Mweya Safari Lodge
Mweya Safari lodge is one of the luxury accommodations in Queen Elizabeth National park. The Mweya Peninsula that extends out into the Kazinga Channel, a long natural waterway linking Lake Edward and Lake George. Mweya Safari Lodge is a government property constructed over 30 years ago which has been converted into a large luxurious hotel. The central location is ideal for hopping on Kazinga Channel boat trips, and the views of the distant grasslands merging into the lakes are wonderful.
There is a wide range of room choice for guests at Mweya Safari Lodge. The simplest option is one of the 32 standard rooms, each with an en-suite bathroom and private balcony. For more added benefit of air conditioning, 12 deluxe rooms are available. The Honeymoon Suite is found in a private corner of the grounds with a romantic four-poster bed, and there are also luxury tents for offer which provide a relaxing, romantic atmosphere. For bigger groups, private cottages are available with two and three bedrooms, living areas and spacious verandas.
The lodge offers a bar with large windows and an inviting veranda, gift shop stocked with local crafts, Uganda Wildlife Authority Informational Centre where visitors can learn more about the national park, and business centre. The infinity pool has its own bar, allowing you to sip your favourite tipple as you gaze across the magical Kazinga Channel.
Visitors can choose to sit either inside in the lodge’s formal dining room or outside on the veranda whilst enjoying local and international dishes prepared by experienced chefs. As an added treat, every Saturday evening the lodge hosts special barbecues with performances by traditional dancers.
Mweya Safari Lodge offers a broad range of accommodation. For travellers with a budget, the lodge has 32 standard rooms which all include an en suite bathroom and a private balcony. For the bonus of air-conditioning, you can upgrade to one of their 12 deluxe rooms.
Private cottages are perfect for guests who value space and seclusion. The Queen’s Cottage and the Presidential Cottage include spacious balconies which overlook the Kazinga Channel. There are also 4 Luxury Tents (2 doubles and 2 twins) which offer safari style accommodation with extra comfort via a ceiling fan and an en suite bathroom. The Mweya Health Club puts you in the best mindset to appreciate the wonders of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Unload your excess stress and indulge in a massage, body treatment, or facial. Fitness fanatics will love working out in Mweya’s fully equipped gym. The Health Club even has a steam bath and sauna.
The infinity pool is the perfect place to sip your favourite tipple and gaze across the magical Kazinga Channel. The gift shop sells beautiful East African crafts to take home for your loved ones as well as safari essentials.
Elephant Plains Lodge
Found in the Northeast Escarpment, the Elephant Plains Lodge is one of the newest properties in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It sits high up on the escarpment, offering views that stretch for miles and miles. Right next to the lodge is Lake Kikorongo, frequently visited by herds of elephants (hence the name!).
The lodge is made up of a collection of private cottages set around the main compound. It boasts a bar and lounge set above a pool, showing off the panoramic scenery around the escarpment. This area of the park is particularly stunning, with views of the grasslands stretching to Lake George and the easily accessible Kasenyi Plains where you will often see wildlife wandering through. Guests can choose to stay in one of six double/twin cottages, or a family cottage which offers two separate bedrooms with enough space for five people. All the cottages have en-suite bathrooms with bathtubs as well as showers, expansive windows, and large private verandas with perfect views of the surroundings. The roofs of the cottages are constructed using local brown savannah grass, which helps the lodge blend seamlessly into the surroundings and acts as an effective cooling system.
In addition, the lodge boasts a spacious lounge with comfortable seating areas, a well-stocked bar with bistro seating, and a wonderful restaurant serving an international menu inspired by local favors. Guests can also enjoy Elephant Plains Lodge’s large swimming pool, the perfect opportunity to cool off at the end of a day exploring the park.
Kyambura Gorge Lodge
Kyambura Gorge Lodge, found right next to the Kyambura Gorge in the eastern sector of the park, is quickly becoming one of the best accommodation options in Uganda. Due to its location, it is the perfect base for chimp trekking, game drives and boat safaris.
