkuringo gorilla trekking starts on Nteko Ridge to the west, roughly 30 to 45 minutes away on a winding dirt road. That puts Rubuguri in a handy middle position if you are unsure which southern permit you will get.

Rooms and Facilities at a Budget Rushaga Safari Lodge

The lodge has nine self contained rooms, each with its own bathroom, set up for single or double occupancy. Beds were made locally from local materials. Hot water comes from heaters, and the listings mention daily housekeeping, laundry, parking and round the clock security.

There is a restaurant and a bar. Breakfast has been included in the room rate, and the owner’s own description gave the bar and kitchen hours as late morning to ten at night. One listing claims free Wi Fi. In a town like Rubuguri, internet and electricity both drop out from time to time, so carry a head torch and a battery pack whatever you are told.

Expect simple rooms. A budget guesthouse here means clean sheets, a hot shower on a good day and plain cooking, not views from a private veranda. For many trekkers that is all they need between an early start and an early night.

Gorilla Trekking and Habituation from Wild Olives

Gorilla trekking from Rubuguri works for two sectors. Uganda permits are tied to a sector and a date, so a Rushaga or Nkuringo permit fits this base; a Buhoma or Ruhija permit does not. Rushaga holds more habituated families than any other part of Bwindi, including Nshongi, Mishaya, Bweza, Kahungye, Busingye and Mucunguzi, which is why permits there are often available when the north is sold out. Our overview of gorilla safaris in Bwindi compares all four sectors.

Rushaga is also the only place in Uganda offering the gorilla habituation experience, in which up to four visitors spend up to four hours with a family still being habituated. A base fifteen minutes from the gate makes that long day easier.

On a normal trek, rangers assign families at the briefing, eight visitors to a group, and you get one hour with the gorillas once found. UWA asks trekkers to keep 10 metres away, and the minimum age is 15. Porters from the local association wait at the gate, and hiring one puts money straight into Rubuguri households. Our gorilla trekking packing list covers boots, gloves and rain gear.

Village Walks, Birding and Lake Tours Near Rubuguri

Rest days around Rubuguri are low key. Community walks visit Bakiga farming families and Batwa groups who once lived in the forest; our page on the Batwa people gives the background. Birding along the forest edge and the Rushaga trails is good, and the southern sector is part of the Albertine Rift birding circuit described in our Bwindi birding guide.

Further afield, the road toward Kisoro passes Lake Mulehe and Lake Mutanda, both used for canoe tours and lakeside walks. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, with golden monkey trekking and volcano hikes, lies beyond Kisoro town.

Who Wild Olives Suits on a Budget Gorilla Safari

It suits budget travellers, backpackers using public transport or the Kabale shuttle the lodge used to run, and anyone spending most of their money on permits rather than rooms. A habituation day or two treks in a row are easier when the gate is close and the room is cheap.

It does not suit travellers who want certainty. Until someone confirms the lodge is trading, a fixed itinerary built around it carries risk. It also lacks the views, food and service of the midrange lodges on the hills above Rushaga.

Wild Olives Compared with Other Southern Bwindi Lodges

If Wild Olives is closed or full, Rushaga has plenty of alternatives. Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge is a midrange option on the hillside about ten minutes on foot from the Rushaga gate. On the Nkuringo side, Nkuringo Gorilla Campsite offers budget rooms and camping on Nteko Ridge. Travellers who prefer a lake base can look at Chameleon Hill Lodge on Lake Mutanda, under an hour from Rushaga.

For a wider view across all four sectors and every budget, see our Bwindi safari lodges guide.

Getting to Rubuguri for Your Gorilla Safari

Rubuguri is reached by road. From Kigali, the drive through the Cyanika border and Kisoro takes about four to five hours, the shortest route for most foreign visitors. From Kampala it is a full day of eight to nine hours. Kabale is the nearest large town on the northern route in, and the lodge’s old booking office was there; Kisoro, with its airstrip and scheduled flights from Entebbe, is the main gateway from the south.

Roads into Rubuguri are dirt for the last stretch and slow after rain. Our getting to Bwindi page sets out the routes, and the best time for gorilla trekking in Uganda page explains how the seasons affect them.

Wild Olives Lodge FAQ