Celebrating the beginning of Volcanoes Safaris at Mount Gahinga Lodge

Praveen Moman, the founder of Volcanoes Safaris, first went walking near Gahinga in 1966 aged twelve with his father Kuldip Rai Moman. 

Over thirty years later, in 1997 he returned to the region to help rebuild gorilla tourism and the following year started to build Mount Gahinga Lodge, the first Volcanoes Safaris lodge.

Those were difficult days in the aftermath of the genocide and upheaval in the Great Lakes region.

Today Mount Gahinga Lodge is a much loved jewel and symbolises the connection of Volcanoes lodges with communities and conservation. It is the perfect base to go gorilla tracking, track the rare golden monkey, climb a volcano, walk through local villages and most of all to share the culture of the Batwa.

In May 2018 the VSPT launched the Gahinga Batwa Village, a permanent settlement for over 100 members of the Gahinga Batwa community.

From October the lodge will have a direct private footpath to the entrance of the Mgahinga National Park.

The Moman Banda

In August we launched a Deluxe Banda named the Moman Banda to mark the centenary of Praveen’s father Kuldip Rai Moman's birth in 1918.

The colourful crafts in the room are handmade by the Batwa women at the nearby Volcanoes Batwa Vocational Centre.

The earthy natural tones complement the locally made furniture and the beautiful Ugandan handwoven textiles.