For most Ugandans, Nile Discovery Beach Resort is the place where the Nyege Nyege festival takes place, but the edition of 2022 has been moved to Itanda Falls.
Nile Discovery Beach Resort is located in the heart of Jinja. For most Ugandans, it’s the place where the Nyege Nyege festival happens but the 2022 edition was switched to new location Itanda Falls.
It’s a festival where people from Uganda and now all over the country come to showcase their talent. Different service providers usually decorate the place to make it look more mysterious and enchanting for the festival.
But, the Nile Discovery Beach Resort is more than just a place for hosting parties and festivals. Tourists that may choose Jinja as a base for their holiday can stay at this resort. While it isn’t luxurious like most holiday hotels in Uganda, it’s decent, well organized, and affordable.
Nile Discovery Resort Beach is a hotel situated on the shores of lake Victoria. It’s surrounded by beautiful palm trees and other greenery. The lakeside hotel is equipped with various accommodation options, including camping.
The Resort also offers many excursions or tourist activities for those who may want to participate. Let’s share what we found.
Notable Tourist Attractions within the Area
The New Nile Bridge
This is among the first eye-catching attractions you’ll see on you’re way to the resort. It’s known by so many names one being, the “cable-stayed bridge”.
It’s a Cable-stayed bridge with stay cables in a single plane. The total bridge length is 525m.
This bridge is built across the Nile River connecting the town of Njeru to Jinja. It is part of the International Trunk Road (east-west direction) of Kampala(Capital)-Jinja-Malaba(Kenya border) for land-locked Uganda.
Sugar & Tea Plantations
The one thing that hasn’t changed in Jinja is the hundreds of acres of sugarcane and tea plantations.
Have you ever seen so much green in one place? Travel to Jinja as you head for the Nile Discovery Resort and you’ll see.
The roads are full of tracks carrying sugarcanes taking them to the factory for sugar processing. This area is also known as sugarcane town.
Nalubaale Hydroelectric Power Station
Nalubaale Power Station was formerly known as Owen Falls Dam. It is a hydroelectric power station found across the White Nile and near its source, Lake Victoria in Uganda.
For visitors willing to check it out, it is situated 1 km southeast of Nile Discovery Beach Resort.
Activities at the Nile Discovery Beach Resort
A Boat Cruise on the Nile
A Boat cruise on the River Nile is the best way to enjoy a few relaxing hours in Jinja. The Resort offers a variety of cruises where tourists can explore the beginning of the world’s longest river and see the famous Bujagali falls.
Whether you are a large group or small there is a cruise that will suit you. There are different types of boats that visitors can choose from. It is a great way for groups both large and small to spend time together.
Camping at the Nile
Do you have camping gear that you can’t wait to use? The Nile Discovery Resort would be the best place to set up camp. Tourists can bring their camping equipment and set up tents at their campsite on a leveled area with soft grass. The site here overlooks the calm River Nile.
Everyone can camp here. Be it a couple that traveled all across Africa or a Kampala resident with a two-man tent. The Resort has all the camping facilities you could need.
The campsite has some amenities such as barbecue facilities, an exclusive sanitary block, and 24-hour electricity. They also have cold and hot water for those willing to take a shower. In the restaurant, they provide charging stations for tourists that need to power up their electrical gadgets.
Nyege Nyege festival
You can’t visit the official site of the Nyege Nyege festival and not attend? For tourists that have heard of the event and wish to be a part, it takes place from September 15th to the 18th.
However, the location is likely to change because the number of people attending has also grown. The new site is on the banks of the River Nile called Itanda Falls.
In addition to playing the best music, Nyege Nyege will showcase visual art installations. There will also be activities such as rafting and bungee jumping in partnership with ADRIFT.
Visitors will be given a luxury camping experience in a new area called Nyegeville, the location has hot showers, yoga classes, lockers, and a private beach.
Bird Watching
Initially, the Nile Discovery Resort was built as a family nature park. However, it never officially opened because the park ran out of funding. Because of the lush greenery surrounding the place, it’s filled with a range of wildlife, predominantly birds.
Tourists will have the opportunity to capture a sequence of chirping bird sounds and water waves from the Nile. It’s one of the best nature sounds you’ll ever hear.
Bungee jumping
While you’re staying at the Resort, you could go Bungee jumping. It’s the ultimate adrenaline-pumping activity in Jinja, one that will leave you buzzing for the rest of the day.
Uganda’s first purpose-built Bungee Tower is located a few meters off the River Nile. The experts always ensure that the highest possible standards in health and safety for bungee jump are followed at the site.
It’s a better idea to arrive early so you take in the surroundings before you bungee jump. That way, you can watch other jumpers and get acquainted with the instructors before having a safety briefing.
Otherwise, you’ll enjoy the sensational free fall that lasts a couple of seconds. When you drop, the rope will be fully stretched and the elastic will recoil and bring you back up.
You will swing momentarily at the end of the rope until you are lowered down to a specially-made landing area. Sometimes you’re lifted back up to the spot you jumped from.
Kayaking
If you overlook the engines and noise, Kayaking is one of the most intense activities to do on the Nile. You must experience it to believe it.
What better way to do this than on the world’s longest river, right here in Jinja.
Conclusion
Nile Discovery Beach Resort remains one of the best hotels in Jinja mainly because of what they offer. They were the first host of Nyegege because they have large camping groups overlooking the river Nile.
Today, visitors go there to do more than camping. You can experience your first bungee jump there, try out kayaking, watch birds, jump on a boat cruise and a whole lot more.
We recommend you visit the Nile Discovery Beach Resort if you haven’t yet, they have so much planned out for you.