The building was formerly a coffee plantation store, which has now been converted into the main lodge around which eight luxury rooms have been built. The relaxed style of the buildings, made primarily with wood, stone and thatched roofs, creates an intimate feel.
All the rooms have a large four-poster bed, private veranda, en suite bathroom and seating area full of simple and unique furniture pieces. The style is contemporary yet still providing that classic safari lodge feel. Every guest can also benefit from a personal butler service. The main lodge has a lounge, dining area and bar which are spacious and feature a mix of wooden and tiled floors, large windows, and artwork hung on the walls. The food served in the dining area is of a high standard, served by friendly and attentive staff. There is also a swimming pool and recently opened spa for guests to enjoy.
Accommodation here takes the form of 8 bandas, 4 standard and 4 deluxe. The rooms are very spacious and include queen size beds, en-suite bathroom with private indoor and outdoor walk-in showers, a private veranda and a personal butler. Every bandas has great views over both the park and the gorge.
The main reception area doubles as a lounge and dining hall and leads out on to a swimming pool that overlooks the plains. There is also a small spa facility and a complimentary massage included with every room.
Ishasha Wilderness Camp
The Ishasha sector in the south-west is one of the quietest areas of the park. Here, the Ishasha Wilderness Camp offers a true tented camp experience without compromising on comfort or style. Based on the banks of the Ishasha River, right at the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the camp blends well into the natural surroundings.
It overlook the Ntungwe River, Ishasha Wilderness Camp is built using canvas, wood, and thatched roofs to blend seamlessly into the surrounding woodlands. There is a central area of the camp with a comfortable lounge, bar, dining area, spacious veranda, and even a quiet library. Guests may choose to enjoy their meals inside the dining area, outside on the veranda, or in their own tents. The quality of food is exceptionally high, with both traditional Ugandan and European-style dishes available made with local ingredients wherever possible. In addition, there is a free Wi-Fi service in the lounge where you can relax on the comfortable armchairs and admire the wonderful local artefacts decorating the space.
All of the 10 private canvas tents are deliberately positioned to offer a fantastic view of the local hippos and herds of elephants from their verandas. They are designed in the East African Meru style, and are comfortable and spacious. Each has an en-suite bathroom with eco-friendly toilets and showers to minimize the camp’s environmental impact, as well as solar panels to provide power to the tents.
Katara Lodge
The Rift Valley Escarpment is found in the south-east of the park, rising above the sweeping savannah. Located on the edge of this impressive escarpment is Katara Lodge. Here, the bamboo-based furnishings, thatched roofs, and wooden beams create a natural, relaxed atmosphere that perfectly blends into the surrounding environments.
The lodge is made up on eight individual thatched bungalows with canvas sides and wooden floors, furnished with a large double bed (or twin beds) and en-suite bathroom with bathtub and shower. Preferably, the staffs are happy to set up your bed on your bungalow’s spacious balcony so that you can sleep under the stars. As there are only eight bungalows available, the service at Katara Lodge is attentively handled by professional staff.
The main part of the lodge, where you will find a comfortable lounge and restaurant, is set higher up on the hill and is completely open to the west to provide outstanding views of the plains and the Rwenzori Mountains in the distance. There is also a library, where you can pick up a novel to enjoy outside while relaxing in a hammock.
Environmental sustainability is a big focus for Katara Lodge. They have a rainwater harvesting system to provide water for the lodge, solar water heaters and lighting to minimize energy use, and eco-friendly toilets. There is also a saltwater pool, which minimises the use of chemicals. The wealth of flora and fauna in Queen Elizabeth makes it one of the top attractive safari destinations in Uganda. Pairing a safari experience here with a gorilla trek in Bwindi or chimp trek in Kibale makes an extraordinary wildlife experience.
Activities
All visits to Queen Elizabeth National Park will include a game drive on the Kasenyi plains and boat safari along the Kazinga Channel. If you’re spending more than 2 nights there, you can visit the chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, take a game drive in the Ishasha sector of the park in search of the tree-climbing lions, and visit the crater lakes or the salt plains at Katwe.
