- +256 770 686076
- res@penthouseinns.com
- Open 24 hours
Arra Fishing Lodge
an unfolded tourism track
Arra Fishing lodge is a tourist destination featuring a high end eco lodge with a budget tented option on the rocky forested Omi Peninsula on the Albert Nile.
It features a full range of tourist activities like sports fishing, birding, marine tourism, nature walks, hiking, rock climbing. Its hosts a range of tourists seeking serene escape for recuperation, corporate retreats for team building and strategizing, family gateways, adventure tourists, budget tourists, back packers and experiential tourists.
Activities and packages can be customized for varying customer tastes and duration on our 30 acre estate featuring several amenities and supporting infrastructure.
Arra fishing lodge was originally founded by three visionary, adventurous and pioneering Austrians; Horst Pirker and his dear wife and Martin Richner in 1999 as a tented tourist camp focusing on Sports Fishing, Community Tourism, Birding, shoebill stork tracking, marine tourism and camping. Their mission was to open up a new tourist frontier, promote conservation and sustainability and transformation of society through tourism.
LOCATION
The founders chose Arra village a unique location on the Albert Nile (white Nile) and sited the lodge on on a unique rocky peninsula surrounded by two lagoons and wetlands that plays host to over 200 bird species including the Shoebill Stork, present great tropical sunset and sunrise views with water retention, spectacular rock formations, panoramic hill and breathtaking water views and a hospitable neighboring host community who engage in diverse livelihoods and interesting lifestyles for community tourism activities.
ACCESSING ARRA FISHING LODGE
Arra is located in Adjumani District 415 kilometers from Kampala in north western Uganda 130 kilometers from Gulu city.
Arra can also be easily accessed from Juba City South Sudan that has an international airport with daily flights to neighboring Nimule and Kajokeji towns or by road through Elegu border 260 kilometers away.
Transfer time from both Murchison and Kidepo National Park is about 5 hours through Gulu City although shorter marrum road connections exist.
Attractions
The lodge is located 10 kilometers from the Otze/Otce mountain and forest white Rhino sanctuary great for hiking, biking, nature & community walks, birding and off-road driving.
The Zoka forest and East Madi Wildlife Reserve 50 kilometers away featuring unspoiled ecosystems with variety of birds, over 1000 year old tropical rain forest, flying squirrels, indigenous coffee, primates, impalas, Uganda Kobs, water-bergs, antelopes, Bafalos great for nature walks, forest elephants birding and Safaries.
The Agie White Rhino Sanctuary which the Uganda Wildlife Authority is due to re-populate with rhinos is 70 kilometer away by boat on the nile or road
Zoka forest, East Madi Wildlife Reserve, Otce/Otze forest and wildlife reserve and Dufile Wildlife Sanctuary are great opportunities for nature and one health research.
The Emin Pasha Dufile forts established in 1870’s by Sit Gordon of the Anglo-Egyptian as a ship building and exploration center, miltary base and for control of Slave trade. It is rich historical site, features great archaeological pieces and borders Dufile animal sanctuary with elephants, antelopes, impalas, water bergs and primates which joins in to Nimule park in South Sudan. Emin Pasha Fort is just 30 minutes boat ride away.
Nimule Park and Fulla Falls in South Sudan next to Emin Pasha Fort is one hour away from Arra Fishing Lodge with great game viewing safari and exciting fresh water rafting adventure
The Albert/White Nile a 230 kilometer navigable water section of the nile featuring islands, lagoons and surrounded by great scenic hills and fishing communities. It has great potential for marine tourism like canoeing, boating, cruises, tubing, sport fishing, viewing of hippos and primates on the islands, tracking of the prehistoric majestic shoebill stork and community tourism with the fishing community and their hilarious lifestyle.
The white Nile runs all the way from the Delta on Lake Albert to Fulla Falls on the South Sudan border a window that since colonial times was linked by a steamer marine vessel.
The lodge therefore can access Murchison National Park both by road and water but tourists with East African Visas can also be taken to the Nimule National Park in South Sudan both by boat and road via Elegu border by a 1 hour transfer. In the Nimule park is also the majestic unexplored Fulla Falls for great viewing scenic experience.
Arra Fishing Lodge
Originally built as a tented tourist camp in 1999 but it unfortunately got run down with the unfortunate demise of the main founder Horst Pirker who operated it as an owner run lodge.
