The short answer
What to know first.
Choose your Murchison Falls lodge by side of the Nile first. The north bank puts you in the main game-drive country. The south side holds the two furthest-out camps and Twiga at Mubako, just outside the park. The airstrip then follows from the lodge you choose.
At a glance
The planning brief.
Bank first
The north bank for first light on the northern plains; the furthest-out camps on the south side for seclusion.
Then the airstrip
Pakuba, Bugungu or Chobe, matched to the lodge, the flight day and the size of your party.
Three nights
Two full days: one for the river and the falls, one for the northern game-drive country.
We verify
The crossing at Paraa, each lodge's published arrival route and the scheduled flight days for your dates.
01
Bank first, lodge second
Sail Safaris DMC, the private safari specialist that designs and runs journeys from Entebbe and Arusha, plans Murchison the other way round from most brochures. We do not start with the room. We start with the river, because in Murchison the side of the Nile you sleep on decides how your mornings work.
The Victoria Nile crosses Murchison Falls National Park on its way to Lake Albert and splits it into a northern and a southern section. The north is open savannah with Borassus palms and acacia woodland, and it holds the main game-drive country. The south is mostly woodland and patches of forest. Every lodge on our shortlist sits on one side or the other, and that single fact shapes your days more than any room category does.
So the first question we ask is what you want your mornings to be. If the answer is game drives on the northern plains at first light, the north bank is the natural base. If it is privacy and a camp well away from the park's busier areas, the furthest-out camps on the south side come into their own. Our Murchison Falls guide sets out the park as a whole.
02
Where to stay in Murchison Falls: north bank or south side
The north bank. Paraa Safari Lodge, Pakuba Safari Lodge and Chobe Safari Lodge are on the north bank, inside the park. Staying here puts you on the same side as the main game-drive country, with no river crossing before a morning drive. That matters most for early starts and for photographers who want first light on the plains.
The south side. Papa's Camp, Kulu Ora, Nile Safari Lodge and Twiga Safari Lodge are on the south side of the Nile.
Crossing the Nile. From the south side, a morning on the northern plains means crossing the Nile at Paraa. The time it takes to reach the crossing from your lodge becomes part of the plan. We build that into each day rather than leaving it to chance, and for the furthest-out camps we plan their days around the country on their own side of the river.
Papa's Camp and Kulu Ora
The furthest out on the south side, and both are inside the park. They sit well away from the park's busier areas, so the trade is seclusion over closeness to the main circuits.
Twiga Safari Lodge
At Mubako, just outside the park.
03
Pakuba, Bugungu and Chobe: choosing the airstrip
Three airstrips serve Murchison on the scheduled network: Pakuba, Bugungu and Chobe. Pakuba is the most convenient strip for the main cluster of camps and lodges around the park headquarters at Paraa, and Chobe and Bugungu are the other options. Flights leave from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield near Kampala, by scheduled service or charter.
The scheduled service runs daily except in March, April, May and November, with a minimum of four passengers per airstrip. Smaller parties, and travel in those months, often mean a charter.
For the other lodges, we match the airstrip on each proposal to the lodge, the flight day and the size of your party. Our forthcoming piece on how many nights to spend in Murchison on a fly-in safari covers the flight day in detail.
Where a lodge publishes its own arrival route, we plan around it:
Papa's Camp
Fly to Pakuba, then a transfer of about two hours to camp.
Kulu Ora
Fly from Entebbe to Pakuba or Bugungu, about an hour in the air, then about two hours of game drive to the lodge.
04
The Murchison lodges on the Sail Safaris DMC shortlist, by position
Seven lodges, and the side of the Nile each one is on, as confirmed in October 2026.
Papa's Camp
South side, among the furthest out
Kulu Ora
South side, among the furthest out
Nile Safari Lodge
South side
Twiga Safari Lodge
South side, at Mubako
Paraa Safari Lodge
North bank
Pakuba Safari Lodge
North bank
Chobe Safari Lodge
North bank
05
Papa's Camp
One of our Distinguished Camps and Lodges, run by WildPlaces Africa and named after Ernest "Papa" Hemingway. The camp has five en-suite tents set along the south bank of the Nile, each with an outdoor shower and a view of the river. It lies in a low-impact zone of the park, where the human footprint is deliberately small.
