Edirisa means a window in Rukiga, the main language of southwestern Uganda. This Gorilla Highlands Experts location strives to give our guests and volunteers an authentic local perspective on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi — since 2002.
ACCOMMODATION DETAILS
Edirisa includes a colourful family house, a spacious family apartment, two cosy grass-thatched huts and a lovely campsite, all hidden in a forest close to Bufuka Primary School, on a peninsula that combines accessibility with the special feeling of being surrounded by a lake.
The Family Apartment at USD 40 offers a double bed and a bunk bed. It includes a room for bathing while toilets are outside of the building.
Our Family House has three spaces: a living room, a twin room that can be converted into a triple and a double room. There is a toilet nearby.
The price is USD 20 for the twin room or USD 30 for the double room. You get the cute little living room as part of the package too.
If you book both the twin room and the double room, the price for the entire Family House will be USD 40.
The Double Cottage has a double bed and a writing table. It is priced at USD 25.
The small Dorm contains two sets of bunk beds equipped with bedding and mosquito nets; a dorm bed costs USD 10 per person.
No building is self-contained; all rooms share a range of sitting and squatting (ecosan) toilets. The showers are open-air and hot water is fire-heated.
There are two social places offered: the canteen with a nice veranda and a tree house.
Pitching your own tent costs USD 7 per person.
Guests have free access to our canoe.
Finally, the most unusual feature of Edirisa is the swimming platform — basically a submerged swimming pool that allows local children safe learning … and our visitors great sunbathing!
All accommodation prices are for bed only; add USD 3 per person for a tasty set breakfast. The Edirisa team also serves delicious meals and snacks from our à la carte menu (available for download here). Alternatively, you’re welcome to join them for a simple staff meal at USh 10,000 only. … Is the eating part of life quite important to you? There’s an article about the excellent cuisine at Edirisa you may want to check out!
The USD rate generally ranges from 3,500 to 3,600 Ugandan shillings per American dollar.
GETTING ACTIVE
Our international team runs trips around Lake Bunyonyi, SW Uganda and beyond: hiking and canoeing trips taking from 2 hours to 2 weeks, motorboat tours, respectful visits to Batwa ‘Pygmies’ and much more, all over the Gorilla Highlands region of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo.
HOW TO BOOK
Please WhatsApp or call +256 761 365 593 or email us (just click on the link).
HOW TO GET TO EDIRISA
The easiest way to reach Edirisa is by special hire taxi (USh 45,000) or a boda-boda motorcycle (USh 10,000) from Kabale Town. There is cheap public transport available on market days (Monday and Friday). Alternatively you can walk to Lake Bunyonyi; it will take you about two and a half hours and provide some fantastic views.
We are in Bufuka village on the eastern shore of Bunyonyi. When coming from Kampala by car, you turn left just after Kabale Town — there will be numerous Bunyonyi signposts. Once you reach the lake you can follow our white signposts. Edirisa comes after Bunyonyi Safaris Resort, the most hotel-like building on the lakeshore. It’s about 30 minutes from Kabale to us; the last 5 minutes the road is rough.