Arra Fishing Lodge Renovations & Restoration
The lodge has undergone careful and loving restoration, renovation redesign and redevelopment by Penthouse Inn Limited a hospitality Service Network founded in 2009. The new owners, the Opigo family are passionate about hospitality, tourism, nature, conservation, community transformation and they love creative artistic aesthetics, greenery and natural exterior, modern and eco fusion interiors which has guided the lodge redevelopment in to a heavenly enclave. The Opigos have maintained the amazing vision of the founders, believe in practical sustainable tourism and have accordingly leveraged on nature’s abundant gifts to create and run the lodge organically.
Arra Fishing Lodge Service Concept And Facilities
The lodge is designed as a boutique intimate upscale facility featuring 6 two to four bedrooms cottages with up to 17 bedrooms able to accommodate 30 guests.
The rooms are spacious with luxurious washrooms and comfortable furnishings to meet the taste of diverse clients including demanding guests.
All cottages carefully separated from each other by vegetation for privacy, with great balconies facing the breathtaking sunset water and hill views where guests can take their morning coffee while bird watching.
The lodge has a sustainability philosophy and has facilities to make it inclusive, tolerant and family/child friendly.
The lodge has 10 family size tents and other 45 tents of varying sizes all camping gear. There is a well developed camping and back parker’s ground featuring washrooms and self catering kitchen, bar and parking/charging points for motor homes in keeping with the tradition of the the founders who valued back packing experience, budget tourism and adventure.
Other guest facilities includes a swimming pool, sauna and steam bath and gym, bicycles, motorcycles, quad bikes, a 150 meter beach, boats and canoes, fishing gear, open bonfire places, indoor games and sports fields for tennis, basket ball, volleyball etc.
We have safari cars for external excursions and shuttles for our guests.
This provides for relaxing recuperation, rejuvenation and health.
The settling is perfect for honey mooners and fitted with family oriented facilities.
The lodge feature an open comfortable loby a restaurant, gift shop, high speed wifi, a museum and private parking for the in-house guests.
There are several viewing platforms at which sunset hunting can be done.
Safety, security, quiet, peace of mind, conservation and sustainability has been at the center of the lodge set up.
Infact we summarize our unique service by the slogan and promise “We shall take you to another world” “Do your thing and leave the rest to us” “We walk the way for you” “Alive with your way of life”
Food And Culinary Experience At Arra Fishing Lodge
The menu is great and diverse considering our guest tastes and traditions but we have also provided for culinary immersion in the madi, westnile, northern and Ugandan dishes experience. We accommodate health dietary advise and we can customize to guest preferences.
Self and group fun catering is allowed in fitted family cottages and supervised/supported use of barbecue cooking stands fitted within the lodge.
Dining locations includes formal restaurant seating, room and balcony/patio setting, beach, bonfire place, bush, sunset and sunrise viewing locations is per guest preference.
The lodge has kitchen gardens, poultry and animal farm where food items are organically produced and the rest sourced from the surrounding community as part of empowerment and sustainability. Our farming activities are a great and unique guest education and experience opportunity. This allows food to be fresh as it’s from farm to table or garden to kitchen.
We have the top chefs with great experience for a diverse menu.
Beverages at Arra Fishing Lodge
We have two bars a wine & spirit bar and the main pool side bar run as a bistro. We have great baristas and chefs serving great finger foods, coffee, smoothies, milkshakes, alcoholic and none alcoholic cocktails, wines, spirits and beers
Founders
Horst Pirker
The main founder and operator of Arra Lodge the Horst Pirker (deceased) was a visionary, adventurous, empathetic, adaptable, decisive, inspirational, pioneering and practical person. He fell in love with arra due to its admirable features of uniquely arranged huge stones, Forrest, primates, warm and humid micro climate, location on a lagoon and peninsula and vibrant welcoming people.
The Horst Pirker (deceased) left Austria in his retirement to set a new home, new community, tourism service and alternative livelihood for the Arra people and promoting conservation of the peninsula.
He was a practical eco driven architect and introduced creative building techniques training locals to implement the project and later operate the various services at the lodge.
He opened up, exposed and transformed the peninsula attracting other investors and developers who put up ranches, crocodiles and fish farms. His idea was basic back Parkers, camping and sustainable community tourism. He attracted and supported Arra community tourism providing the Arra community with safe water, kindergarten and primary schools, community centers, art and craft, commerce, traditional entertainment as bussines product for guests agriculture for the tourist and lodge market partly funded by tourist guest contributions.
