Mweya Safari Lodge

Mweya Safari Lodge offers visitors an unforgettable experience. Located on a peninsula within the heart of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mweya Safari Lodge is surrounded by the magical Rwenzori Mountains aptly described as the ‘Mountains of the Moon’.

To the east, lie the guardians of the birthplace of mankind, the Great Rift Valley hills, separated from the Mountains of the Moon by the meandering Kazinga Channel. Here the water flows endlessly into two giant lakes – Lake George and Lake Edward.

The Lodge is located on a peninsula within the heart of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and surrounded by the magical Rwenzori Mountains – the ‘Mountains of the Moon’; Mweya Safari Lodge offers visitors a spectacular experience of luxury in the wilderness.

The Lodge offers a range of activities and attractions: take a game drive and discover a vast array of wild game; experience a launch trip on the Kazinga Channel using one of our luxury boats; or watch some of the 619 different species of birds available to be seen.

Nearby, chimpanzees can be found in the breathtaking Kyambura gorge – a formation of the natural rift in the earth. Here the ancient movement of tectonic plates has created a natural forest habitat for hippos, monkeys, chimpanzees, elephants and buffaloes.

Each room at Mweya Safari Lodge has a breathtaking view of the Kazinga channel. You can watch the forest hogs grazing the grass outside, as well as the odd curious hippo! Our cuisine is of the highest quality, presenting a range of exquisite Continental, Indian and International cuisine.

For those who want to unwind and relax, what better way than with a massage? The Mweya Health Club and spa offers treatments to revitalize you after a long day out in the game park. With an abundance of game, and some of the best bird watching in Africa, Mweya Safari Lodge is the perfect place to start your journey of discovery.

Presidential Cottage
This is a spacious cottage, finely appointed with luxurious amenities. The ideal elegance and an array of unique rustic furniture pieces conjures a spirit of intimacy, whist the soothing modernistic interiors emphasize comfort, space and privacy. The spacious balcony rewards one with sensational views of the Kazinga channel and grand designs of Mother Nature.

Queen’s Cottage
For those of you seeking the ultimate comfort; the Queen’s cottage offers one a different world of experience, novelty and exclusivity.

The unique monastic architecture offers an elegant authentic complement to the exquisite landscaped environment and fantastic views. The grand balcony does not disappoint holding spectacular views of lush vegetation and rich wildlife and the famous meandering Kazinga Channel.

Superior Tents
All tents have ceiling fans, showers, dressing tables, work desks, and wonderful deck terraces, with lounger chairs, to marvel at the stunning views of the Kazinga channel in front of you! If it is the safari feel you are looking for, go no further and stay here!

The Royal Cottage
Ideally suited for families, the Royal cottages is tastefully furnished with climate control air-conditioning for maximum comfort after an ‘Out of Africa’ experience.

The secluded cottage offers one a sense of tranquility as the soft ambience of the rooms, color, luxurious fabrics and rich natural wood, takes you far from the stress of the outside world. The Royal cottage is very similar to the Rwenzori cottage, although it has one en-suite master bedroom with a Queen-sized bed, and one twin bedroom.

This cottage has the same features as the Rwenzori cottage, although it also has a 41″ Plasma TV screen with DSTV connection (satellite). The Balcony offers breathtaking views of Lake Edward and the silhouetted Rwenzori Mountains.

After a long thrilling African safari, reward yourself in style by sinking in the elegant confines of the Royal Cottage. The Balcony offers breathtaking views of Lake Edward and silhouetted Rwenzori Mountains. You can be sure of optimal comfort.

Restaurant & Cuisine
Guests may choose to dine indoors in our elegant, formal dining room, or outside on the veranda, where the setting is enhanced by spectacular panoramic views across the Kazinga Channel.

Treat yourself to the mouth-watering menu of local and international specialties produced by our experienced chefs. Special barbecues and traditional dancers make a Saturday evening at Mweya Safari Lodge an occasion to remember.

The Tembo Bar
The Tembo Bar has panoramic view over looking the Kazinga channel and Lake Edward. Enjoy the shimmering sunset over the lake, whilst drinking a wonderful sundowner. The bar verandahs are a perfect place to relax after a day out in the national park. The décor and furniture represents a bygone era of early explorers, synonymous with the term ‘safari’.

