Travel to Jinja

a significant location for white-water rafting

Jinja is a significant town on the north shore of Lake Victoria, at the location where the Victoria branch of the Nile River starts its incredible 6500 km journey to the Mediterranean.

The town is of some significance to travellers, since it lies on the overland route from Kenya and has historically been used as a place to break that journey.

The river used to leave the lake over what Victorian explorer John Hanning Speke named the Ripon Falls, but these were submerged by the construction of the Owen Dam and its associated hydro-electric plant in 1953. The scenic attraction of the area was thereby much reduced.

A fair distance downstream, a series of rapids has led to the development of a string of lodges that offer white-water rafting. These are mainly used by budget overland groups, but there is one property that provides a higher quality experience and which we occasionally include in trips.

The Jinja area tends to feature in trips relatively rarely. The main reason to travel out here is for white-water rafting, which is not sufficient enough of a temptation for most people.

The usual stay duration is 2-3 nights.

Seasonality

Thanks to the presence of a dam upstream from the rafting areas, the flow rates from Lake Victoria tend to be quite steady, which means that conditions for white-water rafting are always good.

It is far more likely that the timing of your trip will be determined by conditions in the gorilla or savanna safari areas.

Getting there

Jinja can be reached by road from Entebbe in 3-4 hours, with guests typically returning on the same road.

accessed by road from Entebbe