06
Kulu Ora
Kulu Ora is open. It is one of The Most Exclusive Addresses in our collection, and it also comes from WildPlaces Africa, with ten tented suites along the Nile in the same low-impact zone. Papa's Camp is the only other property there. Suites have copper bathtubs and private stone-lined plunge pools, and there is a massage room overlooking the river.
07
Nile Safari Lodge
A lodge on the south side of the Nile.
08
Twiga Safari Lodge
A lodge at Mubako, on the south side of the Nile and just outside the park. Rooms are cottages that combine safari tents with thatched roofs, raised off the ground.
09
Paraa Safari Lodge
Established in 1954 and run by Marasa Africa, on the north bank overlooking the Nile. Rooms have balconies and private bathrooms, and the pool looks over the river. Activities offered by the lodge include chimpanzee trekking, bush breakfasts and hot-air balloon safaris.
10
Pakuba Safari Lodge
On the north bank, inside the park, with 46 rooms on raised ground. Each room has a balcony and large windows looking towards the river. There is a pool, and the kitchen draws on produce from the lodge's own farm.
11
Chobe Safari Lodge: the quieter north bank choice
Chobe Safari Lodge, also run by Marasa Africa, sits on the north bank inside the park, in a less-visited part of Murchison. It is perched above the Nile, within sound of the river's rapids, with 40 rooms, two cottages and 21 tents, a three-tier pool, and a health club and spa.
If you want the north bank at a quieter pace, it is worth weighing alongside Paraa and Pakuba, and we match the airstrip to your flight day and party size as for any other lodge.
12
How many nights, and how your side shapes the days
Three nights is the shape we recommend for Murchison: two full days, one for the river and the falls and one for the northern game-drive country. Your side of the Nile changes how those days run.
On the north bank
The morning drive needs no river crossing.
On the south side
We plan around the crossing at Paraa or around the country close to camp.
For Kulu Ora or Papa's Camp
Plan three nights at the one camp you choose, and let budget decide which. Kulu Ora is one of The Most Exclusive Addresses in our collection, and Papa's Camp is one of our Distinguished Camps and Lodges. We recommend one or the other for a journey, never both. The published transfer of about two hours from the airstrip shapes the arrival day, and we plan around it.
13
Fitting Murchison into a wider Uganda route
Murchison is rarely a journey on its own.
Choosing between the banks is easier with someone who plans both every season. Tell us your dates and how you like to travel, and we will match the side, the lodge and the airstrip to your route. Plan your safari, browse our Murchison Falls stays, or, for travel advisors, work with us.
Raw, Untamed, Authentic. This is your Africa.
On the road north
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary breaks the drive from Entebbe and adds rhino tracking on foot.
After gorilla trekking
Murchison and the Nile after gorilla trekking explains how the north pairs with Bwindi, and Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls after Bwindi? helps if you can only choose one.
Journeys that include the north
The Great Uganda Traverse, The Nile to the Mountains, The Long Way Round, Emptiness, and our 10-day gorilla, chimpanzee and Big Five safari.
Questions travellers ask
Useful answers, before you decide.
Is it better to stay on the north or the south side of Murchison Falls?
For game drives on the northern plains, the north bank is the natural base because there is no river crossing before a morning drive. For seclusion, choose one of the two furthest-out camps on the south side, Papa's Camp or Kulu Ora. We decide by what you want from your mornings.
Which lodges are on the north bank of the Nile in Murchison?
On our shortlist, Paraa Safari Lodge, Pakuba Safari Lodge and Chobe Safari Lodge are on the north bank, all inside the park.
Which airstrip should I fly into for Murchison Falls?
Pakuba is the most convenient strip for the lodges around the park headquarters at Paraa, and Chobe and Bugungu are the other options. Some lodges publish their own route, and we match the strip to your lodge on the proposal.
Is Twiga Safari Lodge inside Murchison Falls National Park?
No. Twiga is at Mubako on the south side, just outside the park.
How many nights do I need in Murchison Falls?
Three nights suit most travellers. If you choose Kulu Ora, one of The Most Exclusive Addresses, or Papa's Camp, one of our Distinguished Camps and Lodges, plan all three nights at that one camp. Budget decides between them, and we recommend one or the other, never both.