Murchison Falls National Park
Nile Safari Lodge
Rating: Luxury Stay
Price: $680 (single), $1060 (double) pp/night
Elevated on the Victoria Nile southern riverbank between the Albert delta and Paraa jetty, Nile Safari Lodge offers a magical family escape in the most luxurious, tranquil and eco-friendly setting in the heart of Murchison Falls National Park.
Nile Safari Lodge is located 20km downstream from the thunderous Murchison Falls, providing access to the prime game activities in the park. Its ingenious, environmentally conscious design that blends seamlessly with its surroundings makes it one of Uganda’s most luxurious wilderness escape.
The lodge’s minimally intrusive design is marvellously crafted from local eucalyptus wood and other locally sourced material, seamlessly blending in with the scenery, without compromising comfort or aesthetics.
Nile Safari Lodge is a perfect choice for family travel or luxury Uganda safari holidays in Murchison Falls National Park.
Murchison Falls is a well known but relatively remote wildlife reserve in northwestern Uganda between Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga, bisected by the Victoria Nile. The Park is centred on a major Nile river waterfall, the Murchison Falls, and has a reasonable amount of wildlife, including elephants, hippos, Rothschild’s giraffe, buffalo, crocodile and lions. The Paraa stretch boat safari cruise along the Nile to the waterfall base is one of the most popular ways to see the park’s vast richness. The Nile delta is where birdwatchers will find the most sought after shoebill stork.
Murchison Falls National Park itself forms a major part of the very substantial 5,308 square kilometres Murchison Falls Conservation Area, which contains a wide range of forest, savanna and riverine landscapes and is particularly pretty in parts.
The Lodge is located a 5-hour (305 km/189 mi) drive from Kampala via Masindi, Kichumbanyobo Gate, Mubako Gate through the park. For the more adventurous, one can also access the lodge via the escarpment road passing through Bulisa and Wanseko.
Nile Safari Lodge has a helipad for private helicopters, GPS coordinates 2°15’08.7” N 31°31’10.2”E, and can arrange a jet-ranger helicopter for 3 passengers at $3900. For small chartered flights from Entebbe International Airport, the nearest airstrip is Bugungu Airstrip, about 25 minutes drive to the lodge.
Accommodation
Nile Safari Lodge has eight luxurious bandas secluded among tall trees and thick shrub along the Nile banks. The fine sleeping rooms have en-suite facilities with indoor and outdoor showers, a mini-fridge and a private deck. Exquisite wooden décor and luxurious double beds are typical.
Characterised by creative and purposely simple designs, each has its unique style and offers ultimate privacy for a wilderness or romantic getaway. An Exclusive Banda, the perfect room to spend a romantic getaway, is available and provides a private plunge pool and star bed for romantic stays.
All Nile Safari Lodge rooms are subdivided into three categories: Deluxe Bandas, Exclusive Bandas and one Family Banda with shared living space, a private swimming pool, and an outdoor viewing terrace.
The restaurant offers excellent dining spaces for communal eating. However, guests can choose from private dining spaces, including the terrace, underneath the shaded pergola, and a candlelit dinner at your private deck for intimate moments.
The in-house lodge chef gives a sumptuous menu featuring international and continental dishes with a safari twist, fresh-baked bread and pastries every day. The cocktail bar is a perfect place to meet other travellers and chat away the safari evening.
This lodge is COVID-19 compliant with facemask, and hand sanitising compulsory in public areas. Please read our policy on COVID-19 for this lodge.
2021 Rates
| Season | Deluxe Banda | Exclusive Banda | Family Banda |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW SEASON 1 March 2021 – 31 May 2021 1 Oct 2021 – 14 Dec 2021 | $680 pn/single $1,060 pn/double $110 child (5-15) | $860 pn/single $1,060 pn/double $110 child (5-15) | $2,100 pn |
| HIGH SEASON 1 Jan 2021 – 29 Feb 2021 1 June 2021 – 30 Sept 2021 15 Dec 2021 – 31 Dec 2021 | $1,150 pn/single $1,760 pn/double $165 child (5-15) | $1,430 pn/single $2,200 pn/double $750 child (5-15) | $3,100 pn |
2022 Rates
| Season | Deluxe Banda | Exclusive Banda | Family Banda |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW SEASON 1 March 2021 – 31 May 2021 1 Oct 2021 – 14 Dec 2021 | $750 pn/single $1,170 pn/double $120 child (5-15) | $950 pn/single $1,460 pn/double $120 child (5-15) | $2,310 pn |
| HIGH SEASON 1 Jan 2021 – 29 Feb 2021 1 June 2021 – 30 Sept 2021 15 Dec 2021 – 31 Dec 2021 | $1,265 pn/single $1,970 pn/double $185 child (5-15) | $1,575 pn/single $2,420 pn/double $750 child (5-15) | $3,310 pn |
Amenities
Laundry services
En-suite Bathroom & Bathtub
Restaurant & Snack Bar
Swimming Pool
Private Deck
Activities
The Lodge’s vantage point provides access to a wide range of guided activities. However, the lodge may include most of them on your room’s price. Please make sure you check with your booking manager or safari operator.
