Today, allow me to tell you why I believe Lemala Wildwaters Lodge is my all time favorite lodge in Africa and the recent contest in which it became the second most ‘instagrammable’ luxury lodge in the world by Luxury Travel Advisor website simply confirmed what some of us have always known.
Wild Waters Lodge is one of a kind, meaning the experience, views and ambience you get here cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. Talking of absolute exclusivity; it is perhaps the only island resort of its kind on River Nile in Uganda if not the entire universe with breathtaking water rapid views that surround it almost entirely.
Having been a frequent traveler in and around Uganda and a few countries in Africa, I have so far had the opportunity to sleep in over 250 lodges and of all these lodges I usually rank them based on location, proximity to the capital city, the x-factor, dining experience and overall uniqueness. Here below allow me to share my experience at Lemala Wild Waters Lodge based on the above criteria.
My three nights stay breakdown
I had the fortune of spending three days and two nights at the lodge. The ever present thundering rapids of the R. Nile and green serene natural riverside forest environment hovering over this lodge made it the perfect place to escape from the daily hustles of entrepreneurship.
How to get to Lemala Wild Waters Lodge
You can access the Lemala Wildwaters Lodge by road through the Kampala-Jinja highway, and take a turn on the left at Njeru roundabout, in Jinja to Kangulumira town. Alternatively, you can drive along the Gayaza-Kayunga road, and connect to Wildwaters at a small town called Kangulumira. At Kangulumira you will see a large, blue Wildwaters sign on the left-hand side. After Kangulimira you just drive on a dirt road for about three kilometres following the signage and you will get there. For my trip, I chose the Gayaza-Kayunga route while going and through Jinja while coming back. Usually the Gayaza-Kayunga route comes with less traffic jam compared to the Kampala-Mukono-Njeru route.
Arriving at the lodge
Set on a six acre island that sits along the world’s longest river, Lemala Wildwaters Lodge is the epitome of a water front lodge. You will be helped to cross to the island via an engine powered canoe. Safety is taken seriously as you are given life jackets. The canoe ride takes less than five minutes, being that the river is about 100metres wide. Upon arrival at the lodge shores, I was ushered in by the lodge’s very warm and welcoming reception manager and some much desired cold refreshments and warm face towels. Meanwhile by this time you are already feeling the thunderous sounds of the ever present water rapids that surround the lodge. Prepare mentally to have the rapids wow all your senses for the length of your stay at Wild Waters lodge from which it aptly gets its name. This is coupled with the chirping sounds of birds and insects.
Unforgettable walkways
A few minutes’ walk from the landing pier gets you onto elevated wooden walkways which gracefully link the rooms to the restaurant and bar/reception area and offer an unforgettable walk through the heart of the forest/Wildwaters resort.
Nature’s paradise
Lemala Wildwaters Lodge is tucked away in a green and flourishing rainforest on its own private island of about 6.5 acres, mid-stream on the mighty R. Nile. A thick riverine forest naturally covers the island and each of the ten timber-floor chalets is safely tucked in the forest with private views over the River Nile and its rapids. When you book into the lodge you have the option of choosing to stay on the ‘wild side’ of the lodge or the more serene side of the River that has no rapids.
The “wild side” comes with ever present views of the rapids and the serene side is where the river flows by calmly and peacefully. For my stay, I was booked into Cottage 10 that sits right on top of a very fierce water rapid called ‘hypoxia’.
A birder’s haven and natural life
The lodge is also home to river otters, giant monitor lizards and hundreds of species of birds, making it a centre-piece for a conservation initiative. As part of the payment made to the lodge, some proceeds go to a campaign aimed at protecting this pristine riverine environment for future generations. Also some of the money is given to the local communities to benefit directly from the visitors to the lodge and the protection of this beautiful, heavily forested island on the Nile.
Dining experience by the wooden rapid facing deck
The lodge’s reception area which also acts as the dinning, bar and lounge area is located quite unbelievably on a solid rock peninsula, amidst the rapids of the River Nile. You can relax here, cooled by the constant breezes from the racing rapids or plunge into the adjacent swimming pool that has an infinity feel as it is perched right next to the rapids. Next to the swimming pool is a wooden deck area with lounger beds for relaxation after taking a dip in the pool.
