Uganda Gets Its First True Ultra-Luxury Gorilla Lodge
Uganda has never lacked for good gorilla trekking – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to more than half the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, and has been a bucket-list destination for years. What it has lacked, until now, is genuinely ultra-luxury accommodation to match. Most lodges around Bwindi have leaned rustic: comfortable, well-run, but not built to the standard of East Africa’s top safari brands.
That changes on August 1st, 2026, when Erebero Hills – the first Uganda property from Kenya and Tanzania safari operator Asilia Africa – opens on the northern edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Why This Is a Bigger Deal Than It Sounds
Asilia has spent over two decades building a reputation across Kenya and Tanzania for exactly the kind of design-forward, conservation-driven luxury that Uganda’s gorilla-trekking market hasn’t really had before. Erebero Hills is their first move into the country, and their first entry into the mountain gorilla space at all – a meaningful bet on a destination that’s historically been treated as a add-on to a Kenya or Rwanda trip rather than a luxury destination in its own right.
For travelers, it means Uganda finally has a lodge built to the same standard as the best camps in the Serengeti or the Masai Mara – without losing what makes gorilla trekking here special.
Eight Suites, Built Into the Hillside
Erebero Hills is intentionally small: just eight forest-view suites, each with a private deck, boot room entrance, outdoor shower, and a freestanding bathtub positioned to look straight out over the valley. The architecture, by Pablo Luna Studios (the team behind some of Bali’s most striking eco-resorts), is built from bamboo, stone, and rammed earth, with organic, leaf-and-canopy-inspired shapes that follow the contours of the hillside rather than sitting on top of it.
The result is a lodge designed to disappear into the landscape – glass-fronted suites that frame the forest rather than compete with it, with communal spaces built around an infinity pool, a sunken fireplace lounge, a library, and in-suite spa treatments.
45 Acres of Reforestation
Erebero Hills sits on 45 acres of land that Asilia has committed to actively reforesting, with a pledge to plant 25,000 indigenous trees to create a buffer zone around the national park boundary – addressing a real problem in this part of Uganda, where the forest edge often meets farmland with almost no transition. Asilia has also partnered with local organization Change a Life Bwindi to work directly with the Batwa and Bakiga communities living around the park.
It’s not a token conservation add-on: for a destination where habitat pressure is a genuine, visible issue at the forest’s edge, this is a core part of what the lodge is trying to do.
When to Go
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi runs year-round, but conditions vary. The two dry seasons – June to August, and December to February – offer firmer trails and generally easier trekking through Bwindi’s dense terrain. The wetter months (March–May and September–November) mean muddier hikes but fewer crowds and lush, dramatic scenery.
Trekking itself is physically demanding regardless of season – climbs can run from a couple of hours to most of a day through steep, thick vegetation – so timing matters more for trail conditions than for gorilla sightings, which are good year-round.
The Lodge Itself
Beyond gorilla trekking, Erebero Hills offers Batwa cultural visits, forest walks, waterfall hikes, tea plantation tours, and a reforestation walk-and-talk. Bwindi itself supports over 350 bird species, 200+ butterfly species, and more than 100 mammal species, including 10 primates – plenty to fill a multi-day stay even beyond the main event.
One clarification worth making up front: Bwindi’s chimpanzees aren’t habituated for formal trekking, so sightings here are a possible bonus during a gorilla trek rather than a guaranteed, permit-based encounter. For travelers who want proper chimp trekking with habituated groups, that’s Kibale Forest National Park – roughly 3–4 hours from Bwindi – which pairs naturally with a Uganda itinerary built around Erebero Hills.
Access is via Kihihi airstrip, roughly a 90-minute drive from the lodge. Erebero Hills welcomes children 5 and older, though the minimum age for gorilla trekking itself is 15 – worth knowing if you’re planning a family trip. It combines easily with Asilia’s existing Kenya and Tanzania properties for a broader East Africa itinerary.
Our Take
This is the lodge Uganda’s gorilla trekking market has been missing – genuine ultra-luxury, at a more accessible price point than the equivalent Rwanda experience, before accommodation is even factored in. Given it’s an eight-suite property opening into a destination with genuinely limited high-end supply, we expect availability to be tight from the start, especially around the dry-season trekking windows.
If Uganda, gorilla trekking, or a Rwanda-vs-Uganda decision is on your radar, this is worth talking to us about early.