Bushara Island camp

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Are you on your way to see the mountain gorillas, or just looking for a retreat on your journey? Come to Bushara Island Camp, a popular facility on Lake Bunyonyi (“Lake of the Little Birds”). The first of its kind, the camp is a stopover to and from Gorilla tours, a bird watcher’s haven, and a private place for retreats. This small island is peaceful, safe, natural, intriguing to day-visitors and families, and a sanctuary for the weary traveler. The perfect location to get away from it all, Bushara Island is a wonderful place to relax in comfort surrounded by nature. The green hills and papyrus swamps offer many opportunities for bird watching and Eucalyptus trees and shady nooks along private paths provide quiet places to sit and read a book.

The Eucalyptus trees, papyrus swamps, and flowery plants of Lake Bunyonyi are home to over 200 species of birds, such as the Harrier Hawk, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-chested Sunbird, Tropical Boubou, Grey-capped Warbler, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Paradise Monarch Flycatcher and the Red-billed Fire finch.

The volcanic lake is bilharzia-free and safe for swimming, sailing, canoeing, and, for the more adventurous, windsurfing. As well, we offer cultural tours, dance performances, night-time canoe tours of the lake, several bird watching tours on the island and around the lake, and walking trails and benches for quiet moments. Besides the natural setting, we offer friendly high-quality service and a good selection of delicious and affordable meals at “Swallows” Restaurant. Our luxury safari tents and range of cottages provide a variety of comfortable self-contained accommodations, each in a private setting with a view of the lake.

Bushara Island camp is in partnership with a local crafts women group, Lake Bunyonyi women’s group that has also subscribed to UCOTA for the supply of handicrafts. Some of the women work will be displayed at the campground or you can contact the camp to meet with them or buy some of their artifact. The money that you use to buy the crafts hear go a long way to support the local women meet their household basic need in the area

Activities and experiences

Comfortable furnished Safari tents and cottages (single, double or family)
Accommodation and meals
Spectacular bird watching
Dugout canoeing, sailing, windsurfing, and swimming
Volleyball and badminton
Cultural dance performances
Nightly campfires and a telescope for stargazing
Cultural tours and nature walks
Conference facilities (large groups welcome!)

Highlights

The canoe tour around Lake Bunyonyi with guidance of the local community members
Seeing the local people on the canoe with produce or livestock taking them to the market of a team of kids going to school
The multitude of birds on the island and an opportunity to o the birding any time and everywhere on the island
Swimming in the deepest lake in the region
A Cray fish meal locally fished from the lake Bunyonyi
A visit to the pigmy market on the mainland
The views of the lake and other island network while at the restaurant or in your accommodation surrounded by wild bushes only leaving the view of the lake
Using the telescope to view the stats or the smallest birds in the region.

Responsible Travel

The camp funds an education program which involves scholarships, school construction and scholastic purchases for the local schools
Training the local community on the different living and production skills. The children are trained on how to swim and water safety skills since they have to cross the lake every day of their life to study to firm and at other time
The camp provides market for the local crafts made by a local women’s group
Crafts development, carpentry, tree planting, boat building, farming and many other skills has been trained to the local people to give them income opportunities.
Training the local youth and sometimes sending them to work in other hotels or retaining them as the workers at the campsite. The camp is fully run by the local labor
A diverse tree planting program is supported by the camp to afforest the camp, their other lands on the island and to give the seedlings to the local community conservation initiatives.
The camp buys local produce as supplies to use in the restaurant.

How to get there:

Bushara Island is located on Lake Bunyonyi 8km from the town of Kabale in the south-western tip of Uganda. For those in need of transportation, special hire taxis are readily available from Kabale town to Lake Bunyonyi for 10,000/= each way. It is a good idea to book return travel before departing for the lake, as taxis from the lake are scarce. Transportation from Kabale or the Rwandan border can also be arranged through Bushara upon request.

Contact us to book

Bushara Island Camp PO Box 794 Kabale, Uganda

Phone: 256 (0) 486-26110 Mobile: 256 (0) 772-464585

Email: busharaisland@africaonline.co.ug

Or contact:

UCOTA/Pearls of Uganda

Phone: +256(0)414-501-866/+256(0)772-657-700

E-mail: info@pearlsofuganda.org

Website: www.pearlsofuganda.org

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