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.

Forest and savannah meeting in western Uganda

27 August 20268 minute read

Combining gorillas and the Big Five in one trip

Yes, you can see mountain gorillas and the Big Five on one East African trip. It means two habitats and usually two parks or two countries, around 10 to 14 days, and permits bought and paid for before anything else is fixed.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

24 August 20268 minute read

Birding in Uganda: where to go and when

A Uganda birding safari runs west and south-west — Murchison Falls, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi — with a boat trip for papyrus and swamp species. December to February is dry countrywide; June to August is the dependable dry window in the south-west.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

20 August 20268 minute read

Uganda or Kenya for a first safari?

Choose Kenya for classic open-plains game viewing and easier logistics. Choose Uganda if the trip is built around mountain gorillas and forest primates. Kenya costs far more per park day; Uganda costs far more per headline activity.

By The Mnyansio safari desk

18 August 20267 minute read

Uganda or Tanzania for the Big Five?

Tanzania, if the Big Five is the point: Ngorongoro and the Serengeti hold all five between them. Uganda gives you four in the wild — lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo — with rhino at a fenced sanctuary. Uganda's real case is gorillas.

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

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

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Safari journal

Articles tagged Uganda

Combining gorillas and the Big Five in one trip

Birding in Uganda: where to go and when

Uganda or Kenya for a first safari?

Uganda or Tanzania for the Big Five?

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

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

Reading this because you are actually going