Motorboat safari to the base of the waterfalls
The motorboat safari up the Victoria Nile to the base of the Murchison Falls, a three-hour round trip, is a must-do activity for anyone visiting Murchison Falls National Park. You’ll, most probably, catch sight of the hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, Rothschild’s giraffe, elephants, and lions along the Nile banks.
Motorboat safari to the Nile Delta
A 3-hour motorboat safari in the other direction, downstream towards the delta at Lake Albert, is a tranquil trip to find the rare shoebill storks and other papyrus endemic bird species. Guests can take an early morning ride and have breakfast onboard or a late sunset ride.
Game drive safari
The richest savannah wildlife for great game drive safaris lies between the Victoria Nile and the White Nile. Guests can access it through the Paraa Vehicle Ferry, a motorised pontoon that usually offers crossings every couple of hours in each direction. The most entertaining areas are the savanna grasslands of the Buligi area, around the Victoria Nile delta on Lake Albert.
On the southern side of the Victoria Nile, where the landscapes are more heavily wooded, wildlife is not so easy to spot, but the trails might be worth exploring on your way to the Top of the Falls.
Chimpanzee tracking
The nearby Kaniyo Pabidi Forest (268 sq km) is a beautiful natural forest dominated by giant mahogany and ironwood trees. The forest is home to over 800 chimpanzees, about 90 of them (6 troops) habituated for tourism and available for chimpanzee trekking. Other primates you could watch in the forest include black-and-white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys and olives baboons.
The forest also has many bird species, including such highlights as chocolate-backed kingfishers, white-thighed hornbills and the exclusively endemic Puvel’s illaposis.
Another place to watch primates and bird species near Nile Safari Lodge is the Rabongo Forest, an island of tropical river forest set in a sea of grassland in the southeast of the conservation area. There are fewer visitors to this forest, and sightings are likely to include a similar range of wildlife, but without the habituated chimpanzees.
Hiking
By far, the most popular hiking option is the 45-60 minute trail to the top of the waterfalls, from where you can view the mighty cascade from a range of angles and elevations. In addition, guests can reach the trail as part of a game drive safari or a motorboat safari up the Paraa stretch.
Balloon safari
Dream Balloons operates at a take-off site on the river’s north bank, around 17km from Nile Safari Lodge and tends to fly either east towards the Murchison Falls or west towards Lake Albert, depending on the prevailing wind conditions. The balloon uses an 8-passenger basket with a pilot. Flights last 45-60 minutes and include a bush breakfast wherever the balloon lands.
Bird-watching
Murchison Falls National Park is a wildly endowed birding destination in Uganda, with over 450 recorded species. Specie highlights include ground hornbills, secretary birds, black-bellied bustards, open-billed storks, weavers, swallow-tailed bee-eaters, red-throated bee-eaters, woodland kingfishers, francolins, grey herons, martial eagles, African fish eagles, papyrus gonoleks, lesser flamingoes, greater flamingoes, white-tailed larks, Verreaux’s eagle owls and shoebill storks.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
The 70 sq km Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, en route to Murchison Falls National Park, offers guided walks to get up close and personal with the last of Uganda’s white rhinos. It is a project well worth supporting.
Unfortunately, the sanctuary lies over 100km south of most of the lodges in Murchison Falls, making it a long day trip and probably out of range for most people. However, if you happen to be driving out from Kampala, it is close to the main road and a great place to break the journey.
EXPERIENCES
Our Uganda safari experiences in Murchison Falls National Park are entirely customizable with the help of an expert safari planner. We can show you these and more for inspiration to put together an incredible trip to Africa.
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