Papa’s Camp sits deep inside Murchison Falls National Park, on the southern bank of the Victoria Nile and roughly 25 kilometres upstream of the falls themselves. Its five tents stand in a grove of towering fig trees on a curve of the river, looking out over churning rapids. The sound of moving water carries through the camp from dawn until well after dark, and never falls quiet.
Game drives here often run without another vehicle in sight
This is a newly designated low-use zone of around 350 square kilometres, shared only with the camp’s sister property, Kulu Ora, and the emptiness shows in the game viewing. Game drives here often run without another vehicle in sight. Lions are prolific across the sector, and a habituated hyena den close to camp brings viewing that is both close and reliable.
Jonathan Wright was born in Uganda. In the early 1990s he was invited back to help rebuild the country’s tourism after years of decline, and that work led to his first lodge, Semliki Safari Lodge, in 1997. Papa’s Camp, which he and Pamela Wright opened in late 2023, is among their newest additions. The venture is very much a family one, and their daughter Annabelle and her husband James Cairns are part of the business alongside their son Fergus.
The evenings unfold around a firepit on the riverbank
The name honours Ernest Hemingway, who survived two plane crashes in this stretch of Murchison Falls in 1954, and the camp leans into that golden-age character. Canvas walls meet wooden furniture, worn leather and Persian carpets underfoot in the mess tent. The evenings unfold around a firepit on the riverbank, to the grunting of hippos somewhere below in the dark.
Each of the five tents looks out at the Nile through the fig canopy, with a private veranda and an open-air shower. From that veranda, and sometimes from bed, you watch hippos surface and crocodiles bask along the bank, while elephants, giraffes and antelope come down to the water on the far side. The river is the camp’s centre of gravity. You fall asleep to the rapids and wake to the same sound, with the occasional lion call carrying across the savanna in the night.
The low-use zone holds far more than its lions and hyenas. Elephants and buffalo move through it, along with Rothschild’s giraffe, warthog and baboon, and antelope from Jackson’s hartebeest to waterbuck and Ugandan kob. Days are spent working the sector by drive, and after dark the night drives turn up leopard, genet, civet and bushbaby. The run to the top of the falls takes around an hour and a half and passes plains game along the way, the savanna opening wider as the river narrows towards its great drop.
Days are spent working the sector by drive, and after dark the night drives turn up leopard
The river gives more than wildlife viewing. Boat trips run past hippo pods and basking crocodiles, and in this prime Nile perch territory there are kilometres of guided fishing water, all of it catch-and-release. The birding is excellent, with bee-eaters and ground hornbills along the bank and the chance of a shoebill downstream. Guided bush walks add time on foot, under Uganda Wildlife Authority protocols within the park.
Dining draws on fresh, local ingredients and African-inspired cooking, served in the breezy mess tent or out under the stars beside the river. Further afield, the camp arranges chimpanzee tracking in nearby Budongo Forest, a day among the trees that balances the open country of the park. The staff are drawn largely from nearby communities, and their welcome tends to set the tone for the whole stay.
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accommodation
Five luxury en-suite safari tents stand along the riverbank beneath the fig trees, each oriented to the Nile. Canvas walls, wooden furniture and soft linens carry the classic safari aesthetic through, and every tent opens onto a private veranda and an open-air shower. Beds can be configured as king, double, twin or single. The camp welcomes guests aged 12 and over.
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activities
All activities run within Murchison Falls National Park under Uganda Wildlife Authority rules. Day and night game drives explore the low-use sector, often without another vehicle in sight, while guided bush walks, Nile boat trips, catch-and-release perch fishing and birding fill the hours in between. Further afield lie chimpanzee tracking in Budongo Forest and a game drive to the top of the falls.
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conservation
The camp operates in a designated low-use zone where human presence is kept minimal to benefit wildlife. The Wright family's work in Murchison focuses on improving ranger access, supplying equipment and removing invasive species. That benefit reaches the surrounding communities too, through local employment, in-house training, school support and scholarships.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
By air, a light aircraft from Entebbe reaches the Pakuba or Bugungu airstrip in around an hour and a quarter, then a game drive transfer runs on into the remote low-use zone where the camp sits, about twenty-five kilometres upstream of the falls. We arrange the flight and the transfer as one. If you would rather fly on your own schedule, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, direct to the strip.
By road it is roughly five to six hours from Entebbe or Kampala to the park, then further in to the camp's quiet sector. Because the drive in doubles as a game drive, many guests enjoy the last stretch.
Yes. Murchison Falls is a year-round malaria area, as is the whole of Uganda, so it is not somewhere we would ever call malaria-free. The Victoria Nile and the warm, low savanna keep mosquitoes active through the year, so antimalarial cover is the sensible course, particularly with the tents set on the riverbank among the fig trees.
Malaria guidance shifts from year to year, so we always suggest confirming the current advice with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual care against bites after dark: repellent, long sleeves in the evening and the mosquito net over the bed.
The camp welcomes guests aged 12 and over, so it suits families with older children rather than toddlers. The five tents can be set as king, double, twin or single beds, which works for a family taking tents alongside each other.
Days here run on game drives, including night drives, and a habituated hyena den near camp gives reliable close viewing that older children find memorable. Tell us the ages of everyone travelling and we will arrange the tents and the days to suit.
The country around Papa's Camp is warm, open savanna, so light and breathable clothing in neutral colours is the foundation, with a sun hat, high-factor sunscreen and sunglasses for the middle of the day. Bring a warm layer for the early game drive, when the open vehicle is cool before sunrise, and insect repellent for dusk.
Binoculars repay their space here, and a scarf or buff helps against the dust on the tracks. We are happy to send a full packing list tailored to your dates once your trip is set.
Uganda's mobile networks, MTN and Airtel, cover the towns and the main roads, but the signal thins out across the remote low-use zone of Murchison Falls and can fade to nothing at the lodge and once you leave the main roads. Papa's Camp offers wifi in the main areas, best treated as enough for messages and email rather than video calls or streaming.
If staying reachable matters on your trip, tell us and we will confirm the current setup before you travel, and plan around the quieter stretches. Many guests find the drop in signal one of the better parts of being out here.
The dry months bring the classic big game to the Victoria Nile, December to February and June to July, when shrinking water draws elephant, buffalo, giraffe and kob to the river and the low water suits both the launch cruise and tracking the shoebill in the delta. January and February hold the densest game but are the hottest, so June and July tend to be more comfortable.
The two wet seasons turn the park green and are the strongest for birding, though the game spreads out and some tracks soften. In the camp's remote low-use zone the dry months gather the game and the resident lions, often with no other vehicle in sight along the tracks.
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