Lake Bunyonyi ("Place of many little birds") is in south-western Uganda between Kisoro and Kabale,[6] close to the border with Rwanda.

[14] In 1921, English missionary Leonard Sharp came to this part of Uganda and in 1931 established a leprosy treatment centre on the then uninhabited Bwama island.

Except for water birds, few aquatic animal species are naturally present in this isolated highland lake.

[2] Originally, there were no fish or crayfish in the lake, but the catfish Clarias liocephalus, Nile tilapia, Singida tilapia, haplochromine cichlids of Lake Victoria origin and red swamp crayfish have been introduced.

[2] Aquatic vegetation is locally abundant and include species such as papyrus, swamp sawgrass (subspecies jamaicense) and blue lotus.

[2] Lake Bunyonyi is popular for its green and lush terraced hills that are punctuated with a plethora of over 200 bird species.