We are temporary residents in Uganda and are taking a couple of visitors on a tour in Feb. We don't intend to do gorilla trekking so no need to go to Bwindi, so plans are to go from QE Park, spend a day in Ishasha then on to Lake Bunyonyi. Obviously we'll need to spend a night somewhere along the way (not in Ishasha - too expensive or too primitive).
What is the road like between Ishasha and Lake Bunyonyi? Also the road from Bwindi to Bunyonyi.
The road from Lake Bunyonyi to Ishasha leads part of the way back towards Bwindi NP. The road is in really bad condition (well, it was in 2004 but I believe things did not change much since then), full of potholes so your maximum speed will be around 10-20 mph. However you will be driving through one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth (at least for me).
We managed a route from Kabale to Ishasha in one day but I can't recall there's a place to stay anywhere along the route. At that time there were only basic bandas in Ishasha - but we enjoyed them a lot.
Take a lot of water along and watch your gas level - if you get stuck on that road it might take days for another car to pass...
Thanks. Hate to forego the scenery but we spend enough time on potholed roads here. Even with our 4 wheel drive it is torture. I doubt if the road has improved since 2004 either, could even be worse.
I guess we'll go with the original plan to daytrip to Ishasha, then turn around go back toward QE, spend the night, then head toward Bunyonyi and break up that trip by staying a night in Mbarara.
The road from Ishasha to Bunyonyi is actually REALLY bad, one of the worst. The road from Bunyonyi to Bwindi is almost just as bad. I've travelled all over Uganda and those were actually the worst roads in the whole country. Do you have private transport? Because there is no public transport to and from Bwindi or Ishasha. There is a bus that goes from Bushenyi to Kabale but you'll have to find your own transport from Ishasha to Bushenyi and from Kabale to Bunyonyi.
Another suggestion I might add is to go from Kampala to Kabale on the nice highway, then in Kabale there is a budget travel company that does trips from Lake Bunyoni to QENP through Ishasha www.edirisa.org/queen. It's a really nice trip, but def more suited for the adventure/backpacker sort of person as they do stay in tents to keep down costs. Also from there they do a really nice canoe trek which is a much more "cultural" experience www.edirisa.org/canoe.
I know SW Uganda pretty well... spent a year there... so if you have other questions about the area just let me know, I'm happy to help.
cheers!
Thanks Kim. We've lived in Mbarara for nearly a year and have our own 4wd car. Don't know how long since you've lived here but the road from Kampala to Mbarara and to Kabale is horrible. In some places there are more potholes than roads.
We are taking our guests to Lake Mburo, QENP, Ishasha,, Lake Bunyonyi.