The Mweya Health Club
Indeed. Seize the moment and pamper yourself. Your holiday in the wilderness will take you away from the stress of daily duties and frantic routines. Why not complete the experience by unwinding and relaxing in our spa and wellness center, smack in the middle of an exciting African wilderness?

With an exercise studio, hair salon, treatment rooms, sauna, and steam bath, our health club offers a holistic experience to restore the balance between mind, body, and spirit.

Choose from our menu of massage therapies, body treatments, facials, and hair care. Or have a good workout in the exercise studio of our state-of-the-art gym… and then treat yourself to a steam bath or sauna.

Meetings & Events
Mweya Safari Lodge has become the ultimate, intimate ‘bush break’ venue from small private parties to weddings and formal gatherings. The lodge’s indoor and outdoor conference facilities can be configured to meet clients’ precise requirements.

For exclusivity and privacy, conference groups are encouraged to take over the entire lodge for the duration of their stay. Ideal for smaller breakaway group working sessions or for ‘open air’ conference meetings can be organized, where the only distraction may be the occasional visit of the hippo, elephant, buffalo or other game!

Corporate Functions
Imagine your next conference miles away from the hustle and bustle of the choking city. Why not enjoy the peaceful surroundings and wide open spaces of the Queen Elizabeth National Park?

If you are planning a conference Mweya Safari Lodge offers state-of-the-art conferencing facilities guaranteed to make your meeting experience pleasurable and as comfortable as possible.

Social Functions
As far as romantic backdrops go, they don’t come any more spectacular than at Mweya Safari Lodge. Everything about the place seems to provide a thrilling accompaniment to a romantic holiday, an experience you will never forget.

Perhaps let us plan a wedding for you at Mweya Safari Lodge and we will ensure that this once in a life time experience will leave an indelible experience to a start of a relationship.

Conference Facilities
Imagine your next conference miles away from the hustle and bustle of the choking city. Guests will find a fully equipped, air conditioned conference room and an elegant board-room to service all your business or workshop needs.

The Business Centre
Our Business Service Centre (open from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week) meets all the needs of the traveling business executive, including internet access. Stay in touch with the world at your leisure.

Activities
The wildlife biodiversity in Queen Elizabeth National Park is most astonishing with 95 types of mammals and 612 different birds. The Kazinga Channel alone is said to contain the world’s largest concentration of hippos. Other wildlife includes lion, warthogs, buffalo, rare aquatic sitatunga antelope, giant forest hog, Uganda kob, topi, waterbuck, elephant and leopard.

Mweya is an Ornithologist’s Paradise
Varied habitats in Queen Elizabeth National Park – lakeshore, swamp, grassland and forest – support a remarkable 612 species of birds – over 60% of the 1,008 species of indigenous and migratory birds recorded in Uganda.

Highlights include the Martial Eagle, the African Fish Eagle, Shoebill, Papyrus Gonolek, Lesser and Greater Flamingo, White-tailed Lark and Verraux’s Eagle Owl. Forest species including some less common species from the Congo basin can be located in Maramagambo Forest.

Amongst the discerning ornithologists, Uganda has for long been the best kept secret in terms of its plethora of bird species with over 1,000 on record.

Going on Safari
The floor of the Rift Valley teems with wildlife making it one of the treasures of the continent. Game drives are available both morning and evening using Mweya Safari Lodge’s vehicles and knowledgeable drivers. Alternatively, guests may opt to use their own vehicles, perhaps with a ranger guide hired from the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

You should request a wake up at 5.30-6.00a.m for the early morning game drive which is usually the most rewarding. Tea and coffee in the Lodge’s reception area is served to refresh you before you depart.

Wildlife on the North Kazinga plains closest to the Lodge includes elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, waterbuck, bushbuck and warthog. Another common-but unexpected-sighting in this area is the Giant Forest Hog, Africa’s largest pig, which is usually associated with dense forests rather than semi-open thickets.

The Kasenyi sector on the east side of the Kasese road is best known for the lions which prey on large population of Uganda Kob that live in this area.

Water Safari
The 36km Kazinga Channel connects two Rift Valley lakes: Edward and George. These are named after Queen Victoria’s son and heir, Edward VII and his own successor, George V.

Early explorers in Africa often had to cope with inhospitable terrain and travel by boat was especially difficult. Now you can experience the sights and sounds that greeted these early pioneers in luxury and comfort.

