Jinja Safari – the Niles Adventure Capital …
A jinja Safari lets you follow the foot steps of popular Victorian explorer John Hanning Speke.
… is a substantial town located in eastern Uganda and famed for being the source of the Victoria Nile, the point at which the great river exits Lake Victoria and commences its 6500km journey to the Mediterranean.
There is still certainly a poignancy that comes from standing on the very spot where Victorian explorer John Hanning Speke first identified the Ripon Falls as the long sought-after source back in 1862.
The Ripon Falls were submerged by the construction of the Owen Dam, a major hydro-electric project dating back to 1953. The main road crosses the barrage just to the west of Jinja town centre.
The town itself remains pleasant enough, if increasingly busy, with some interesting markets and characterful small stores.
Jinja was also an important stop on the historic Lunatic Express railway line from Mombasa. This once critical artery connecting the country with the outside world is now rarely used.
The main reason that visitors come to Jinja these days is in order to enjoy the excellent white-water rafting on the section of the Victoria Nile which lies downstream from the town.
How we like to include this area in trips …
We only tend to recommend Jinja most commonly to guests who specifically want to include white-water rafting , Bungee Jumping and or ATV Quadbiking in their trip.
Wildwaters Lodge … is our top liking choice of Lodge and is the highest quality option in the area, situated on a small private island around 27km downstream from the town.
The majority of visitors tend to stay in just one lodge for 2 to 3 nights.
Jinja is most commonly combined with other popular areas of Uganda including Bwindi Forest, Queen Elizabeth, Kibale Forest,Murchison Falls and the extremely remote Kidepo Valley.
Uganda trips usually hub out of Entebbe, about 3 to 4 hours away by road from Jinja, with combinations typically extending over 10 to 14 nights.
We also like to combine Uganda with Tanzania, most notably for safari in Serengeti and Ngorongoro, a trek on Mount Kilimanjaro and time down on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia.
It is also possible to combine Uganda with Rwanda if at all you are interested in Primates; Gorillas in Rwanda and or Gorillas in Uganda
