Katara Lodge

  We recently went on a 6-day safari with Wild Whispers Africa and had an amazing experience. Our tour guide, Edmund, was very knowledgeable, supportive, and always in a good mood.… read more He made sure that we saw everything we wanted to see and was also able to make spontaneous adjustments based on our upcoming needs. The itinerary was well-planned and gave us a good mix of activities and some downtime.

During our safari, we visited Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we saw elephants, lions, hippos, and other wildlife. The highlight of the trip was definitely the gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which was an unforgettable experience. We were super lucky to be matched with the group closest to the forest’s entry, which meant we only had to hike for roughly an hour. Edmund made sure that we were well-prepared for the trek and celebrated our experience with us.

The accommodations throughout the safari were excellent, with comfortable beds and hot showers. The lodges were all located in beautiful settings with amazing views of the surrounding landscape. The food provided by the safari was delicious, filling, and catered to our dietary wishes. We had breakfast and dinner included, and sometimes even lunch. Dinner was always three courses.

Overall, we highly recommend Edmund and Wild Whispers Africa to anyone looking to go on a safari in Uganda. Edmund’s level of professionalism and dedication to making this an unforgettable experience for us was exceptional. He went above and beyond to ensure that we had a wonderful experience and made lasting memories.

  I had a fabulous vacation with Wild Whispers Africa – did 6 days of safari, chimps tracking and gorilla tracking. First of all they are incredibly organized and Racheal answered… read more all of my concerns, changed the dates when needed and was super helpful. The lodges where I stayed were absolutely beautiful and I was very positively suprised. I also very much liked the itinerary they prepared as everyday I had some time for myself to rest and relax. The guide Jacob was so knowledgeable about everything and I would not spot half of the animals if not him. Also he tried extra hard to find the lions when even I gave up already. The gorilla tracking doesn’t need even a comment – it’s an experience of a lifetime.

I totally recommend Wild Whispers Africa and I was so happy with my choice as it’s not the easy one.

  I used Wild Whispers to help coordinate and book my gorilla trekking adventure for myself and two friends. Rachael was incredibly helpful and quick to respond to any and all… read more questions.

The accommodations were fantastic and Wild Whispers took care of everything needed to make our journey easy.

  We (three sisters (age 36-52) and our mother (79 yo)) had a great experience travelling with Wild Whispers in Uganda! Our guide, Jacob, took excellent care of us through… read more the whole 4-day trip, and we felt incredibly safe, appreciated and entertained!

Our itinerary started in Entebbe, where Jacob picked us up at the hotel early morning, and drove us up to Bwindi national park for gorilla-trekking. The journey up there was an experience in itself, and Jacob arranged for good stops, to see the equator, we were able to do some outside of national parks – safari (saw for example zebras), stopped for fruits and lunch, and were well looked after. It should be said that the last part of the drive was a bit bumpy, but this was no fault of Jacobs nor Wild Whispers, but if you are frail it might be worthwhile flying up to Bwindi.

The gorilla trekking and lodge was amazing, and we are so proud of our mother who managed to climb and crawl through jungles to experience her life-long dream of watching gorillas in the wild. Jacob picked us up afterwards, and made sure that we got back to the lodge safe and sound.

After gorilla trekking Wild Whispers had arranged for us to go to queen Elisabeth national park were Jacob guided us on an breathtaking safari. Although we missed out on the tree-climbing lions, we had an amazing time and got to see so much beautiful wild life!

Cudos to Jacob who really went above and beyond to make our trip unforgettable! Last minute he was able to arrange a boat-trip that allowed us so experience hippos en masse, elephants bathing, crocodiles and many many birds! A true highlight of the trip! He also brought us to a womens center in Bwindi, were we got to experience local culture and see the impressive entrepreneurship that is blossoming in Uganda. Finally, on our last day after driving us to Kampala he arranged for us to go to a cultural event and dinner, that we would have never found or experience without his expertise! Our trip would not have been as amazing without Jacob!

