Pumba Safari Cottages
Budget cottages · Kyambura, on the Kichwamba escarpment · Woodland Lodges Uganda, with Mamaland Safaris as the sister brand
Budget
Outside the gate
Safari company
Pumba sits at Kyambura on the Kichwamba escarpment outside the boundary, looking over the park from above. This is the budget end of the escarpment, with April, May and November priced lower again. The gorge and the chimpanzee trek are close by, the Kasenyi plains take a morning, and Ishasha is a three hour drive that works better as a move than an outing.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Cheapest cottages on this stretch of escarpment, outside the park
- Rooms flex between single, double, twin or triple set-up
- Lower rates in April, May and November, the quiet months
- Same management as Topi Lodge down at Ishasha, for a two-stop trip
Cons
- No capacity total or facility list published
- Park entry is not listed as included in any rate
- No minimum age found; site blocked automated access on recheck
- 2027 standard rates already run $20 higher than 2026
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Queen Elizabeth National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryCharged per 24 hours rather than per night.
- $40per person, per day
- VehicleA Ugandan-registered 4x4, the usual hire car, at UGX 30,000; a foreign-registered 4x4 pays $150.
- $8per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $264 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Entry is sold in 24-hour blocks that begin when you pass the gate, so a trip that starts at midday and ends at 16:00 two days later is charged as three days, not two.
The full fee schedule for Queen Elizabeth National ParkRates at Pumba Safari Cottages
From $70 per room, low season. US dollars per room per night in the columns bed and breakfast, half board, full board. Standard 2026: single $90, $100 and $110; double $100, $120 and $140; triple $140, $170 and $200. Low season 2026, which runs in April, May and November: single $70, $80 and $90; double $80, $100 and $120; triple $120, $150 and $180. The 2027 standard rates sit twenty dollars higher. Park entry is not listed as included.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates, read in September 2026 from each property's own website, rate card or factsheet. Twenty-three of the forty-two publish a rack rate of their own. The other nineteen say on request, and no agent or tour operator figure has been used to fill a gap. Watch the basis, because it decides whether two numbers can be compared at all: some quote per person per night sharing, others per room, per tent or per cottage, and meals sit inside some rates and outside others. Park entry is extra almost everywhere at $40 per foreign non-resident adult per 24 hours, plus the vehicle, and the Kazinga Channel cruise is $30 on top.
Questions about Pumba Safari Cottages
How much does it cost to stay at Pumba Safari Cottages?
Pumba is the budget option on this stretch of escarpment. A standard single room costs $90 on bed and breakfast in 2026, rising to $110 on full board, with lower rates of $70 to $90 in the quiet months of April, May and November. 2027 standard rates run about $20 higher. Park entry is not listed as included.
What does the rate at Pumba Safari Cottages include?
You choose between three board options: bed and breakfast, half board and full board, the last covering a continental breakfast, a two-course lunch and a three-course dinner from a set menu. Rooms can be arranged as single, double, twin or triple, so the per-room price depends on how many people share it.
Is Pumba Safari Cottages good for families?
The site blocked automated access when we tried to check, so we found no child policy or minimum age, but rooms can be set up as a triple, which suits a small family sharing one space. Ask Woodland Lodges directly about a child rate or a larger configuration, since no dedicated family room is described separately from the standard room types.