Kasenyi Safari Camp
Rating: Mid-range
Kasenyi Safari Camp offers lodge accommodation in the northern section of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The owners strategically built it at the starting point of the safari tracks that are much endowed with big savannah game animals. Staying at this camp will reward a guest with surprising visitors who usually frequent the camp like lion pride, hippo, leopard, buffalo, elephant, waterbuck, kob, hyena, and warthog, the many.
Kasenyi Safari Camp is built on the edge of Lake Bunyampaka. This creator salt lake gives the camps its charming views over the flamingo-colored lake shores and beyond into the northern plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The safari lodge has eight safari tents suspended off the ground, facing the salt lake, designed with en-suite bathrooms and spacious living areas, and private decks. The main lounge and dining area is its most unique structure, giving the guest the African architectural ambiance yet suspending you in a contemporary African safari experience without losing your roots back home.
The safari lodge has eight safari tents suspended off the ground, facing the salt lake, fitted with en-suite bathrooms, spacious living areas, and private decks.
The main lounge and dining area is its most unique structure. It gives the guest the African architectural ambiance yet suspends you in a contemporary African safari experience without losing your roots back home. If you want to leave or get to your accommodation tent, an armed guard will escort you to keep you safe from surprising predators, an experience that will hike your excitement staying at Kasenyi Safari Camp.
Activities
Kasenyi Plains offers the most outstanding wildlife viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park and arguably in Uganda. This part of the park contains Kazinga Channel, Lake Albert, and the antelope breeding grounds, making it an excellent choice for the park’s big cats and a Wildlife Photographer’s heaven. You would need at least two nights in the park to fully exhaust the African bush wilderness experience in the Kasenyi Plains.
Boat trips on the Kazinga channel, not far from the lodge, are available on either a scheduled boat launch or private boat safari lazily floating on the channel’s shores, where you can watch a good spectacle of waterhole drama. On strategic shore locations on the channel are a great choice of exclusive safari lodges and camps.
Lake Bunyampaka, in the lodge’s view, presents impressive attractions like birds, hippos, antelope, waterbuck, and hogs. Nearby is Lake George shores, a magnet for various wildlife species, and the islands like Kankurango, Irangara, and Akika, and most of all, the epic Kasoga Community
Chimp trekking available in the low-key Kyambura Gorge forest reserve. Although chimpanzee sighting may not be highly probable, the gorge reserve offers a relaxing nature walk. Other animals you’ll quickly see in the riverine forest include red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus, baboons, and vervet monkeys are seen.
The park is also known for its variety of avian species, including various falcons, the blue-headed bee-eater, the African finfoot, and 597 bird species recorded. However, Chimpanzee Tracking is what draws visitors to the gorge.
Mweya peninsula area is the most common choice for accommodation in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Still, camps and lodges can get very busy in the high season, making room reservations expensive and scarce.
The main highway on the park’s edge separates the communities of people who live along the boundaries. The road connects the park to the capital city in the east and Kibale National park in the north, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Gorilla trekking. Along this highway is where you most probably will find decent safari lodges and camps.
Marafiki Safari Lodge
Overlooking Lake George on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s northern border, Marafiki Safari Lodge offers private luxury safari tents. The rooms sit on raised wooden floors covered with tapeline canvas walls which guests can roll to view the expansive savannah plains across the park with the imposing Rwenzori Mountains framing the breathtaking views.
Easily accessible from Kasese Airstrip and Kibale Forest National Park, Marafiki Safari Lodge is designed and handcrafted using local materials, fitted by artisans from the park’s local communities. The lodge also offers accommodation in timber cabins that provide comfort and space for a more modest budget traveller.
Basing at Marafiki camp, guests can take a short drive to Kasenyi plains for fantastic Uganda safari game viewing. The most famous park’s game tracks in Kasenyi Plains have excellent wildlife viewing, especially at the Uganda Kob breeding grounds, attracting many predators in the area.
