Kyambura Gorge Lodge
Bandas · Kyambura, on the Kichwamba escarpment · Volcanoes Safaris
High-end
Boundary unconfirmed
Safari company
Kyambura Gorge Lodge stands on the Kichwamba escarpment above the gorge on the eastern side of the park, where the chimpanzee trekking starts. Volcanoes Safaris describes the setting both as inside the park and as inside the buffer zone, so read the area note before assuming entry is covered. The Kasenyi plains and the channel cruise lie down the escarpment to the north, and Ishasha is a full three hours away. Do not confuse this with Kyambura Game Lodge, which is a different company altogether.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Nearly everything is included, down to premium spirits and massages
- Children up to 12 pay $100 a night; under fives are free
- A $50 nightly fee funds the conservation trust next door
- Exclusive use of the lodge and chimpanzee group is on offer
- Walk the Fig Tree Trail straight from the lodge to the gorge
Cons
- Among the most expensive stays in the whole park
- The lodge's own wording on park versus buffer zone conflicts
- A separate chimpanzee trekking permit is not included in the rate
- Ishasha's fig tree lions are a full three hours away
What's here
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Spa or massage
Read from Kyambura Gorge Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Queen Elizabeth National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryCharged per 24 hours rather than per night.
- $40per person, per day
- VehicleA Ugandan-registered 4x4, the usual hire car, at UGX 30,000; a foreign-registered 4x4 pays $150.
- $8per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $264 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Entry is sold in 24-hour blocks that begin when you pass the gate, so a trip that starts at midday and ends at 16:00 two days later is charged as three days, not two.
The full fee schedule for Queen Elizabeth National ParkRates at Kyambura Gorge Lodge
From $950 per person, all inclusive. US dollars per person per night sharing. High season 2026: standard banda $1,570 and deluxe banda $1,895, with sole use at $1,870 and $2,265. Low season 2026: $950 and $1,140. For 2027 the high season reads $1,645 and $1,990 and the low season $995 and $1,195. A community fee of $50 per guest per night goes to the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust on top. Included are the room, meals, soft drinks, standard and premium spirits, cocktails, cellar collection wines other than French champagne, single malts, laundry, all lodge activities and all massages. The $25 UWA fee for the chimpanzee trail sits inside the rate while the chimpanzee permit does not. Children up to 12 sharing pay $100 a night and under fives are free. High season runs 1 June to 30 September and 15 December to 28 February.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates, read in September 2026 from each property's own website, rate card or factsheet. Twenty-three of the forty-two publish a rack rate of their own. The other nineteen say on request, and no agent or tour operator figure has been used to fill a gap. Watch the basis, because it decides whether two numbers can be compared at all: some quote per person per night sharing, others per room, per tent or per cottage, and meals sit inside some rates and outside others. Park entry is extra almost everywhere at $40 per foreign non-resident adult per 24 hours, plus the vehicle, and the Kazinga Channel cruise is $30 on top.
Questions about Kyambura Gorge Lodge
Is Kyambura Gorge Lodge good for families?
Yes, with clear pricing. Children up to 12 sharing with parents pay $100 a night and under-fives stay free. Volcanoes Safaris' own rates page sets a 12-year minimum age only at its separate Virunga Lodge; Kyambura Gorge is exempt from that limit, and it also offers exclusive use of the property together with its own chimpanzee trekking group, which suits a larger family travelling together.
What does the rate at Kyambura Gorge Lodge include?
Almost everything. The per person rate covers the room, all meals, soft drinks, standard and premium spirits, cocktails, most wines, single malts, laundry, lodge activities and massages. A $25 UWA trail fee for the chimpanzee walk is included, but the chimpanzee permit itself is not, and nor is the $50 per person nightly community fee that goes to the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust.
Is Kyambura Gorge Lodge inside Queen Elizabeth National Park?
The lodge's own wording does not settle it. In one place its site says the lodge sits in Queen Elizabeth National Park, in another it says the Kyambura Gorge buffer zone, and guests walk the lodge's own Fig Tree Trail to reach the park's official starting point, which points to a position just outside the gate. Ask directly if the boundary matters to your plans.
Can you book Kyambura Gorge Lodge for exclusive use?
Yes. The lodge can be booked together with its own chimpanzee trekking group on an exclusive-use basis, with villa-style rates available on request. This suits a family or group wanting the whole eight-banda property, four deluxe and four standard, to themselves rather than sharing activities with other guests.