Bunyonyi means place of little birds, and the name is accurate: kingfishers, herons and cormorants work the water, and the hills around ring with birdsong in the early morning. The lake lies in the Kigezi highlands of south-western Uganda, close to the Rwandan border, at nearly two thousand metres, and it is one of the deepest lakes in Africa. Its shore is a tangle of narrow arms and bays, with some two dozen islands scattered across the surface, and green terraced hills drop right down to the water on every side.
Those terraces are the thing you notice first. Farmers have shaped nearly every slope into steps, growing potatoes, beans, sorghum, peas and maize, and the pattern gives the whole district a sculpted look. The climate is cool and mild, with a fresh smell of wood smoke and wet earth, and mist often fills the valleys at dawn. The lake is also known as one of the few in the region where people can swim without much worry about crocodiles or hippos, though locals warn about parasites in the shallows, so check before you dive in. Travellers paddle out in dugout canoes to the islands.
One of those islands has a sad story. Punishment Island is a tiny patch of land where, in earlier times, unmarried girls who became pregnant were left to die or be rescued, a custom that vanished a long time ago but that locals still recount. Another island was home to a leper colony. The lake is beautiful, but its history is not all light.
The ride from Kabale to the lake is short, along a road that climbs a ridge and then drops steeply toward the water. Most of the main roads in the area are paved, but the lanes down to the shore are rough, with ruts and loose stones, and rain can turn them to mud, so take care. The best time is the dry seasons, roughly June to August and December to February. Morning light over the water is magical, and evening brings cooler air, so a jacket is useful. Watch for pedestrians, boda-boda motorbikes and cattle on the road.
Kabale, eight kilometres away, is a sizeable town with fuel, shops and restaurants, and you should fill the tank before you come. Around the lake there are camps and guesthouses, with simple meals of fish, rice, beans and matoke, the green banana stew that is the staple here. Bring cash, as card machines are rare.