The district headquarters at Buikwe are located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi), by road, east of Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the country's largest city.

[1] This location is approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), by road, southeast of Lugazi, the nearest large town.

[4] Mabira forest is located in the tropics north of the shoreline of Lake Victoria, immediately to the west of the River Nile.

The forest harbors in excess of 300 species of birds, many of which are rare; including the pied hornbill, superb sunbird, grey parrot, crowned eagle, black-billed turacos and the endangered Nahan's Frankolin.

At this point, the river flows from Lake Victoria to begin its three-months journey to the Mediterranean Sea.

[citation needed] The 32 metres (105 ft) deep waterfalls that John Hanning Speke saw in 1862 and named "Ripon Falls" were submerged when construction on Nalubaale Dam began in 1947.