NDALI LODGE
To enquire about rates, availability or to make a booking at Ndali Lodge, Fort Portal, please email us at tea@tourseastafrica.com or call/watsapp +447908639450
Location
Ndali lodge is a 5 star well managed luxury lodge, situated in Fort Portal Western region of Uganda overlooking the awesome Lake Nyinambuga in the heart of Bunyaruguru Crater Lake about 26 kilometres south of Fort Portal and 40 minutes’ drive from Kibale Forest. Ndali Lodge is located on a tea plantation that covers about 1000 acres of farmland. Ndali is situated in the Ndali Kasenda crater field in Kabarole district in Western Uganda.
Ndali Lodge is perched on a ridge of an extinct volcanic crater that is now filled with a placid lake. You will have a number of sightings of colobus monkeys as well as hornbills from the comfort of your Ndali lodge accommodation. Ndali Lodge is one of the best safari lodge and hotel options in the Fort Portal area, in addition to Kyaninga Lodge.
Fort Portal is blessed with a number of crater lakes and one of them is the location that hosts Ndali Lodge, which overlooks its own private crater lake. It is a beautiful lodge in a relaxing environment and perfect for a weekend getaway or as accommodation for when you are tracking chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park or participating in a Bigodi wetland swamp walk.
Accommodation
The main grass thatched lodge is complemented with an additional 9 cottages that provide lavish accommodation to 18 guests at a time. One of the cottages is a honeymoon cottage. The interior/decor of the cottages is beautifully made of locally sourced materials. The rooms are extremely spacious and large enough to host a family. Each of the Ndali Lodge cottages provides dramatic views to guests as they all face west and have a verandah which looks out over Ndali estate and beyond with spectacular view of the Rwenzori ‘’Mountains of the Moon” on a clear day.
Each room at Ndali lodge is furnished with either two queen beds or large double bed, chairs and coffee tables, luxury bathrooms with warm and cold water supply. The lodge has provision for solar power to provide ample lighting.
Meals are served in a spacious dining room/restaurant or guests can request for room service so that they can have meals in the privacy of their cottages. Breakfast can be had from the viewing deck as you enjoy beautiful scenery of the crater lake, forests and Rwenzori Mountains. Avid birders will have a field birdwatching day as birds are known to come as close as the cottage balconies.
Activities
There are a range of activities that one can undertake while staying at Ndali Lodge. Most famous is a 45 minutes’ drive from Ndali Lodge to Kibale Forest National Park for chimpanzee tracking, bird watching plus tracking other primates found in Kibale Forest. Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is also within a short driving distance from the lodge.
On a Bigodi Swamp walk, participants will see various monkey species and rare bird species like the papyrus Gonolek, white-winged warbler and the white-collared olive back, the African Harrier Hawk, grey parrots, African Marsh Harrier, yellow-billed Barbet and the black billed turaco.
In addition, Ndali Lodge is also close to Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives, boat cruises along the Kazinga Channel, Ishasha sector for the tree climbing lions and Rwenzori for mountain hiking treks. From Ndali lodge, guests can also go on guided nature walks around the 1000-acre farm plus visits to the Ndali vanilla processing plant, to Muhomo Falls, walks to see the crater lakes upclose and personal, visits to local banana and coffee plantations as well as witnessing waragi alcohol brewing in oil drums.
If you simply want to stay at the lodge and relax as part of a weekend getaway, then the lodge swimming pool, sauna, 2 traditional boats on the lake or the crater lake below Ndali Lodge would be a good relaxation focal point. You may simply choose to sun-bathe on the shores of the lake or go kayaking on a 2-man kayak that is provided by the lodge to go bird watching and wildlife viewing closer to Ndali Lodge.
Ndali Ventures:
Ndali works closely with 2 schools in the area. Mbuga primary School, situated at the end of the driveway, and Sadhguru School built on Ndali estate. The lodge also sponsors a number of children through various levels of school.