Lake Mutanda

Lake Mutanda is a freshwater lake situated in the southwestern part of Uganda, the lake Mutanda is one of the ideal places you should venture while visiting Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for gorilla trekking.

Lake Mutanda Rutshuru River that flows northward to Lake Edward, the lake is dotted with 15 islands surrounded by farmlands, lush vegetation giving it priceless views. Lake Mutanda is drained by river Rutshuru which flows northward to Lake Edward.

Activities at Lake Mutanda
Canoeing at Lake Mutanda is one of the common tourists’ activities in the lake, the traditional dugout canoes area great way to explore the lakes flora and fauna providing spectacular views of beautiful islands and spot some aquatic birds.

For those who love water spots, tourists can do sports fishing at the great lake Mutanda, tourists doing this activity can go with local fishermen who are well experienced and know the lake better. Some of the fish in the lake are mad fish, catfish, tilapia and many others.

Lake Mutanda is situated in the Virunga range area which is mountainous and a perfect place for mountain biking, tourists can rent bikes from Kisoro town or come with their own bikes. Biking is one of the best ways to explore the African countryside.

There are various hiking trails tourists can take around the lake and at the islands, tourists can hike from Buhoma to Nkuringo and continue to Lake Mutanda next day. While on a nature walk tourists can spot several species of birds like; Great cormorant, malachite kingfishers, pied kingfishers, pin-tailed whydah and so much more.

Lake Mutanda is nestled within the three of the Virunga volcanoes: mount Sabinyo, mount Gahinga and mount Muhabura. These mountains provide priceless views of most of the Virunga ranges like mount Sabinyo can only be hiked from the Ugandan side and the peak is shared by three countries that are Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo.

Activities near Lake Mutanda
Gorilla trekking is one of the most activities attracting tourists to Africa and can only be done in the Virunga area of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. The endangered mountain gorillas can be trekked near Lake Mutanda at Mgahinga gorilla national park, Bwindi national park or Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. Tourists can obtain permits at only $600 in Uganda and $1500 in Rwanda.

Golden monkey trekking can be done at Mgahinga national park which is home to about 4000 golden monkeys, they are beautiful to behold and very playful, love flash cameras and very interesting. Golden monkeys move in troops of up to a hundred individuals and the price for trekking the monkeys is cheaper and they can easily be found, unlike gorillas.

Accommodation & Getting There
There various accommodations around Lake Mutanda and some of this are; Volcanoes hotel, Sky blue hotel, Mgahinga safari lodge, Gahinga rest camp, travelers rest camp, travelers rest inn, gorilla safari lodge, and Buhoma community bandas and many others.

Lake Mutanda can be reached 454 kilometers from Kampala by road about 10-11 hours tourists can also use a plane from Entebbe international airport to Kisoro airstrip. Lake Mutanda can be visited all year round.