Lake Bunyonyi

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Lake Bunyonyi

Nature. Culture.

Together. | Gorilla Highlands presents Uganda’s pretty Lake Bunyonyi where we offer affordable stays and volunteering at Edirisa

website: gorillahighlands.com/lake-bunyonyi Camping USh 15,000 ($4) • Dorm USh 25,000 ($7) • Twin Room USh 60,000 ($17) • Double Cottage USh 70,000 ($20) • Double Room USh 80,000 ($23) • Family House USh 120,000 ($34)

All Edirisa accommodation is non-self-contained

29/07/2026

A look back at Milan’s time at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi …

19/07/2026

An actress, a Wheeling2help volunteer, a great writer … you simply need to see what Iro has for you!

15/07/2026

A volunteer’s moment on our lake …

08/07/2026

She got much less Bunyonyi than she had wanted — but Anne will be back!

01/07/2026

One of the cool activities you can do at our lake!

24/06/2026

It all began at Bunyonyi …

14/06/2026

Ebola & Travel to Uganda or Rwanda: Separating Fact from Fear

01/06/2026

A marvellous Bunyonyi weekend is behind us!

10/05/2026

Ask anyone in Bufuka, our little village on a Lake Bunyonyi peninsula, for “Teacher” and you won’t get directions to the primary school. You’ll be pointed to a home filled with laughter, chat, and the smell of obushera, the local brew.

That’s where you’ll find Meble Kyarimpa, a 58-year-old grandmother of five. She’s never stood in front of a blackboard, yet she’s the most beloved teacher in the community, and the nickname fits perfectly. Over the years she’s quietly shown others how to live: how to farm, how to cook, and — most crucially — how to make the obushera.

Originally from Kachwekano atop the hill, she moved to Bufuka after marriage and has been here for 37 years, alongside her husband, an actual former school teacher. When he fell ill, she shut her bar, set farming aside, and devoted herself to caring for him. To keep things going, she started supplying obushera to the shops in nearby Rutinda, a skill passed down from her mother. Selling it from home was the obvious next step.

Her compound has become something of a local institution, where Bufukans gather around the metallic cup and drink cold nights away. “I like having people around here,” she says. “It brings business and joy.”

Locals will insist her obushera is the finest around, and they’re not wrong. She uses up to 30 kilos of sorghum per batch, far more than most, which gives it that thick, smooth, deeply satisfying character.

The journey from seed to cup is no small affair: months of growing, days of sprouting under banana leaves, drying in the sun, grinding, and mixing. The latter still follows the traditional Kiga method: a paddle in a small canoe. Teacher prefers her brew slightly fermented, with a gentle sourness to it. She produces fresh batches several times a week.

Over the years she’s watched Bufuka change: sturdier houses, more children in school, more tourists passing through. She sees progress in all of it, but worries the traditional ways are quietly slipping away. Every cup she pours, though, is her small act of keeping the culture alive.

text and photo: Milan Verdonk

11/04/2026

Remember Sammy, our resident rat-chaser? She’s been having quite the adventure lately.

It all started with the former official cat of Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi. He’d swapped his cushy lakeside life for the bush, but curiosity got the better of him when he clocked lovely Sammy. So back he came, and before long the two were enjoying regular evening “playdates.” Very friendly, those two!

By early January, whispers were going round. Sammy’s belly was looking suspiciously rounder by the day. Not everyone was buying it, mind you — some staff insisted she’d simply gone a month without proper food and was making up for lost time. Sure, that must be it.

By the end of January, there was no denying it: Sammy was expecting. One Wednesday morning, three tiny kittens appeared beside her. And then a fourth showed up the next day, sporting a bold black head stripe that made her the instant celebrity of the litter.

She spent a fair bit of time auditioning locations for her new family before settling down. Then came the vet visit. Sammy had a wound on her belly, likely a souvenir from one of her wilder dates. The treatment was meant to help. It did not. The injection left a nasty open wound, and for a while even reaching her kittens felt like summiting Everest.

So she made her move, carrying each kitten, one by one, to the canteen. With a nudge from the staff, the whole family got sorted into a snug cardboard box. Sammy looked absolutely shattered as her offspring crawled over her like she was uncharted territory.

Fuelled by mum’s milk, the kittens soon decided the nest was overrated. She puffed and meowed (we’re fairly sure that’s cat for “finally”) as her brood took on the kitchen. They tumbled over each other, swatted at anything that moved, and famously picked a fight with some Irish potatoes. Staff morale soared.

When the time came to find them proper homes, it felt emotional but fitting. The black kitten caught the eye of the neighbouring Black Cat Hostel (obviously), while the others headed off to Kabale Town. Letting them go wasn’t easy. Knowing they’d bring a little chaos and joy to their new places made it just about bearable.

Address

Bufuka Village
Masaka

Telephone

+256761365593

Website

https://experts.gorillahighlands.com/edirisa/

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