The Lodge is located in the north of Queen Elizabeth National Park, off the Kasese highway. Guests can reach it from Entebbe with a 1-hour flight plus a 2-hour drive from Kasese Airport. From Bwindi, Kihihi Airstrip, guests take a 15-minute flight or a 5-hour drive through the park. From Fort Portal, Kibale Forest, there’s a 2.5-hour drive to the lodge.
Accommodation
Marafiki Safari Lodge offers spacious private bandas with raised wooden floors, constructed from eucalyptus gum poles and canvas, giving the guests freedom to roll up the walls and enjoy breath-taking views over the lake and the vastness of the savannah plains.
Each room is fitted with an en-suite open-air shower for a genuinely perfect bath with the view of the African sunrise over the lake and the moonlight under the stars. For the slightly more adventurous, it has three luxury furnished Safari tents complete with park views. In addition, there’s a luxurious timber cabin for budget travellers that can accommodate 16 people in four spacious dormitory rooms.
Breakfast is served on the restaurant’s veranda, fresh coffee with a full breakfast of seasonal fruits and other fresh local produce. After a long day exploring the park, relax in the bar and lounge area, take in the stunning views whilst enjoying a relaxing meal, and sun-downers while the sun drops behind the Rwenzori Mountains.
Activities
Kasenyi Plains offers the most outstanding wildlife viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park and arguably in Uganda. This part of the park contains Kazinga Channel, Lake Albert, and the antelope breeding grounds, making it an excellent choice for the park’s big cats and a Wildlife Photographer’s heaven. You would need at least two nights in the park to fully exhaust the African bush wilderness experience in the Kasenyi Plains.
Boat trips on the Kazinga channel, not far from the lodge, are available on either a scheduled boat launch or private boat safari lazily floating on the channel’s shores, where you can watch a good spectacle of waterhole drama. On strategic shore locations on the channel are a great choice of exclusive safari lodges and camps.
Chimp trekking available in the low-key Kyambura Gorge forest reserve. Although chimpanzee sighting may not be highly probable, the gorge reserve offers a relaxing nature walk. Other animals you’ll quickly see in the riverine forest include red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus, baboons, and vervet monkeys are seen.
The park is also known for its variety of avian species, including various falcons, the blue-headed bee-eater, the African finfoot, and 597 bird species recorded. However, Chimpanzee Tracking is what draws visitors to the gorge.
Mweya peninsula area is the most common choice for accommodation in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Still, camps and lodges can get very busy in the high season, making room reservations expensive and scarce.
The main highway on the edge of the park separates the communities of people who live along the boundaries. The road connects the park to the capital city in the east and Kibale National park in the north and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Gorilla trekking. Along this highway is where you most probably will find decent safari lodges and camps.
Enjojo Lodge
Enjojo Lodge sits on the southern border of Queen Elisabeth Park in the Ishasha sector. It is built on 40 hectares amidst acacia forest, lush vegetation, palm trees, scattered grassland, and a small lake.
Bird-life is abundant; herds of elephants, buffalo, and antelopes are regularly spotted on the camp’s campus. Resident Vervet monkeys, baboons, and colobus monkeys frequently swing in the branches and get some guest attention.
Enjojo Lodge has six grass-thatched cottages and one Safari House. From the grass-thatched restaurant and bar, guests can enjoy the homemade food and the scenic beauty of a small natural lake.
The lodge is entirely solar-powered and constructed with local materials to blend in with the surrounding natural environment. Most of the furniture and decoration have been hand-crafted by the local community to complement the African decor that adorns the cottages.
The grass-thatched restaurant and bar serves homemade food from the lodge’s organic garden and views a small natural lake. Big herds of elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes are regular visitors to the lodge, while vervet monkeys, baboons, and black and white Colobus monkeys have become residents. Not to forget the abundant bird-life, which makes Enjojo a dream environment for birders.
