The River Station sits on a bluff above the Kazinga Channel, the waterway that links Lakes Edward and George in western Uganda. Guests reach it by boat, gliding up the channel past hippos and crocodiles to a tented lodge in the Kyambura Game Reserve, bordering Queen Elizabeth National Park.
From the deck, the Rwenzori Mountains rise far in the distance
Life at the lodge runs on the channel. Elephants cross it daily, swimming the open water and gathering on the sandbanks below the lodge, while the hippos hold one of the densest concentrations along this stretch of water. From the deck, the Rwenzori Mountains rise far in the distance. The water is the route in, the route to the game vehicles, and the wildlife stage itself.
Jonathan Wright was born in Uganda. In 1993, he was invited to help rebuild the country’s tourism after years of decline, and he has been at it ever since. Pamela Wright, whose eye shapes the design of their lodges, opened The River Station with him in 2024. It is their latest addition to a portfolio rooted in the western Uganda wilderness, and it sits within a reserve where few lodges operate.
The Kyambura Game Reserve holds seven crater lakes
That scarcity translates into space. The Kyambura Game Reserve holds seven crater lakes, the long frontage of the Kazinga Channel, and the forested Kyambura Gorge, home to a community of chimpanzees. Guides run walks, night drives and crater-lake explorations within the reserve, alongside game drives into Queen Elizabeth National Park proper.
A traditional Lamu dhow drifts on the channel at sunset, wind-powered and silent. With no engine to scatter them, it allows close approaches to hippos, crocodiles and shorebirds. The contrast tells the story of the lodge. This is a river-centred safari where boats do as much work as vehicles, and where the channel below stays busy with movement from dawn to dusk.
The day rarely stays still. Elephants stroll past the breakfast table, fish eagles call from the swamps that flank the lodge, and the grunting of hippos carries up from the water through the night. The spa and massage room is built out over a waterhole, so wildlife passes within view during treatments. Two nearby swamps draw pelicans, kingfishers, African jacanas and owls, adding to the birdlife along the channel itself.
This is a river-centred safari where boats do as much work as vehicles.
The tented cottages run along the bluff. Each has a private plunge pool, a large deck facing the water and mountains, and both indoor and outdoor showers. Pamela Wright’s interiors work in a calm palette of soft blues, sand and moss that echoes the river setting, with hand-carved furniture and locally woven throws throughout. A two-bedroom cottage suits families, its separate ensuite bedrooms each with its own deck and pool, joined by a shared living area.
Dining moves with the day. Meals are served in the open main lodge overlooking the channel, on a private deck, or out under the stars at a bush dinner. The kitchen draws on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, fish from the channel among them, across an international menu. Chimpanzee tracking in the Kyambura Gorge sits within easy reach, and the seven crater lakes lie close by for guided walks and drives.
accommodation
The River Station has ten tented cottages set along the bluff above the Kazinga Channel. Each has a private plunge pool, a deck facing the water and Rwenzori Mountains, indoor and outdoor showers, and an ensuite bathroom. A two-bedroom cottage suits families, with separate ensuite bedrooms, their own decks and plunge pools, and a shared living area between them.
activities
Game drives run inside Queen Elizabeth National Park and within the Kyambura Game Reserve, where night drives and guided walks are also permitted. Boat safaris and the sunset Lamu dhow cruise work the Kazinga Channel. Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge, crater-lake walks, birding, fishing, and a waterhole-side spa complete the range.
conservation
The lodge supports a conservation foundation, which funds work across the Kyambura Game Reserve: removing invasive species, restoring habitat, establishing ranger posts, and running community education programmes. Protecting the isolated chimpanzee population of the gorge is a central aim, alongside local hiring across the operation.
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.
The last leg is by boat, which sets the tone for a stay here. You fly from Entebbe to Kasese or the Mweya airstrip in around an hour and a quarter, transfer to the Kazinga Channel, then glide up the water past hippos and crocodiles to the lodge on its bluff. We arrange the flight, the transfer and the boat as one. The flying leg can be a private charter too, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, so the whole journey runs to your timings.
By road it is about seven to eight hours from Entebbe to the channel before the boat leg, so most guests fly at least one direction.
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. Being right on the channel, the lodge sits in classic mosquito country by the water, so the precaution matters here.
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.
It works well for families. One of the ten tented cottages is laid out as a two-bedroom family unit, so parents and children each get a bedroom, a bathroom, a deck and a plunge pool of their own, linked by a sitting space in the middle. Arriving by boat and watching elephants swim across the channel each day tends to win younger guests over completely.
Game drives and boat safaris carry no trekking age limit. Tell us the ages of the children travelling and we will reserve the family cottage and plan the days around them.
The country around The River Station 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 Kyambura reserve and Queen Elizabeth and can fade to nothing at the lodge and once you leave the main roads. The River Station 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. Set on the Kazinga Channel, the lodge is at its best in the dry months, when elephants cross the water daily and the game concentrates along the banks below.
rated five stars by our clients
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.
