About Nkuringo Safaris
A Ugandan-owned, woman-led safari company built on community partnerships, local expertise, and care for the wild places we share.
Nkuringo Safaris is a locally owned destination management company and lodge operator designing private gorilla trekking, primate, and wildlife safaris across Uganda and Rwanda, with bespoke extensions into Kenya and Tanzania. From our base in Entebbe, our in-house team secures your gorilla permits, coordinates every transfer, and aligns our eco-lodges and partners, so your journey through East Africa feels precise, unhurried, and personal. Travellers choose Nkuringo because the people you speak to are the people on the ground: the planners, guides, and hosts who have spent years walking these forests and roads themselves.
Our Story
Our Journey Began in the Misty Hills of Bwindi
The Nkuringo story begins in 2007, in a tiny hillside camp on the southern edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Travellers came searching for gorillas; local guides knew the valleys, ridges, and village paths by heart. From those early walks grew Nkuringo Walking Safaris—a simple idea that a safari should be felt on foot, shared with communities, and grounded in respect for the forest.
That camp became Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge, a multi-award-winning eco-retreat built with local hands and shaped by the same families who still welcome guests today. The journey stretched north to Papyrus Guesthouse in Entebbe and soon to Mirima Kibale Lodge by Lake Nyamirima, completing a lodge circuit created for primate and highland adventures.
At the heart of this evolution is Lydia Eva Mpanga, co-founder and CEO, who has guided Nkuringo into a recognised, woman-led Ugandan DMC without losing sight of where it began.
“On those first misty mornings in Nkuringo, porters gathered at the trail, neighbours brought stories and bananas, and a promise was made: every journey we organise would honour the forest and the people who live beside it.”
Today, that promise runs through every itinerary we design—slower routes, more time on the ground, handpicked guides, and journeys that leave something good behind in the places you visit.
Our mission is to deliver safaris that connect people with wildlife, wild places, and culture through thoughtful guiding, responsible hospitality, and travel that supports conservation and community livelihoods.
Browse SafarisOur Modern Operations Hub
Our Entebbe Headquarters
Since 2025, Nkuringo Safaris has worked from a privately owned office complex near Papyrus Guesthouse Entebbe, bringing all core teams under one roof.
The building houses our travel consultants, reservations, accounts, logistics, and leadership offices, along with a conference room, guest reception, staff lounge, car park, and supply stores for field operations.
Guests passing through Entebbe are welcome to stop in, put faces to names, and see where their trip is coordinated.
Fleet & Workshop
In the courtyard, our own fleet of 4×4 Land Cruisers and safari vans is maintained in an on-site workshop by Nkuringo mechanics. Vehicles are fitted for long-distance travel and rough terrain, checked before departure, and assigned to our full-time, UWA-licensed driver-guides.
Because the fleet, workshop, and guiding team sit inside one operation, route changes, delays, and field issues are handled directly rather than through third-party brokers.
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Responsible Travel
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make. Our responsible travel policy allows guests to depart emotionally rich, more informed, more ecologically aware, and more appreciative of the natural resources, people and cultures.
WHY SAFARI WITH NKURINGO?
Why Travel with Nkuringo?
Locally owned, woman-led since 2007
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Gorilla & primate specialists
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Our own eco-lodges at key trailheads
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Travel that supports local people & forests
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WHY SAFARI WITH NKURINGO?
How your luxury safari comes together
Planning a safari in Uganda and Rwanda can feel complex. Our job is to make it simple, transparent and shaped entirely around you.
Step 1: Share Your Dates & Wishes
Tell us when you’d like to travel, who you’re coming with and the moments you’re dreaming about – gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, walking safaris, Big 5 game drives, beach time or all of them.
Step 2: Your tailor-made route
Your specialist planner builds a custom safari around your pace and budget, choosing lodges, routes and experiences that fit how you like to travel.
Step 3: Share Your Dates & Wishes
Tell us when you’d like to travel, who you’re coming with and the moments you’re dreaming about – gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, walking safaris, Big 5 game drives, beach time or all of them.
Step 4: Travel with Our team beside you
From your airport pickup to your last sunrise, our on-the-ground team is there for you: guides, drivers and lodge staff who know you by name.
Testimonials
What Our Travellers Say
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How we’re giving back to the community
Nkuringo Safaris gives back by supporting local education, conservation, and creating jobs through community-driven tourism.