Also great thanks to Rachel who with patience and kindness helped us plan and book our trip beforehand, and responded swiftly to all of our anxious questions and confusion in the weeks and months leading up to our travel!

We strongly recommend booking and planning your trip with the help of Wild Whispers, and if you are lucky enough to get Jacob as a guide, treat him well! He is incredible!

  Back one week ago after a 9 day tour with Wild Whispers Africa to Uganda : Entebbe, Murchison, QE national park, Kabyle and Bwindi . Edmund was a fantastic guide… read more -friendly,funny,knowledgable,chatty and kindly let us use his phone data so we could watch the Queens funeral enroute from Bwindi to Entebbe . He also saved our lives by taking quick action when a large elephant appeared out of the dark on the highway We saw so many animals , including 4 individual leopards ,male and female lions in a tree. Loved the rhino tracking in our wellies, chimpanzees amazing but obviously the main reason for our trip was the Gorillas which was surreal ,a family with silverback and babies -wow . Do stop taking photos for a minute and sit and savour the experience .
The lodges were great and staff friendly and helpful , finally got chance for a swim in the amazing infinity pool overlooking QE national park . Thanks to Julius for our hot water bottles at Bwindi (shh don’t tell everyone about them)
A big thankyou to Racheal for organising and re-organising our trip which was planned for a big birthday 2yrs ago and this was our 4th attempt to get there , well worth the wait

  We booked an 8-day trip between Uganda and Rwanda. We spent 5.5 days in Uganda and 2.5 days in Rwanda. Although we went specifically for gorilla trekking, we did a… read more game drive, and had a few other adventures along the way including chimpanzee, golden monkey sightseeing, river cruise.

We had an amazing time in our trip and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND to book this company.

THE GOOD
* Racheal, our point of contact, was very responsive. She would respond our emails within 24 hours. Her communications made us feel she was trustworthy and our trip was in good hands. She was also very attentive and had our best interests in mind. Did not try to oversell us and accommodated our needs.
* Jacob, our guide, was incredible. Not only he was extremely knowledgeable about both countries, but also knew everyone and was very friendly. He started as our guide but ended the trip as our friend. Thank you for your patience and generosity. Jacob drove us around the Uganda and Rwanda, helped us cross the border to Rwanda, and ensure that everything went smoothly (planning COVID tests, calling each hotel ahead of time, making sure we had everything we needed).
* The accommodations: the hotels we stayed in were all booked by Wild Whispers and we were pleasantly surprised with each hotel (Papaya Safari Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, 4 Gorilla Safari Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel). Would stay in all of them again.

THE BAD:
* We saw Didier Drogba on the trip and he didn’t take a picture with us. Can’t blame him…

Our itinerary was as follows:
* Landed in Entebbe, Uganda
* Day 1: Drove to Mountain Rwenzori
* Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale National Park
* Day 2: Drove to Quen Elizabeth Park
* Day 3: Game Drive at Queen Elizabeth
* Day 4: Drove to Bwindi National Park
* Day 5: Gorilla Tracking in Uganda
* Day 6: Drove to Rwanda
* Day 7: Gorilla Tracking in Rwanda
* Day 8: Golden Monkeys and drove to Kigali
* Left Rwanda

  Had the opportunity to travel to Murchison Falls with Edmond! He was very knowledgeable and engaging about all the questions I threw at him. Highly recommend traveling with Edmond and… read more Wild Whispers as they will treat you right! Be on the lookout for his new youtube channel!

  Just finished an amazing trip to the beautiful Uganda! Amazing tour provided by Wild Whispers Africa! And our tour guide Mugisha Godwin was outstanding. I highly recommend this company and… read more this guide for your trip. Godwin took us across this beautiful and scenic country to visit the Gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Many thanks Wild Whispers and Godwin!!