The Opigos having been regular visitors and friends to the founders very well knew his vision and having read his written will are trying to walk in the Horst Pirker’s (deceased) footsteps taking forward his well conceived and thoughtful mission.
Arra And Omi Community
The Arra village where the lodge is hosted is owned by the Pachara clan who are subsistence communities. Their main livelihood is fishing and basic agriculture. Some petty trading is practiced in the township and ferry crossing where tasty fish barbecue is sold to passengers and tourists. The Pachara people hosted tourists in community immersion and experiences over the years, act as guides in nature walks, boat pilots and support to sport fishing, birding and shoebill tracking.
The community supports the operations and services at the hotel as commodity and services suppliers and workers. The relationship between the Arra/Omi community and the lodge is that of the 6 Cs of mutual benefit, interdenpendence and Sustainability ie Community, Collaboration, Conservation, Commerce, Capacity and Continuity.
Among other livelihood activities by the community is guest entertainment with traditional dances, music, arts and drama.
The Lodge’s gift shop is also stocked with traditional arts and crafts which guests can take as memorabilia promoting community incomes.
Our Community
Adjumani, Moyo, Westnile And Madi People
Adjumani District where Arra Fishing Lodge is located in the WestNile region of Uganda bordered by Amuru in the east and sounth and the Albert/White Nile the north and west with Moyo District on the Western bank on the Nile.
It is inhabited by the Madi people who speak madi language. The madi are sudanic and believed to have migrated from west africa following the Congo river and found in DRC, South Sudan and Uganda.
They are friendly intelligent people mostly farmers, fishermen and keep some livestock too. Apart from madi language most speak English and are very friendly hosts to visitors. Emin Pasha in his memoir has discribed the traditional madi as strong, family oriented, hard working, gender conscious and clan organized community with a clean heads but no centralized mornachial arrangement. They are mainly Christian with the church having been the backbone of community development and transformation that has greatly influenced the madi mindset and practices.
The madi have settled mainly along the river nile for fishing livelihood though some are in the Highlands of Metu that has the Otce mountain ranges. Those living in the lowlands practice crop farming and animal husbandry.
They have well structured birth, naming, initiation, courtship, marriage, funeral, harvest festivals and elders activities. The foods are great and entertain using various musical instruments with dances, a very rich tradition which excites tourists providing an unforgettable experience.
The housing and homestead are the traditional grass thatched hut/tukulu which has inspired the architecture of the lodge providing magnificent and unique aesthetic structures.
The madi have hosted and lived harmoniously side by side with over half a million south Sudanese refugees of different tribes more than host community population making them the leading global nation host for refugees. Refugees experience research is another opportunity.
Ways to get to Adjumani
You can take a 7 to 8 hours from Kampala by road on a well paved Kampala, Bombo, Gulu Adjumani road with well fitted 2 health breaks stops in Nakasongola and Gulu.
Alternatively you take a flight from Entebbe airport or Kajansi airstrip to Gulu or Pakuba and complete by road or fly straight to Adjumani airstrip.
Adjumani and Arra Fishing Lodge can also be accessed as a 5 hour Transfer connection from Murchison and Kidepo National Park
Arra can also be approached through South Sudan Juba International AirPort and connected either by daily one hour flights from Juba to neighboring towns of Kajokeji and Nimule or by 260 kilometers road through Elegu border
How to find us
Ways To Get To Adjumani
You can take a 7 to 8 hours from Kampala by road on a well paved Kampala, Bombo, Gulu Adjumani road with well fitted 2 health breaks stops in Nakasongola and Gulu.
Alternatively you take a flight from Entebbe airport or Kajansi airstrip to Gulu or Pakuba and complete by road or fly straight to Adjumani airstrip.
Adjumani and Arra Fishing Lodge can also be accessed as a 5 hour Transfer connection from Murchison and Kidepo National Park
+256 770686076
Lodge Help Desk
Gloria Opigo
Managing Director
WhatsApp +1 (778) 829-8343
Our Events
Plan your events & meetings
Wedding Ceremony
- 16 Apr 2022
- Paris
- 8:00 pm
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New Year party
- 16 Apr 2022
- Bankok
- 8:00 pm
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Hotel Autumn 2022
- 16 Apr 2022
- Tokyo
- 8:00 pm
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