The Redesign and Rebuild of Gorilla Forest Lodge

In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda, the air pulses with the thrum of forest birds, occasionally pierced by a screeching L’Hoest or red-tailed monkey. An ancient rainforest and UNESCO World Heritage site, Bwindi is teeming with biodiversity, thick with vegetation and home to half the world’s endangered mountain gorillas.

At the newly redesigned Gorilla Forest Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary and the only safari lodge inside the park, guests relax on private patios high in the treetops, swing in beautiful basket chairs wide enough for two, and enjoy panoramic views of the forest canopy. Leopard or forest elephant sightings are rare, though those animals do also inhabit the park, but mostly there is a sense of being suspended above the primordial forest while time stands still.

Originally a cluster of glamping tents, the new lodge recently underwent a multimillion dollar renovation. It now features 10 spacious suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, private terraces, and oversized jacuzzi tubs and showers, and introduces the Explorer’s Lounge, the Lodge’s social hub, with a full bar, indoor/outdoor dining, and two-room Jungle Spa. The suites, with lavish beds and commodious furnishings, are designed to provide comfort and sanctuary following a day spent trekking after mountain gorillas.

Abercrombie & Kent is relaunching and rebranding its Sanctuary Retreats portfolio of safari camps and lodges as A&K Sanctuary, and began by rebuilding Gorilla Forest Lodge—and Baines’ Lodge in Botswana’s Okavango Delta—from the ground up. “It’s a new hotel that sets a new standard of luxury in the middle of nature,” says Azei Lago, general manager, Gorilla Forest Lodge. “We wanted to make it more comfortable, create more facilities for the guests and give it a sense of place that comes from the forest, and from Uganda,” he continues.

Gorilla Forest Lodge showcases Ugandan craftsmanship, sustainable design, conscious luxury, and connection to the forest environment. Given the remote location, it’s not surprising that sustainability is at the heart of the project, from local artisan sourcing, craftsmanship techniques, and materials that help support local communities. Helmed by South African architectural firm Luxury Frontiers, a leader in ecofriendly and sustainable design, the Lodge appears to melt into the forest, at one with nature and its surroundings.

Design touches rich in heritage are threaded through the lodge, and, according to Lago, every piece of furniture was custom-made in Uganda. Wall hangings and cushions are made from bark cloth, used by the local Batwa people; rugs are woven from reclaimed agricultural byproducts; wall-cladding and ceiling panels were woven from banana fiber and papyrus reed by Ride 4 a Woman, a community organization that supports women by teaching skills and providing economic opportunity. Lampshades are crafted from upside down hand-woven baskets. According to Lago, “dark wood and light wood–mugaru, mbuli, teak” were used to re-create the feeling of “moving through the Impenetrable Forest.”

Given the remote location and long rainy seasons, the project presented a unique set of architectural and design challenges. “Building within the protected and ecologically sensitive Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park required working with the forest rather than imposing on it,” says Graeme Labe, managing partner and chief design officer, Luxury Frontiers. “The lodge, accessible only on foot, depended on materials being transported along remote and difficult access roads before being carried by hand up steep paths to the site.”

Heavy rains, steep gradients, and remote terrain led to construction delays and a scenario that must have felt a bit like a scene from Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, the cult film where the title character obsessed over building a lavish opera house in the Peruvian jungle. Luxury Frontiers worked closely with the local community, and leaned heavily into their environmental expertise. “By relying on local construction techniques and materials that suited both the conditions and available resources, the project honored local craftsmanship and allowed the Lodge to be deeply rooted in its context, balancing functionality, sustainability and an authentic guest experience,” Labe continues. “What could have felt like limitations instead became opportunities for creative problem-solving and meaningful engagement with the local community.”

The Explorer’s Lounge functions as a base camp, where guests come together for talks on culture and conservation, as well as music and storytelling by local villagers. “Our intention was to create a space that feels grounded, intimate, and gently adventurous, encouraging guests to slow down, observe, and absorb their surroundings,” says Labe. There is plenty to discover at the Lounge, with a library of books, maps and artifacts highlighting local culture and ecology, designed in a warm, earthy, textural palette that evokes the rhythm of the forest.

A stylish retail boutique showcases unique local crafts, jewelry and clothing made by artisans from Buhoma, a nearby village, as well as other regions of Africa. Proceeds from sales benefit community projects created and managed by A&K Philanthropy, a philanthropic arm of A&K created by Geoffrey Kent 60 years ago with outposts near their signature lodges.

The colorful chandelier in the lobby was made by local women from the Bead Project, who craft paper jewelry for sale through a microfinance enterprise. According to Dennis Yak, a local field coordinator for A&K Philanthropy, “a percentage of what every guest pays goes toward A&K Philanthropy, and helps support health, education, conservation initiatives as well as economic opportunities for the local community.” Examples of projects range from the Bwindi Community Hospital & Nursing School to The Bwindi Women’s Bicycle Enterprise and Safe Water for Schools Uganda.

Each day begins with a hearty early-morning breakfast, fueled by plenty of delicious Ugandan coffee. Guests gather in the Lounge to gear up for trekking expeditions led by a guide and tracker from the nearby Ugandan Wildlife Authority. The guide, along with a tracker and driver, leads you into the forest to observe families of mountain gorillas–silverbacks, females, juveniles, and babies—in their natural environment, and it is a profoundly humbling experience.

In addition to gorilla trekking, guests can take guided forest walks and waterfall hikes, birding expeditions (with over 350 species in the forest), cultural visits and experiences with the Batwa community, tours of community projects sponsored by A&K Philanthropy, and visit the Jungle Spa.

The two-room spa is simple, cozy, yet refined, a perfect meld of austerity and comfort. Halfway through my “Gorilla Massage,” a torrential downpour blew out the electricity and the backup generator, but my gifted massage therapist didn’t miss a beat. We started with a ritual foot bath, ended with a foot massage and in-between, a full-body massage with warm shea butter and long strokes–one of the best I’ve had.

Guests can enjoy cocktails or a glass of wine in the Lounge or on the outside patio. The vibe is casual, and there’s not a lot of dressing up for dinner, though some guests do. (Due to strict weight limitations on the small bush planes that take you from Entebbe or Kampala, guests are limited in how much they can bring. But there is complimentary butler and laundry service.) At dinner, guests tend to linger, for the company, but also because the food—vegetables, soups, meats flecked with savory Ugandan spices—is so delicious that you’ll want to savor every bite, as well as every minute that you spend in this remote place that pulls you to discover not only a connection with nature, but a profound sense of closeness with yourself.