  Words are not going to do this justice, but I will try. Ngabirano Chris was our guide. He has made our trip here in Rwanda so special and memorable. We… read more started our trip off with the Gorillas in Volcanoes national park. He taught us so much about the gorillas before we started the trek. When we returned he wanted to see every picture and hear about ever experience we encountered. After a night in Kigali, we made our way to Akagera National park next. He taught us so much about the way of life here as well as the forrest and animals. He spotted animals that none of us could have been able to see. We saw 5 leopards during our stay in Akagera, the rest of the Big 5, and every other animal it has to offer! He also helped us coordinate buying food, essential supplies, and children gifts for local villagers. He would stop in the areas that he knew there were many mommas and children and help keep everyone in order while we passed the items out. Chris is absolutely wonderful, and I cannot say enough positive things about him. I am sure we will keep in touch, and we will see him again one day. We hope in Uganda! If you are lucky enough to get Chris as your guide, please tell him the Alabama girls send our love!

  We have just completed 2 weeks safari with Wild Whispers and had an amazing time thanks to our guide Nasser and also Racheal who helped to organise this trip for… read more us. We actually booked this 2 years ago but were unable to travel as a result of Covid restrictions. Racheal was very responsive in re-organising the dates/activities so we were finally ready to go in April this year.

Our trip started off with rhino’s sanctuary where we were able to come very close to these amazing animals and progressed to the Murchissons Falls park which is abundant with animals. It was great to see all the antelopes, giraffes, buffalos, hippos, elephants, lions, birds etc. We were lucky enough to spot leopards, one of them was close to the lodge we stayed in.
Very appreciated the customised boat trips where you could get closer to the hippos/crocodiles in the water. Each guide on the boat was happy to accommodate my needs to take as many pictures of birds (mostly kingfishers) and patiently waited for me to take tens of them :-)
Was really impressed with the numbers of elephants in the Queen Elizabeth’s Park and the whole landscape.

Our guide Nasser was very enthusiastic to show all the possible wildlife and even spotted a rare giant forest hog which was a treat. I have always admired the ability of safari guides to be able to drive through the countryside and spot animals/birds at very long distance while us struggling to make out the distant dot. Nasser was definitely one of them and thanks to him I have got a camera full of lovely pictures and memories. A big thanks to Nasser!!

Uganda is a very beautiful country, people are very friendly and always smiling despite the fact a lot of them have very little to live on. I would recommend to anyone to go and see for themselves and Wild Whispers could be your choice to help you with that.

  We (two friends) just completed an incredible 14-day safari with Edmund and cannot say enough good things about the insights he provided, the humor he brought to the trip or… read more how easy he made everything. Seriously, this guy knows everyone in Uganda and has all the right tips to get you the best views and experiences customized to your needs and preferences. Thanks to him and Racheal’s wise counsel and responsiveness as we were planning, we saw everything we hoped to see (Africa’s Big 5, plus gorillas, chimps, golden monkeys, giraffe, zebra, hippos and more), had an amazing time and never had to think about a thing.

If you are debating coming to Uganda because of COVID, please know it is very safe. Every precaution was taken to ensure both we and the animals stayed healthy. If anything, we were fortunate to get to experience this beautiful place with fewer tourists.

If you are debating between tour operators, do yourself a favor and go with Wild Whispers. I cannot imagine a better team and look forward to planning future trips with them.

  Wild Whispers was the ideal travel company for our honeymoon trip in Uganda.
They helped organize our four day trip to see Chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, and also Gorillas… read more in the Impenetrable Forest.

The communication with Rachael was amazing throughout, and our drivers and guides were also knowledgeable and helped us along the way.

On our last day, we were having such a great time in Uganda that we wanted to stay an extra day. We asked the lodge owner to help us, and he told us to communicate with Wild Whispers directly.

Rachael replied immediately and helped extend our trip an extra day so quickly!
I would recommend Wild Whispers to anyone planning a safari in Uganda!

