Elephant Plains Lodge sits high on the western escarpment of the Albertine Rift, in the north-eastern reaches of Queen Elizabeth National Park. At 941 metres, eight grass-thatched cottages look down on Lake Kikorongo, where herds of elephants gather to drink within sight of every veranda, the lounge and the pool deck.
At 941 metres, eight grass-thatched cottages look down on Lake Kikorongo
Amos Wekesa built it as part of a wider vision for high-quality Ugandan lodges, having made his career in tourism from the ground up. The lodge reflects that. Its staff are hired from nearby villages, its food and materials sourced close by, and its walls raised from savannah grass and river granite rather than imported finishes.
From the escarpment edge, the land falls away across open savannah to Lake George, with the Rwenzori Mountains rising in the distance. The cottages face this directly through floor-to-ceiling glass, each with a private veranda angled toward the lake and the plains below.
The cottages face this directly through floor-to-ceiling glass
Game viewing follows the geography. The Kasenyi Plains lie a short drive away, where high densities of Uganda kob draw lions to one of the park’s most productive areas for predators. The Kazinga Channel is within an hour, alive with hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds. Both sit inside Queen Elizabeth National Park, where Uganda Wildlife Authority rules govern every activity on the land.
Roofs are thatched with brown savannah grass that keeps interiors cool in the equatorial heat, and walkways are paved with black granite drawn from the Mukubu River, which runs down from the Rwenzori Mountains. Interiors are spacious and unfussy. The large en-suite bathrooms hold both a deep bathtub and a shower, some positioned to keep the plains in view while you bathe. The whole operation runs on solar power, drawn from the equatorial sun.
Mornings open with the calls of African fish eagles carrying up from the water. Evenings bring a Ugandan gin and tonic in the lounge as the light drops behind the Albertine valley. The main restaurant offers indoor seating and an outdoor deck with sweeping views over the grasslands, where a menu of international dishes carries local flavours. For those who want to eat under the open sky, a bush dinner can be arranged out on the plains.
Roofs are thatched with brown savannah grass that keeps interiors cool in the equatorial heat
Beyond the game drives, the surrounding park rewards exploration on wider terms. Chimpanzees can be tracked in Kyambura Gorge, a short drive from the lodge. Guided walks lead through Maramagambo Forest to its bat cave, home to thousands of Egyptian fruit bats and the pythons that hunt them. Birdlife is strong across the region, with grassland species particularly well represented on the plains below the escarpment, where the savannah opens out toward the lake.
Families are well looked after here. Two of the cottages are family units, each with two en-suite bedrooms sleeping up to five. The swimming pool, set above the plains with views across the park, gives parents and children somewhere to settle between drives, while elephants move along the lakeshore far below and the day slows to its own unhurried pace.
accommodation
Eight grass-thatched cottages: six double or twin units and two family cottages, each with two en-suite bedrooms sleeping up to five. All have private verandas, floor-to-ceiling glass facing Lake Kikorongo, and large en-suite bathrooms with both a bathtub and a shower. Cottages are spaced along the escarpment for privacy.
activities
Game drives concentrate on the Kasenyi Plains for lions, Uganda kob, elephants and buffalo. Boat trips run on the Kazinga Channel, and chimpanzee tracking is arranged in Kyambura Gorge. Guided walks explore Maramagambo Forest and its bat cave. All activities fall within Queen Elizabeth National Park under Uganda Wildlife Authority rules.
conservation
The lodge runs entirely on solar power and was built using locally sourced materials, including savannah grass and Mukubu River granite. Staff are hired from nearby villages, and food is bought from local farmers. A community levy is included in rates, and the owners' Great Lakes Foundation supports education and conservation work near Uganda's national parks.
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.
Flying is the easy option. A light aircraft from Entebbe reaches Kasese or the Mweya airstrip in about an hour and a quarter, with a short transfer on to Elephant Plains Lodge, high on the escarpment in the north of the park. We handle the flight and the ground transfer as one arrangement, and we can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, flown direct to the strip at whatever time suits your day.
The drive from Entebbe or Kampala is around seven to eight hours, so most guests fly at least one direction, especially if Queen Elizabeth sits between the gorillas of Bwindi and other stops.
Yes. Queen Elizabeth is a year-round malaria area, as is the whole of Uganda, so it is not somewhere we would ever call malaria-free. The lakes, the Kazinga Channel and the low, warm savanna keep mosquitoes active through the year, so antimalarial cover is the sensible course. The lodge's position on the escarpment brings a breeze but no exemption from that basic precaution.
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.
Yes. Two of the eight cottages are family cottages with two en-suite bedrooms each, sleeping up to five, and elephants often gather at Lake Kikorongo below in full view of the verandas and pool, which makes for easy wildlife watching close to the rooms.
Game drives carry no trekking age limit, so children can join them. Tell us the ages of everyone travelling and we will set aside the family cottages and shape the days to suit.
The country around Elephant Plains 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.
A swimsuit is worth packing for the pool between drives. 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 northern reaches of Queen Elizabeth and can fade to nothing at the lodge and once you leave the main roads. Elephant Plains Lodge 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 make for the easiest game viewing, January and February and again June and July. Thinning grass and shrinking water draw elephant, buffalo and kob to the Kazinga Channel and firm up the tracks south to the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, with July the driest and most reliable of all.
The long rains of April and May can cut off parts of the Ishasha sector, but the greener months, roughly November to April, bring the migrant birds and quieter days. From the escarpment the Kasenyi plains and Lake Kikorongo below are busiest in the dry windows, when the elephant herds gather to drink within sight of the verandas.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
