Rainforest Guesthouse - Fort Portal - Comments & Reviews

Rainforest Guesthouse is set in the lush gardens of the rural Kasese community, against the backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains and just a 15 minute boda-boda ride from bustling Fort Portal. The Guesthouse is run by Margaret Kemigsa, a dynamic Ugandan woman who also manages several community conservation programs around Kibale National Park. 5% of the guesthouse profits go to local community empowerment projects. Accessed through a secure courtyard, the rooms are colorfully decorated, comfortable, and clean. Bath and toilet facilities are shared. Rates are 40,000 shillings for a double bed, 30,000 shillings for a double room, and 20,000 shillings for a single room. Breakfast, omelettes and toast with local oganic honey, is included in rates. Lunch and dinner, authentic local food like samosas or chapatti, beans, and matoke (plantains) with peanut sauce or sweet carrot soup, are available for 6,000 shillings. The Guesthouse is a 4 hour drive from Kampala and just 17 km from chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park. Other possible activities that can be arraged are: 1) Meet members of a local craft group and learn how they make basket using environmentally sustainable plants and dyes, jewelry from recyced magazines, carved avacado seeds, and coffee beans 2)Meet Kyanyawara cultural group and see traditional dances, plays, and drama 3)Take a guided walk to learn about natural plants used in healing different diseases and meet a traditional healer 4)Visit the Dura or Magombe swamp to look at exotic birds and indigenous wetland plants 5)Take a walk or bike ride through the lush countryside and welcoming villages, including a local tea estate 6)Swim in one of the area's many crater lakes, Lake Nkuruba