  We had an amazing 8 days trip to Uganda organized by Wild Whispers Africa. Great contact, knowable local guides – especially our guide Jacob!!! and adjustable schedule. 10/10

  I’m sitting here at the lounge at the airport, staring at my wife to be, as she looks at pictures from our most perfect week. I see her smile, then… read more laugh, then smile, then her eyes have just welled up with tears, at one point she puts her hand on her heart and sighs, then her mouth opens wide , her eyes light up and she shrieks in delight and shouts happily , “wow would you just look at that, that gorilla.” Then I watch ten minutes later as a single tear rolls down her cheek. I can’t take it any longer, I move over to look at her phone . She is looking at a photo from today, at Lake Mburo National Park- it is our guide /driver/in house comedian/ educator/FRIEND Edmund and me smiling happily as zebras and impalas run behind us, and in this moment I can’t remember feeling more of all those feelings you want to feel every day but can’t figure out how-happiness, calmness, appreciation, empathy, true unadulterated excitement and love – love for Jessica , for Africa, for Edmund and for getting to be part of something so singularly special as this trip.
Jessica’s emotional journey staring at those pictures was our trip. It was only one week but the journey felt endless. We started in Kibale National Park with the most beautiful accommodation, ensconced in the park itself. We enjoyed fine dining, romantic ambience , a chimpanzee trekking adventure and a walk through the community and the local swamp land with the kindest and most knowledgeable guide Michael.
What I will always will be most grateful for on this trip wasn’t the destinations that we arrived at BUT the ride to get to them . It is not exaggeration to analogize our drives to being dreamlike. Winding roads high up in the mountains, past vast tea and coffee plantations, through quaint towns with welcoming locals and children running to our car to greet us, endless banana farms and the hustle and bustle of the banana trade at the ensuing villages. The labyrinth of roads was navigated seamlessly always stopping for a picture of a vast crater lake, or to stop and meet the locals . It is uncanny and you may be understandably incredulous BUT Edmund knows literally everyone in Uganda, everyone is a friend or family and because of this, they treat us the same. We have never laughed so hard with strangers or shared so many moments of genuine connection. This was all part of the journey; if Uganda is the Pearl of Africa then the people are it’s heart…… kind, compassionate, funny and alive with life and the vitality that we all long to experience . The most fun we had on the whole trip was the dance parties to the country music that Edmund joined us in singing along to on the Bluetooth. We laughed soooooo much.
Our journey took us next to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we snuck up on a pride of Lions at Sunset, ate dinner overlooking herds of elephants and water Buffalo who meandered below us on the lake shore, crept up on a crocodile, and the highlight was the boat trip around Lake George-staring at hippos from meters away, watching the way elephants move as a family, and eat as a family, and clean as a family, and to see herds of antelopes and water buffalo against the picturesque backdrop of the lake, against the perfect sunny afternoon will be etched indelibly into my memory.
The last stop was the best stop, undoubtedly a unique product of traveling during COVID . A magnificent, luxurious resort on the edge of the Impenetrable National park with a sweeping jungle and mountain views- with expansive bungalows nestled into the mountainside. We were the only guests with a full staff to cater to us- as exceeding expectations became the expectation- romantic dinners, campfire nights, and exceptional service and care. For Jessica and I the mountain gorilla trek and the jungle walks outside of Bwindhi were a fitting apogee to our Uganda dream.
COVID has had terrible and devastating repercussions within the tourism industry. You hear the narrative at each lodge , at shops or from guides on treks. However, Uganda has a very low Covid rate and is open for the world to see- no longer are there any waits for permits, there are once in a lifetime deals and experiences that are truly unique to this unusual time . Wild Whispers always made us feel COVID safe and Jessica and I always felt assured in our travels, even the ease in which we received our exit COVID test was a relief. It was all SEAMLESS,
Please go to Uganda now, support these amazing individuals like the ones we encountered. If you do go , you would be out of your mind If you did not choose Wild Whispers . Most importantly ask to have Edmund as your guide. Edmund is a man like few I’ve ever met; a heart as big as his laugh, and just almost as big as his smile. Edmund epitomizes the best of Africa, carefree and caring, he lives in the moment acutely aware of how ephemeral life is . If I live at least a few of my days like Edmund has shown me is possible I’ll be better for it. THANK YOU WILD WHISPERS!! As Edmund would say Hakuna Matata!

