Red Chilli Tours and Safaris

Red Chilli is a Kampala-based travel company that has organised trips for budget travellers since 1999. It runs the Red Chilli Hideaway lodge at Butabika and a rest camp at Paraa in Murchison Falls National Park, and it is a fully licensed Ugandan travel and tour agent and a member of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators. The company says more than 25,000 travellers have used its services, and it has received Tripadvisor's Certificate of Excellence in several years.

Its day trips from Kampala are a practical way to see places that are hard to reach by public transport. The Red Chilli Kampala Day Tour runs for about eight hours and covers the city's sights. A full day of white-water rafting at Jinja on the River Nile takes about twelve and a half hours including the drive. The Mabamba Swamp birdwatching trip, about eight hours, heads to the Mabamba wetland on the shores of Lake Victoria, and a one-day trip to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary lasts about seven and three-quarter hours, with rhino tracking on foot. Closest to home, a two-hour sunset cruise on Lake Victoria is an easy evening outing.

For longer trips, Red Chilli is best known for its budget Murchison Falls safaris. Two three-day options are offered, a Falls and Game safari and a Big 5 safari, and the company's own rest camp at Paraa, on the southern bank of the Nile, has furnished safari tents, bandas and camping. The company also runs scheduled tours, ready-made private safaris and tailor-made private trips.

The trips suit backpackers, students, volunteers and independent travellers who want organised transport and guiding without paying for a private safari. Staying at the Kampala hideaway makes the logistics of an early start simple. Check the website or contact the reservations team for departure dates and what each trip includes, as details vary by trip.

Booking is through the website or by phone and email. If your time in Uganda is short, a combination of the Kampala day tour and one day trip, such as Ziwa or Jinja, gives a good overview of the city and its surroundings.