photo: Marcus Westberg, Miha Logar & Edirisa archives
Our Stories from Edirisa:
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How Edirisa Changed My Life, and Theirs (Kitanga 2009)
This is the ninth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. 2009 was a pivotal year for me and Edirisa UK as it was the summer that I first visited the Special Needs Education Centre (SNEC) in Kitanga…
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Thank You, Thank You, Thank You (Bunyonyi & Kabale 2008)
This is the eighth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. My Edirisa story begins with Learn From Africa (see Danger Dave’s story about 2006), the volunteer orientation that brought interesting visitors to my village.I would call the…
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Miles of Smiles (Bunyonyi & Kabale 2007)
This is the seventh instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Experts. Click here for Part I. Year 2007 was that breakpoint year for me, when I decided that the Western world just doesn’t have that much to offer to better my state of…
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Risky Adventures & Learning From Africa (Bunyonyi 2006)
This is the sixth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. Imagine losing everything, your memories, your souvenirs, your little life fragments of ten years … It was 2012 and I was packing up to leave Sydney for…
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Lake From the Lake (Bunyonyi 2005)
This is the fifth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. Hello, all you wonderful humans! For those of you who do not know or remember me, I am the absolutely lovely daughter of one Miha Logar and…
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First Volunteers & Pet Pests (Lake Bunyonyi 2003)
This is the third instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. Are we really going to Uganda for 12 months?! It did look like that … Return tickets for exactly one year were bought, Lariams were in our…
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Shockingly Humble Beginnings (Lake Bunyonyi 2002)
This is the second instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. On my second day at Uganda Martyrs University a collision occurred. A “front of the library, books dropping” kind of affair, ha ha. Little did I know…
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My Lakeshore Covid Life: A Farewell Story (For Now)
Hey you all, this is Brenda! As I am leaving Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi — the place where Gorilla Highlands Experts originated from — after a couple of years of dedicated work, I want to tell you a little bit more about myself, reflect on my time here and leave you with a sincere see-you-later…
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Edirisa Evenings
19mm, f/6.3, 1/5s, ISO400 I like simplicity in photographs, but sometimes simplicity can be found even in busy backgrounds. Here, the contrasting colors of the fire from the rest of the image immediately brings the viewer’s attention to it and the people sitting around it. This is perhaps my favourite image from Edirisa on Lake…
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WARNING: Shooting Is for Kids Only
Watsup world it’s me, the one and only ENYAAAAAAAA with my third Enya’s Blog post. I just finished school so that means I’m spending my summer in the GORILLA HIGHLANDS. Let me get you through why I am at Lake Bunyonyi this time of the year… My bother Maani and I usually go to SLOVENIA…
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Despite the Wisdom of Mountain Goat
It was a glorious day. A day that only those who know Bunyonyi‘s usual climate will know how to fully appreciate. The perfect, sunny, easygoing opening act to four days of rather demanding hiking. The first four miles out of 40 on land and water. Many of the 26 East African Playgrounds volunteers from three…
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35 Days of Backpacking with a Donkey
Ever thought of travelling with a donkey? Marc Ethienne Cuendet, 26, once briefly tried it in Morocco and liked it so much that he bought Rafiki in Mubende and walked with her to Lake Bunyonyi! Their 35-day route went through Fort Portal, Kibale Forest and Ibanda; they avoided Queen Elizabeth National Park not to tempt…
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Hilarious Arrival (Volunteer Life Part III)
It was hilarious to arrive at Lake Bunyonyi. I got out of the car around 10pm, and came down the large, stone steps with just a flashlight on my phone. It seemed like all there was to this place was a fairly big building for dinner, a kitchen, and some dorms. It was really dark…
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Crayfish, Lake Bunyonyi’s Speciality
The third in our Gorilla Highlands Specialities series is crayfish curry, a treat from Lake Bunyonyi in southwestern Uganda. You may also like: Pablo (1 February 1955 – 12 April 2021)35 Days of Backpacking with a DonkeyGood Kind of Crazy: Volunteering and Hiking in Uganda and RwandaTom Karemire (1945-2025)Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Lake BunyonyiLake…
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12 Observations of White People
I’m gonna start by telling you why I know the Bazungu*, the whites. When I was young I wished to work with foreigners. When I was 12 years old in 2002 I joined school at Bufuka Primary School at Lake Bunyonyi. It was difficult for me to speak English because Dad and Mum don’t speak…
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Learn from Local Cooks: G-Nuts & Sweet Potatoes
How else to introduce Gorilla Highlands Specialities, our new section for cooking enthusiasts, if not with groundnut sauce?! It this weekly series we will present not only local dishes but also international meals prepared by top local chefs using local ingredients. You may also like: My Lakeshore Covid Life: A Farewell Story (For Now)Milan vs.…