**** also thank you Racheal for letting us change our trip dates like twelve times LOL. You orchestrated the perfect symphony of Uganda. We could never have hoped or expected anything so amazing!

  Our tour with Wild Whispers was amazing.  We went on our honeymoon to Namibia, South Africa, and wanted to end with Uganda.  We were supposed to arrive to Uganda Saturday… read more at 3pm, with a very tight schedule.  There was a strike on South African Airways, and our flight got cancelled.  We had to call Racheal (who was our link with WW) up and let her know that we didn’t know at what time we were arriving because our flight was delayed. 

We managed to get the first flight out of there and arrive at 3 AM.  We were received by Jack: in a great mood even though he had been waiting for us for 12 hours.   He let us sleep in the car, and called the hotel while we were asleep to make sure that they would bring breakfast for us to the car because we were in a hurry to make our first tour.  He made sure that it complied with our very complicated dietary restrictions.  When possible, he also made sure we got very good tour guides for each one of our adventures. 

Jack was also very knowledgeable about every question we had: all types of birds, landscape, land animals, he made sure we saw every animal we wanted to see, would be happy to adapt to our needs to make sure we had a great experience.  If we wanted to try something different, or go to a local restaurant he would find a way and have it all ready.  Aside from elephants,  jackals, warthogs, different types of monkeys, hippos, we even saw a leopard from less than ten feet away, a drooling lion, chimpanzees brushing up against us, gorillas, baby owls, and much more. Always feeling very safe. 
Just a small detail of how great Jack was: one of our tennis shoes was damaged and we mentioned to Jack we are thinking of fixing it.  Next morning he had already taken it to have it repaired. 

For anyone thinking about going for the chimpanzee tour as well: do it.  It was a great experience, very different from the Gorillas, and definitely worth it.

The hotels were wonderful, all of them very beautiful with great views, food was delicious.  We went for the medium package, and Racheal did a great job of picking them, making sure that we had a great experience in Uganda, that the areas we went to in each park were close to where we needed to be, and writing up a plan that would fit our requests.  She was very helpful with everything we needed and helped us resolve our matter so we wouldn’t have to change anything from our already tight schedule.   As a note: she took our concerns very seriously, and we really appreciated the work she put into our trip.

  We found Wild Whispers on Tripadvisor and selected them for the good recommendations. The expecteations were all met and even exceeded.
We were picked up by Jacob our excellent guide… read more who took us to Lake Mburo, Bwindi Queen Elizabeth and Kalinzu.
The different reserves/parks had a great variation of species.
In Mburo we saw Leopards, Giraffs, Impala antelopes, Waterbuck, Baboons, Mongoose, Warthogs, Topi, Eland and more.
In Bwindi we met the gorillas after a long walk in the djungle. The silverback slid down the tree trunk just meters away, followed by his family members. They settled on the ground and we could watch them for almost an hour at close distance.
Queen Elizabeth showed us Lions, Water Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Warthogs, Hippos, Elephants. The boat trip on the Kazinga channel was great.
In Kalinzu we met the Chimps and many other monkeys in the rain forest.
The Lodges (Medium budget) were all good and clean with great views and food.
Jacob was very professional, helpful and knowledgeable. He certainly had our best in mind at all times. He explained how the animals behaved, he knew where to find them and we got great experiences and close up photos.

