NSHONGI CAMP — Hotel in Kisoro

Nestled up as close as one can get to Bwindi’s Impenetrable forest, Nshongi Camp is an easy 10-minute walk to the gate. While you can camp, you’d be missing out on staying in one of the spacious yet budget-friendly private rooms with balconies perfectly situated for a forest-view. The quaint village above survives off of their beautifully hand-crafted supplies from natural dyed woven baskets, wood-carved masks, gorillas and walking sticks, and recycled paper made into bowls and jewelry - all with a view of rolling-hills of farmland and jungle.

The accommodation gives visitors the closest thing to camping out in the jungle - but with electricity, flush toilets, and home cooked meals. Ever-improving, the hot water may take 15-30 min of running to come and the electricity may drop occasionally but this remoteness has its benefits. 3 different types of monkeys swing around in the trees above the dining hut and, if you are lucky, you might be staying when the forest elephants are passing through. If you are even more lucky, the local Gorillas may choose to come sun bathe in the open spaces around camp.

Owned and run by the delightful village- local Silver, he and his employees will go out of their way to make your travel and gorilla experience as smooth as possible at no extra cost to you (a rarity in these parts). Silver can help organize a driver to and from the Rwanda Cyanika border or Kabale, and pre-reserve your Gorilla permit and answer any questions or concerns you may have. Although it’s too small of a village to really get lost, he and his staff are happy to make your life easier and walk you where you need to go or even barter for you at one of the local craft shops. We only had 3 days to pop into Uganda from Rwanda and Silver made it quick and easy for us by organizing a car to pick us up from the border and booking our last minute Gorilla reservation.

About the owner:

You will quickly spot Silver with his iconic sliver hair and calm nature. Growing up in the village, Silver learned that the nearby gorillas were being habituated and decided to purchase the land where he use to garden and started building up accommodation from scratch. When tourism began in the area the Rushaga gate was opened right at his doorstep in 2009.

Bonus for staying local: Local tour operators are allowed to make a gorilla permit reservation for free and it just has to be claimed within 7 days. So no payment in advance is required, just ask Silver to reserve for you and...

My third absolutely wonderful stay at Nshongi Camp and I was so glad that I’d booked to stay for a week. The staff are fabulous, especially Barnabas the manager and Moses who are both so attentive and caring and helpful—nothing is ever too much trouble. Barnabas went above and beyond in everything—arranging a boda to the gorilla habituation start, contacting the excellent birder Remegious (+256 774 221920) for me, bringing endless tea while I relaxed on the viewing platform whenever I had spare time, taking me twice to find WiFi at different guest houses as ours wasn’t working, going to the village to get small denomination currency for me, daily planning my vegetarian supper with me, arranging my boda to Kabale (Gerard +256 772 938 333) and negotiating a good price for me (60k). Barnabas was always there and always a joy to be with.|Moses as ever was so helpful and keen to do everything he could for my comfort and enjoyment of my stay. He insisted on cleaning my hiking boots and clothes twice—never been so clean before!! He turned down my bed daily and left small thoughtful treats for me and made sure that I had hot water for my shower every day.|Power cuts and water problems are a Ugandan way of life but Barnabas and Moses managed to minimise any inconvenience that could have resulted from this. They also (as requested) woke me up when an elephant walked through the swamp garden one night!|Warthog, my room this year, is a beautiful large airy space with 2 double beds, an enormous bathroom and a lovely balcony.|Eric the chef made delicious vegetarian suppers for me every night.|The location of Nshongi Camp is perfect—it feels very isolated and private at the end of a track but is actually easy walking distance of the National Park gate—and probably the closest tourist accommodation from there. It has beautiful grounds full of trees and a swamp that encourage so many birds and also on occasion gorillas and elephants. The viewing platform is a perfect place to enjoy...

Please see my review of June 2022 as everything still applies!!||I did not expect to be returning to Uganda so soon and staying at Nshongi Camp again was like coming home. Moses spoilt me rotten and is so caring and concerned that everything is perfect--he is absolutely delightful. The helpful manager Alphonse organised my boda boda to the gorilla trek start point and he also took me to Muko to get the bus to Mbarare, following his very good advice that it is a shortcut avoiding going back to Kisoro. He is a very good boda boda driver! He also went to a money changer for me because the ATM in Kisoro refused to give me money! And he was flexible regarding meals as my appetite is so small and 3 courses is 2 too many!||I would absolutely recommend booking extra days at Nshongi just to enjoy the tranquility and serenity sitting all day on the viewing platform being spoilt by Moses. And next time I will definitely be doing a bird walk with the local birder as well as seeing...