Ngaga Lodge

There is something quietly remarkable about sitting on your wraparound walkway at Ngaga and hearing the forest shift around you. The camp is small by design - six en-suite chalets in total, each built from natural materials including locally woven raffia palm panels, all elevated on stilts so that you live at the same level as the canopy rather than beneath it. Ngaga does not feel like a lodge in the conventional sense. It feels like the forest happened to build you somewhere comfortable to sleep. The main living area is raised and looks directly into the trees. Below it a star deck and fire pit sit ready for evenings spent swapping stories from the day's tracking over cold drinks as the forest makes its transition from day shift to night shift. It is not a complicated formula, but it works extraordinarily well. Originally founded as a primate research station before tourism was introduced, the researchers and trackers who live and work here have spent years navigating these trails. You benefit directly from that knowledge every time you step into the forest. Will recommends a minimum of three nights. Given the travel involved in getting here, two is not enough to do it justice, and the gorillas are the kind of thing you want the time to sit with properly.