Nile Safari Lodge

Nile Safari Lodge sits on the southern bank of the Victoria Nile inside Murchison Falls National Park, downstream of the cataract that forces the whole river through a seven-metre gap. The lodge was substantially rebuilt and now has eleven bandas, all open-fronted to the water, several with private plunge pools.

Hippo and crocodile are permanent fixtures below the decks, and elephant come down to drink along the bank. The signature outing is the boat trip upstream to the base of the falls, followed by the climb to the top, which is steep, hot and entirely worth it.

The northern bank holds the park's best game-driving country, reached by ferry, with giraffe, Jackson's hartebeest, lion and the Nile delta's enormous concentrations of birdlife. Chimpanzee tracking in the Budongo Forest, on the park's southern approach, is an easy half-day add-on.