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Mahogany Springs Lodge

Volcanoes National Park

Uganda

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Located on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Mahogany Springs Lodge is set in farmland around 2km from the reserve in the Bwindi Forest area of western Uganda.

Mahogany Springs is an attractive mid-range option that is comfortable and conveniently close to the park headquarters, which is the starting point for your gorilla treks.

The communal building has an open-plan lounge, restaurant, and bar. The lounge features plenty of comfortable seating around coffee tables and a double-sided fireplace.

Accommodation includes 14 superior rooms and four premium deluxe two-bedroom units. The rooms all have ensuite bathrooms with a small verandah with views of the surrounding forest.

In the morning, you will wake early for breakfast & then transfer to the park headquarters for your gorilla trek.

Gorilla Trekking
In the morning, you will wake early for breakfast & then transfer to the park headquarters for your gorilla trek. Hiking through sodden undergrowth up steep footpaths slick with mud to get to the gorillas is very much a part of the experience. You will be tracking through thick forest at heights up to 3,000 metres, traversing steep sided mountains – if the Gorillas are high up it can be arduous and wet.

A standard Gorilla trek is a strenuous hike that can take anywhere from one hour to most of the day.

You must be fit, in good health, and adequately equipped. This is not a technical climb but it can be a scramble/slide/swing up steep inclines. You follow as the gorillas make their way through the forest; giant trees, clinging vines, and undergrowth add to the challenge of swift streams and slippery red mud underfoot. Where the gorillas go, you must follow! The guides carry machetes to help clear a path when the undergrowth gets dense. Each visit is by permit and limited to one hour with the gorillas once you find them. You will be accompanied by a professional gorilla tracker who will coach you on the safety rules and body language required to come close to the gorilla troops.

We recommend staying 2 or 3 nights in Bwindi and doing two gorilla treks.

Gorilla permits are subject to availability and paid for in full at the time of booking. Children under the age of 15 are not allowed on Gorilla Treks.

About This Area

At just 330 square kilometres, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is small, an island of magical forest surrounded on all sides by small-scale agriculture. The area hosts almost half of the world's wild mountain gorillas, with an estimated 400 individuals in 20 troops, of which 9 are habituated to the presence of humans, which means that they can usually be approached without being scared off. The forest is one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet and has been designated a World Heritage Site for its biological significance. It contains 163 species of trees, 104 different species of ferns, over 1000 flowering plant species, 120 mammal species (of which ten are primates), 348 bird species and more than 220 butterfly species

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