  Unbelievable trip! Special thanks to Racheal, whom answered every single question promptly and with detail on what to expect before arrival. The itinerary couldn’t have been more perfect. But, the… read more trip couldn’t have been as special without the best guide possible. Edmund made this experience magical. Extremely knowledgeable on all things wildlife and Ugandan culture. Always made my fiancé and I comfortable with all our adventures during our 6 day safari of tracking gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, etc. Do yourself a favor and book with Wild Whispers and ask for Edmund. You will not regret it.

  I had a great experience with Wild Whispers. They were very responsive and flexible when I was booking my trip. My guide (Innocent) was helpful, informative, funny and made the… read more trip wonderful. I was a solo traveler and I felt very well taken care of by the entire process. I chose the moderate hotel package and it was excellent. And of course, the gorilla experience was breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime. I would 100% recommend this company to a friend.

  Our tour with Wild Whispers was amazing.  We went on our honeymoon to Namibia, South Africa, and wanted to end with Uganda.  We were supposed to arrive to Uganda Saturday… read more at 3pm, with a very tight schedule.  There was a strike on South African Airways, and our flight got cancelled.  We had to call Racheal (who was our link with WW) up and let her know that we didn’t know at what time we were arriving because our flight was delayed. 

We managed to get the first flight out of there and arrive at 3 AM.  We were received by Jack: in a great mood even though he had been waiting for us for 12 hours.   He let us sleep in the car, and called the hotel while we were asleep to make sure that they would bring breakfast for us to the car because we were in a hurry to make our first tour.  He made sure that it complied with our very complicated dietary restrictions.  When possible, he also made sure we got very good tour guides for each one of our adventures. 

Jack was also very knowledgeable about every question we had: all types of birds, landscape, land animals, he made sure we saw every animal we wanted to see, would be happy to adapt to our needs to make sure we had a great experience.  If we wanted to try something different, or go to a local restaurant he would find a way and have it all ready.  Aside from elephants,  jackals, warthogs, different types of monkeys, hippos, we even saw a leopard from less than ten feet away, a drooling lion, chimpanzees brushing up against us, gorillas, baby owls, and much more. Always feeling very safe. 
Just a small detail of how great Jack was: one of our tennis shoes was damaged and we mentioned to Jack we are thinking of fixing it.  Next morning he had already taken it to have it repaired. 

For anyone thinking about going for the chimpanzee tour as well: do it.  It was a great experience, very different from the Gorillas, and definitely worth it.

The hotels were wonderful, all of them very beautiful with great views, food was delicious.  We went for the medium package, and Racheal did a great job of picking them, making sure that we had a great experience in Uganda, that the areas we went to in each park were close to where we needed to be, and writing up a plan that would fit our requests.  She was very helpful with everything we needed and helped us resolve our matter so we wouldn’t have to change anything from our already tight schedule.   As a note: she took our concerns very seriously, and we really appreciated the work she put into our trip.

  We found Wild Whispers on Tripadvisor and selected them for the good recommendations. The expecteations were all met and even exceeded.
We were picked up by Jacob our excellent guide… read more who took us to Lake Mburo, Bwindi Queen Elizabeth and Kalinzu.
The different reserves/parks had a great variation of species.
In Mburo we saw Leopards, Giraffs, Impala antelopes, Waterbuck, Baboons, Mongoose, Warthogs, Topi, Eland and more.
In Bwindi we met the gorillas after a long walk in the djungle. The silverback slid down the tree trunk just meters away, followed by his family members. They settled on the ground and we could watch them for almost an hour at close distance.
Queen Elizabeth showed us Lions, Water Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Warthogs, Hippos, Elephants. The boat trip on the Kazinga channel was great.
In Kalinzu we met the Chimps and many other monkeys in the rain forest.
The Lodges (Medium budget) were all good and clean with great views and food.
Jacob was very professional, helpful and knowledgeable. He certainly had our best in mind at all times. He explained how the animals behaved, he knew where to find them and we got great experiences and close up photos.