Cruise the Kazinga Channel and view the immense concentration of hippos at close range, spot over 100 species of water birds, marvel at the majestic elephants in their natural habitat and the notorious Nile crocodiles sunbathing on the channel bank.

The Sunbird seats ten passengers in comfort, or for the ultimate in luxury enjoy refreshments and canopies aboard the Kingfisher, which seats twelve. Both launches have experienced guides and crew, with all the necessary safety equipment.

Trekking Chimpanzee in Kyambura Gorg
Visitors can track chimpanzees in the dramatic Kyambura Gorge on the eastern side of the park, 35kms from the Lodge.

It is home to a variety of wildlife, including the only primates in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The area is an important water source for many animals and is surrounded by savanna, but is generally noted for its high concentration of primate life located in the gorge.

You can also find red-tailed monkey, black-and-white colobus, baboons and vervet monkeys. The gorge is also known for its variety of bird species including various falcons, the blue-headed bee-eater and the African Finfoot.

Katwe Explosion Crater
Dozens of extinct volcanoes of a particularly violent type known as ‘explosion craters’ dot western Uganda. Explosion craters they are called because in their ‘hay-days’ eruptions were so violent that rather than piling debris around their vents like some volcanoes, they spewed ash and rock far and wide.

Today, they are mostly crater (extinct) although some still emit sulphurous smells. There are three main concentrations; theKatwe Explosion Craters in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the nearby Bunyaraguru CraterFieldon the Kichwamba escarpment and the lovely Ndali-Kasenda Crater Field near Kibale National Park. Of the Katwe Explosion Craters the huge Kyemengo Crater is decidedly the most enthralling.

The katweExplosion and Salt Craters are a short drive from Mweya Safari Lodge. There are two saline lakes but Lake Katwe is the better known. It is 3,265 feet deep and is highly saline. In pre-colonial times, salt was quite as valuable as gold.

Although it’s former value has diminished, salt extraction has triumphed over time and technology for salt is still traditionally extracted this day. A system of pans have been built around the edge of the lake. Water is then let into these compartments and allowed to evaporate leaving the essential salt.

Although impure at 85% sodium chloride, it’s still sought after. It’s interesting to observe the salt extraction process, and also birdlife can be spectacular with large flocks of flamingo that converge at the crater lakes because they sift the algae in the, and an assortment of wabers. Being enclosed by the park boundaries, hippos and warthogs and elephants can be seen.

Culture Talk
A great opportunity to explore and enjoy the diverse cultural and traditional practices of indigenous tribes in the area, and a unique opportunity to interact with these indigenous people whose rich cultural heritage extends down the centuries.

Tree-Climbing Lions
The famous tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector are found in large fig trees in the remote southern extremity of the park. These tree-dwelling lions prey on the Topi, Uganda Kob, and (if feeling confident!) Cape Buffalo which graze Ishasha’s beautiful acacia studded savanna.

Ishasha is 124kms from Mweya Safari Lodge so the return excursion takes the greater part of a day. It is however ideally placed for a visit on the journey to Bwindi.

Gorilla Trekking
Mountain gorilla tracking in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be included in the Mweya Safari Lodge itinerary. An encounter with these rare and gentle creatures is Uganda’s most famous tourism attraction and one of the world’s most remarkable and exclusive wildlife experiences.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a few hours drive from Mweya Safari Lodge. Options could also include flying there, as Mweya Safari Lodge has it’s own airstrip located a short distance from the main lodge.

Bush Breakfast
A bush breakfast is a must when you stay with us. Woken up early, guests are driven to a beautiful picnic spot via the Channel Track and Campsite 2. Along the way, there are chances to see elephant, lion, hippo, leopards, warthogs and other wildlife and birdlife.

Watch the eagles soar in the skies above the Kazing Channel while you eat your freshly prepared breakfast in the wildest setting. We only give you the best because you deserve the best!

Pelican Point
This remote grassland lies in Queen Elizabeth National Park, 2km beyond Katwe. The Point enjoys excellent views across Lake Edward and you’ll appreciate why it was proposed for the park’s first lodge (though it’s also understandable that Mweya was selected instead).

Today with just one faint track Pelican Point is fun to explore with an experienced guide/driver to ensure you don’t get lost!

Website: www.mweyalodge.com

Rooms: 54

Price: from 301 EUR per night