Safari journal

Everything here is written by the people who run the trips. Guides, drivers and planners who were in the park last week. We publish when there is something worth saying, which means fewer articles than a content calendar would produce and none of them written to fill a slot.

Most of it answers what guests actually ask us. When gorilla permits go on sale. What the Mara looks like in April. Whether a six year old will cope with a long day in a vehicle.

7 August 20268 minute read

Serengeti or Masai Mara: which one, and when

They are one ecosystem split by a border, so the wildlife is broadly the same. Take the Masai Mara for a short trip and the August-to-October river months; take the Serengeti for scale, the calving season and a longer itinerary.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

5 August 20268 minute read

Ishasha's tree-climbing lions, and whether to detour for them

Ishasha is the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, and its lions genuinely do rest in trees. Sightings are never guaranteed. The detour makes sense if you are already driving between Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi, and rarely otherwise.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

2 August 20267 minute read

Tipping on an East African safari

No tipping rate is published by any authority we could find in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya or Tanzania, so the figures quoted online are house conventions, not rules. What matters is the structure: one amount for your driver-guide at the end, plus one-off amounts for trekking staff and lodge teams.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

31 July 20267 minute read

Trekking the Rwenzori: routes, days and how hard it is

Two companies run the only two routes up the Rwenzori, and the summit is a glacier climb rather than a walk. Which route to take, how many days a Margherita attempt costs you, and when the three-day loop is the better answer.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

A crater lake in the Ndali-Kasenda field

29 July 20268 minute read

The Fort Portal crater lakes, and how to drive them

The Fort Portal crater lakes are a field of volcanic lakes in western Uganda, driven as loops of unsealed murram road south of town. Do them as a half day from Fort Portal, or as the scenic way between Kibale Forest and Queen Elizabeth.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

The Nile squeezing through Murchison Falls

27 July 20269 minute read

The Murchison Falls boat trip: delta or falls?

Murchison Falls has two Nile boat trips running in opposite directions. Upstream takes you to the foot of the falls; downstream takes you to the delta, where the birding is. Both run about two hours and cost USD 30 per person for foreign non-residents.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

The Victoria Nile leaving Lake Victoria at Jinja

25 July 20268 minute read

Jinja and the source of the Nile: what is worth doing

Jinja's headline activity is white-water rafting on the Victoria Nile, with kayaking, bungee, biking, boat cruises and Mabira Forest around it. The Source of the Nile monument is a short, quiet stop rather than a spectacle.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

22 July 20269 minute read

The Sipi Falls Hike, Mount Elgon and the Coffee on Its Slopes

The Sipi Falls hike is a three-to-four-hour guided circuit linking three waterfalls on Mount Elgon's western slopes. It sits outside the national park, so there is no Uganda Wildlife Authority gate and no park entry fee. It is a walk rather than a climb, but a steep and slippery one.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

20 July 20267 minute read

Tracking rhino on foot at Ziwa

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where you can track southern white rhino on foot. A ranger finds the animals, you walk in, and you stand on the ground near them. It takes an hour or two and sits roughly halfway between Kampala and Murchison Falls.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

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More from the journal

Serengeti or Masai Mara: which one, and when

Ishasha's tree-climbing lions, and whether to detour for them

Tipping on an East African safari

Trekking the Rwenzori: routes, days and how hard it is

The Fort Portal crater lakes, and how to drive them

The Murchison Falls boat trip: delta or falls?

Jinja and the source of the Nile: what is worth doing

The Sipi Falls Hike, Mount Elgon and the Coffee on Its Slopes

Tracking rhino on foot at Ziwa

Reading this because you are actually going