Potter's Village

Specialises in walking snake safaris starting from Kisoro town to Lake Mutanda. Typical start time is 09:00 and you will need a reasonable level of fitness since you will ramble along one of the district's green lanes, surrounded by wild flowers and laughing children, gaining about 280 m (800 ft) as you ascend a ridge until you have an exhilarating view of Lake Mutanda spread out below you. There's then quite a steep scramble down to reach the lake shore below. There is a particular promontory here where the village inhabitants believe that serpents are the spiritual throne of their ancestors - consequently the snakes here have found a kind of sanctuary amongst the Yam beds and sugar cane. You are likely to see deadly black mambas, 5 m (16 ft) long rock pythons, spitting cobras and, possibly, green mambas. When you've seen enough, a dugout canoe will pick you up and skirt the reed beds so you can admire kingfishers and other water birds. USD25 per person; discount for groups by negotiation.
If you're a lazy muzungo, they also offer 3-day game drive safaris in air-conditioned 4x4s taking up to 3 people per vehicle into the southern part of the Queen Elizabeth National Park's Ishasha sector where you will almost invariably see the famous pride of tree-climbing lions. For this game drive, you'll leave Kisoro at 06:00 and first travel to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, arriving about 08:00 to try to spot forest elephants, chimpanzees and, very occasionally, the rare and elusive L'Hoest's monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti). Generally you will not leave the safety of your 4x4 because of the danger from giant forest pigs which can grow up to 2.1 m (6.9 ft) in length and can tip the scales at more than 270 kg (60 lb). Leaving Bwindi about 11:00, the next stop is lunch at Kihihi trading post. After lunch there is an hour's drive before you can check-in to your bandas in the Q.E.N.P. to have a shower and freshen up. You start your game drive about 16:00 until dusk around 19:00. The next morning kicks off with another game drive from 06:30 towards the Ishasha river. Here you'll be able to get some fantastic close-ups of hippo just a few metres below where you'll be standing on the steep bank (hippos are neither good at climbing nor leaping). After breakfast you'll be driven to Mweya for a 2-hour afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel that connects Lakes George and Edward. After disembarkation, there follows another game drive with likely sightings of Uganda kob, water buck, warthogs, water buffalo, elephant. If you're lucky, you may spot leopard. That night is spent in the White House hotel in Kasese. The next morning is spent visiting about a dozen of the more than forty volcanic crater lakes in the vicinity of Fort Portal. After lunch, the afternoon is spent visiting some of the historic sights of the Toro Kingdom.

Rangers all speak excellent English and most were born and grew up in the local region, meaning they are extremely knowledgeable about local hazards and customs. They speak the most used local languages of Rufumbira and Rukiga together with other local languages such as Rutoro, Luganda, Runyankore and Kiswahili if there are any potential disputes about land access. Various routes are available customized to your fitness levels. Walkers are likely to see L'hoest, black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys, while those who opt for a canoe across Lake Mutanda may see fish otters and abundant birdlife (eg: great white pelicans; yellow billed ducks; Ross's turacos; black crakes; black headed weavers; white tailed blue flycatchers; African paradise fly catchers; African jacanas; Regal, bronze and purple breasted sunbirds; pied kingfishers; malachite kingfishers; great cormorant; sacred ibis; cattle egrets; Mackinnon's fiscal; African pied wagtail; grey crested cranes; pin tailed whydahs). All rangers carry binoculars that you can use if you forgot your own. If you wish to walk further than the hamlet of Buhoma in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, then overnights at Nkuringo Gorilla Camp can be arranged.