Ndali lodge

Ndali lodge one of the best upscale market lodge,  located just adjacent to the Kibale park head quarter in Ndali Kasende center, which is 26 Km from Fort Portal town. The lodge is 5 hours drive from Kampala via Fort Portal. The lodge is just half an hour drive to Kibale National park, with a stunning view of the crater lakes.

From its exciting location to its magnificent views, surveying the ‘Mountains of the Moon’, Ndali Lodge is a truly beautiful place. Situated on the rim of an extinct volcano, which has since filled with water, the lodge looks out upon the incredible Lake Nyinambuga.

Ndali Lodge offers 8 en suite stone and thatch cottages which are all suitable for families. With an emphasis on using local materials the interiors are imaginatively and comfortably furnished. Each cottage consists of a bath, shower, WC and hand basin and a private verandah, perfect for watching the sun setting behind the Rwenzori Mountains, the snow-capped peaks of which are clearly visible on a clear day.

Ndali Lodge lies at the centre of 1000 acres of privately owned fertile farmland still cultivated in a traditional style and is perfectly situated for viewing a mass of wildlife and flora and the local cultural attractions having an English country house atmosphere in an African setting.

OVERVIEW

Built on land originally owned by tea farmer Trevor Price, and developed by his son in the 1990s, Ndali Lodge is now run by Aubrey Price, whose attention to detail, care for the land and ability to create a relaxed and real Ugandan country experience is remarked upon time and again in guest feedback.

A thatch, wood and stone build, Aubrey’s father, Mark is credited with Ndali Lodge design, and with the fact that it is built from locally sourced and found materials. Consisting of a main lodge and 8 sleeping cottages, it is situated on the rim of an extinct volcano. The main lodge includes a reception, lounge, dining area, bar and veranda. Marked by polished floors, white walls, exposed beams, lightweight seating, well-chosen local artefacts, and lit at night by candles or hurricane lamps, the main lodge’s interiors are welcoming, intimate and relaxing.

ACCOMMODATION & FACILITIES

There is a main thatched lodge with spacious sitting room, reception area and dining room flanked by 8 cottages providing luxurious accommodation for 16 guests. The cottages which face west offer a panoramic view of the spectacular ‘Mountains of the Moon’. They were designed by Capt. Mark Price and are built of local stone and thatch. The interiors are imaginatively and comfortably furnished where the decor emphasis in on the use local materials. Each cottage, large enough to accommodate a family, has en-suite facilities

The eight cottages provide luxurious accommodation for 16 guests. Facing west, they offer panoramic views to the spectacular ‘Mountains of the Moon’. The cottages are built of local stone and thatch and interiors at Ndali Lodge are imaginatively and comfortably furnished, using local materials. Each cottage, large enough to accommodate a family, has en-suite facilities with bath, shower, WC and hand basin and a private veranda, perfect for watching the sun setting behind the Rwenzori Mountains, the snow-capped peaks which are visible on a clear day.

At night the dining room is festooned with candles as the lodge has no electricity. The sitting room, reception and dining room open out onto Lake Nyambuga and are connected by two open passageways or breezeways: fruit bats, owls and frogs like to use them as a highway to the Crater Lake.

Facilities include a swimming pool, lounge and library, dining room, laundry.

DINING

Excellent food (mostly produced on the farm) is served in beautiful surroundings, often on the terrace outside.The food is fabulous; a cut above most lodges’ food and the service is impeccable. This is clearly a place where the owners’ enthusiasm and professionalism rub off onto the other staff. Dinner on is a real occasion and the selection of Curries and condiments provided cannot be out of place at a top restaurant in Uganda. All Ndali’s water comes directly from the lake, pumped up hydraulic ram based on technology invented in the 1770’s.

ACTIVITIES

Walks round the 1000 acre farm and to Mahoma waterfall, boating on the lake, swimming in the lake, trips to a tea plantation and to Kibale Forest National Park (chimp tracking) and the Bigodi wetland sanctuary.

CHILD POLICY

Children are welcome.

Activities

Ndali Lodge provides a perfect base from which to visit some of the region’s most popular attractions.   Kibale Forest National park, famous home of the largest concentration of chimpanzees in Africa, as well as a bewildering variety of other primates, birds and butterflies, can be reached within 45 minutes.

Also close by is the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a community-based conservation project that is home to a variety of monkeys and other mammals and, more importantly some of the more rarely seen birds such as the White-winged Warbler, White-collared Oliveback and Papyrus Gonolek. Other species frequently spotted are the African Marsh Harrier, African Harrier-Hawk, Grey Parrot, Black-billed Turaco, Yellow-billed Barbet and White-breasted Negrofinch. A little further afield, three more of Uganda’s national parks are within easy driving distance from Ndali Lodge, from the World Heritage listed Rwenzori Mountains National Park to Uganda’s most famous park, Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Closer to home, Ndali provides local guides for walks around the 1000 acre farm and the Ndali Vanilla processing plant or to the nearby Muhoma Falls. Walks will take you around crater rims, past alcohol brewing in oil drums, through banana plantations, vanilla plantations, coffee terraces, plots of cassava, groundnuts, sorghum and millet.

Below the lodge, on the lake itself, is a sturdy jetty, set in the most tranquil and secluded spot and frequented by 5 different species of Kingfisher. From here guests can swim in the lake, soak up the sun or simply get away from it all. We have an inflatable two-man kayak that can be used for spotting birds and other wildlife by the lakeshore.

The lodge is a perfect place for a weekend retreat, to relax by the pool, enjoy the sauna and massages, do yoga on the yoga pagoda, or simply recharge and watch the abundant flora and fauna, a good selection of which can be seen from the verandas of both the lodge and the cottages.