Paraa Safari Lodge

Paraa Safari Lodge, Luxury in Murchison Falls NP

Rating: Luxury Stay
Price: $219 – $982 pp/night

Strategically situated along the Victoria Nile, downstream about 20km from the magnificent Murchison Falls, Paraa Safari Lodge is a popular safari accommodation in Murchison Falls National Park. Its classic explorer decor and infused design offer exclusive creature comforts in the savannah bush. Originally built in the 1950s, Paraa Safari Lodge has maintained its historic charm and continues to provide the classic safari luxury amenities that most travelers seek in Africa. In fact, if someone told you that Sir Samuel Baker slept at Paraa Safari Lodge, you wouldn’t have a second thought about it.

With 54 rooms, Paraa Safari Lodge is larger than most safari lodges, with amenities aplenty. The vast pool with a swim-up bar is a favorite among guests on hot summer afternoons. Each room has an ensuite bathroom and a balcony with a view. Guests can choose from different room types, including cottages, suites, double, twin, and single rooms.

If you’re planning a Uganda Safari in Murchison for a large group and would like to host business conferences mid-safari, Paraa Safari Lodge is an excellent choice. The lodge is located on the northern bank, which provides easy access to the northern game tracks where tourists can find most of the animals in Murchison Falls National Park.

Murchison Falls National Park is a well-known but relatively remote wildlife reserve in northwestern Uganda, bisected by the Victoria Nile. The park is centered on a major Nile River waterfall, the Murchison Falls, and has a reasonable amount of wildlife, including elephants, hippos, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffalo, crocodiles, 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. Birdwatchers will find the most sought-after shoebill stork in the Nile Delta.

How to reach Paraa Safari Lodge

Murchison Falls National Park itself forms a major part of the very substantial 5,308 square kilometers of Murchison Falls Conservation Area, which contains a wide range of forest, savanna, and riverine landscapes and is particularly pretty in parts.

Paraa Safari Lodge is located a 5-hour (305 km/189 mi) drive from Kampala via Masindi, Kichumbanyobo Gate, and Mubako Gate through the park. For the more adventurous, one can also access the lodge via the escarpment road passing through Bulisa and Wanseko. The 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 a 25-minute drive to the lodge.

Accommodation

36 standard rooms, 15 deluxe rooms, 2 suites, 3 safari tents, 1 cottage
Rate Includes: All meals

Standard rooms are sold as single, double and twin rooms with a comfortable, simple safari atmosphere. Each of the standard rooms has a swimming pool and winding Nile views.

Nile Safari Lodge offers the Queen’s cottages that give guests a different world of experience, novelty and exclusivity for ultimate comfort. The unique architecture peacefully blends into the landscaped environment and expansive savannah plains views. The grand balconies boast spectacular views of lush vegetation and rich wildlife, as well as the famous River Nile.

The safari suites are the perfect Murchison Falls accommodation for guests who want a little more space and privacy to relax during their Uganda Safari holiday. Each suite has a spacious living room with comfortable sofas and a refreshment minibar for a long day out on the game tracks.

There are 3 standard tents located a short walking distance from the main lodge building. The tents are perfect for a more authentic ‘classic safari’ experience. Even so, the tents are superbly furnished with modern interiors and linens – still reflecting and creating a mood of being ‘in the wild’.

Food

The house chef prepares great meals with special dietary inclusions served in the main building. The Captain’s Table restaurant located on the upper floor is good to try out for a raised view of the expansive savannah plains. Elephant herds are easily seen on the plains. Memorable barbecues and traditional dancers make a Saturday evening at Paraa Safari Lodge an occasion to remember.

Brighten up your evenings at the Explorer’s Bar and pop up a couple of Martinis. Lazy lax on the soft couches or catch up with other explores around the bar. There’s so much to talk about in Africa, especially if you’re spending a night in the bush.

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.

Paraa Rack Rates

Child Rates:
USD 68 for 1-2 Children sharing with parents
USD 103 for 1-2 Children in a private room

Activities at Paraa Safari Lodge

Paraa Safari Lodge offers a unique vantage point for experiencing the best of Murchison Falls National Park on your safari adventure. While access to great game drives and boat safaris are not included in your room’s price, your booking manager at Nkuringo Safaris can help you plan your activities. Here are some of the exciting activities you can enjoy during your stay at Paraa Safari Lodge:

Water Safaris to the Base of the Waterfalls

Embark on a motorboat safari up the Victoria Nile to the base of the Murchison Falls, a three-hour round trip, and witness hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, Rothschild’s giraffe, elephants, and lions along the Nile banks. The boat safaris start at Paraa Lodge and provide a unique opportunity to explore the Nile River waters.

Boat Safari to the Nile Delta

Take a 3-hour motorboat safari downstream towards the delta at Lake Albert, an opportunity to witness rare shoebill storks and other papyrus endemic bird species. Paraa Safari Lodge 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 motorized pontoon that usually offers crossings every couple of hours in each direction. The savanna grasslands of the Buligi area, around the Victoria Nile delta on Lake Albert, are the most entertaining areas for game drives.

Chimpanzee Tracking

Explore the nearby Kaniyo Pabidi Forest, 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.

Nature Hiking

Hike 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

Take a balloon safari operated by Dream Balloons, which offers a take-off site on the river’s north bank, around 17km from Paraa Safari Lodge. The balloon uses an 8-passenger basket with a pilot and flies either east towards the Murchison Falls or west towards Lake Albert, depending on the prevailing wind conditions. 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

Visit the 70 sq km Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary en route to Murchison Falls National Park, and enjoy guided walks to get up close and personal with the last of Uganda’s white rhinos. It is a project well worth supporting.

While 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, it is a great place to break the journey if you happen to be driving out from Kampala.