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The lodge employs some really good and experienced chefs, judging from the meals served to us. The menu is expansive with three course meals served for dinner as well as lunch. And breakfast comes with a traditional English breakfast or continental buffet or an option of customizing your breakfast. The portions served are very generous and the meals are very delicious and very fresh. For example all fish based meals are prepared using daily fresh supplies of fish from the local community of fishermen near the lodge. For our stay we absolutely had no complaints at all for any of our meals. The waiting staff are very attentive and service is timely and very expedient.
The super luxurious chalets/cottages
Wild Waters Lodge boasts of ten chalets, each adorned with wooden floors. They are all traditionally grass thatched cottages each room boasts a private deck with the famous free-standing bathtub on the terrace. The wash basins inside the rooms are carved from the local pink granite stones giving it a feel of taking a shower in a stone age like ambience. The rooms are furnished with woven furniture. With this kind of setting, you can relax in comfort on this island paradise listening to sounds of the roaring waters of the Nile.
In my many years of travel to the different parts of Uganda and my stay to different lodges having been to at least over 250 of them so far, I must confess the Wild Waters Lodge chalets have got to be some of the best we have out here.
Everything in the rooms is spacious, with keen attention to detail, judging from how the room is accessorized. The bathrooms are furnished with heavenly scented shower gels and lotions. All rooms have a good working wifi connection to help you keep in touch with the outside world as well as share your precious moments in real time with friends on various social media platforms most especially instagram hence the recent title as the “second most instagrammable” lodge in the world. The lodge also has spa facilities, so you can treat yourself to a massage or any other treatment of your choice in the comfort of your spacious room or a special spa terrace right next to the R. Nile’s ever flowing waters.
The much loved bathtub
Even those who haven’t been to the lodge have probably seen the famous bathtub by the room terraced decks. And for the social media freaks, this tub makes for a perfect Instagram feed stories. The white tubs filled with scented bubbled water and shower gels make for the ideal relaxation during sunrise or sunsets or for that matter anytime of the day relaxation.
‘Forbidden area’ aka the Isaiah Jobs-R- Wanderer’s favourite spot’
There is a spot at the island and for me this is my all-time favorite spot, with the most thunderous rapids that is ‘forbidden’ to guests. I guess the reason they try to restrict people visiting it is because the rapids here aptly named ‘hypoxia’ look merciless. You do not want to be end up in any unfortunate incidents here. Just sitting back and watching these thunderous rapids in a meditative manner will surely drain any amount of stress out of your system or at least they did for me.
Rates
Rates do vary depending on the season but ordinarily for Ugandan residents staying on a full board basis will set you back $197 per person per night meaning if you are a couple you end up paying $394 for a weekend stay per night while weekday you will pay slightly less and that will be $167 per person while a couple this would be $334 per night during weekdays Monday to Thursday. For non-Ugandan residents the price is $399 per person all inclusive while a couple this would translate into $798 per night. Full board is inclusive of all the three meals but exclusive of drinks.
Important Things To Know
- You can only access Wildwaters Lodge by boat. The lodge has boats with life jackets and staff ready to pick you up and drop you off the island anytime. However, the lodge stops receiving guests at 5pm, strictly for security reasons. Beyond 5pm, the dam upstream is opened to generate more electricity hence increasing the water levels and this sometimes makes it unsafe for guests to cross to and from the island due to the high levels and intensity of the river flow.
- It is important to make a booking in advance. The lodge does not accept walk-ins. For day visitors, it is also important to note that there is a small entrance fee of $65 per person and with this you get a swimming pool pass plus a three course luncheon.
- The island has a helipad, so in case of emergencies, a helicopter can be called in to airlift you for medical evacuation or to drop you in or off if you prefer that arrangement.
- Lemala Wild Waters Lodge does not allow entry for children below 12years also for security reasons seeing that it is almost entirely surrounded by fast flowing river water and rapids.
Overall I and my friends had an amazing experience. It is hard to believe but by the time we all left which of course we didn’t want to do, none of us had any complaints at all. The lodge manager, a one Dedan Ochele and his team are really on top of their game. They are extremely attentive, always available to help in anyway and for that matter we had an absolutely great stay. Actually when we were leaving we all felt like we had paid far less for the service and experience we got. What a great feeling.
Additional activities
While at the lodge you can indulge in other activities and these include fishing, white water rafting, kayaking, horseback riding, sunset cruise on the Nile, in-room spa and massage services or by the riverside, quad biking and visiting various sites around Jinja town. Some of these activities are done off site but they can be conveniently arranged and transport to and from provided.