Enjojo Lodge is located in the southern section of Queen Elizabeth National Park, known for its weird tree-climbing lions. Guests can reach the camp from Entebbe with a 1-hour flight plus a 2.5 hour drive from Kasese Airport. From Bwindi, Kihihi Airtrips, guests take a 15 minute flight or a 4 hour drive through the park.
Accommodation at Enjojo
Enjojo Lodge has seven luxury cottages. Each cottage has its own unique charm, an en-suite bathroom with a rustic outdoor shower.
Four of the cottages are secluded in lush vegetation with swaying palm trees. Cottages are accessible by a wooden elevated walkway leading to and from the restaurant.
The other three cottages are overlooking an open grassland where elephants are regular visitors. From easy chairs on the spacious veranda, you can unwind, relax and enjoy the African wilderness.
The camp is committed to leaving only the lightest of footprints, so it’s solar-powered lighting, flickering kerosene lanterns, and eco-friendly loos all the way.
Under a cool thatched roof, a central lounge and dining area provides a comfortable environment for meals and to relax in during the heat of the day. Under the trees, next to the lake, the chef serves meals ‘al fresco’. The evenings light up the ‘fireplace’ for guests to relax with sun-downers and share their day’s experience.
The food service at Enjojo Lodge is usually of reasonably high quality. Special diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and other variations should not be a problem, so long as you let us know when booking.
We recommend a stay of between two to four nights in the camp to get the hang of it. One of the highlights is the possible viewing of the lions of this area, often found resting in the branches of giant fig trees.
Activities
Enjojo Lodge is about a five minute drive from the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park entrance gate. The lodge is a perfect base for watching the tree-climbing lions.
Other big mammals to watch in the Ishasha area include elephant, buffalo, hippo, hyena, and leopard. Common antelope species include cob, bushbuck, waterbuck, and topi, which are only found in the Ishasha plains.
Whether you are using your own vehicle or the Enjojo Lodge open-roof safari Land Cruiser, Ishasha sectors have spectacular savannah game drives and offer the best private safari drives.
Enjojo lodge can arrange for you sundowner settings inside the park. Sun-downers are a perfect relaxing moment while you hold your drink, the sunset evenings washing golden rays over the Ishasha plains.
Upgrade your Ishasha expedition with a Bush breakfast inside the Park.
Make it a 24 hour safari with bush camping at Enjojo Lodge. Sip your sun-downers around the campfire and enjoy a tasty dinner. Spend the night in one of our double igloo tents surrounded by jungle noises. After a hot breakfast, your game drive will continue.
Morning/Evening visit to Rwenshama Fishing Village. Open-roof Land Cruiser drives you to Rwenshama, a fishing village on the shore of Lake Edward. During the 40-minute drive from Enjojo lodge straight through the park, you will undoubtedly encounter plenty of wildlife. In Rwenshama, see how the traditional fishermen bring their catch onshore: tilapia, lungfish, and catfish.
Hippos lurking, pelicans fishing, and if your timing is correct, the lone elephant bull “Da Boss” will be doing his daily walk along the shoreline.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has over 600 species of birds, making it a prime destination for birders in East Africa. Thanks to the combination of swamps, acacia forest, and savannah grassland, Ishasha attracts many birds, including the shoebill stork. We have a birder guide at your disposal.
The small waterhole (Akanyanza) at Enjojo Lodge is abundant with fish, ranging from three types of tilapia to huge lungfish and catfish. You can rent fishing rods from the Enjojo reception.
This is a two hour nature walk in the countryside behind the lodge will give you a natural feel of the place. It will enrich your trip, bring you closer to nature, and nothing is more relaxing.
Please get to know the local Bakiga culture and see their crafts and unique village. Take a guided walk (1 to 3 hours) or bicycle rides (2 hours).
The lodge is close to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, making it a great option after your gorilla trekking adventure with the mountain gorillas. It’s also a perfect lodge of choice in the southern sector before joining your expedition in the northern section of Queen Elizabeth, NP.