Uganda Travel Guide @ TravelNotes.org

Travel Notes: Africa: Uganda Travel Notes

Uganda tourist information with details about travel to and around the country. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips and hand-selected Uganda links, by dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel.

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Uganda Background

Uganda was made up of four kingdoms and many tribes before it was ceded to Britain, in 1890.

Countries neighbouring Uganda are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Bunyoro was the first of the great Ugandan kingdoms around the 15th century.

During disharmony in the late 18th century, the governor of Buganda declared his independence from Bunyoro, and the new kingdom soon became the major lake state. Two smaller kingdoms, Ankole and Toro, also seceded from Bunyoro.

Buganda:
Mmengo is the seat of government of The Kingdom of Buganda, located in the south-central region of the country known today as Uganda. On December 19, 1997 the government of Uganda handed back the Mmengo Palace (Lubiri), main palace of Buganda's kings since the time of Mwanga II.

The first Europeans to visit Uganda were British explorers searching for the source of the River Nile.

Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries soon followed, and the factions they created caused a civil war in Buganda.

The British ended the disturbances, and used Bugandan forces to help conquer the other kingdoms and tribes.

The name Uganda was adopted in 1896. The British protectorate gained independence on October 6, 1962.

Sir Winston Churchill called Uganda, The Pearl of Africa.

The Pearl of Africa Glows Again:
Travellers to Uganda are drawn by its stunning landscape: green rolling hills, snow-capped mountains, rainforests, majestic rivers and massive lakes. There are also a number of outstanding national parks for your safari encounter with the wildlife for which Africa is renowned.

Weather in Uganda

View a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around Uganda.

Entebbe Weather, Kampala Weather.

Source of The Nile

Uganda is a landlocked republic in eastern Africa, although almost 20 per cent of its area is water.

Around Uganda

Language

The official language of Uganda is English, although Swahili is the popular tongue.

Driving in Uganda

If you want to drive around Uganda, you need to show an international drivers license to hire a vehicle.

Rental Cars in Uganda:
Available in Entebbe and Kampala. Roads radiate from Kampala and are of varying quality.

In the north of the country the security situation is still doubtful and so are the roads. Its is a good idea, if you are on self-drive, to get local advice about the condition of the roads you intend to use.

Natural Uganda

Within Uganda are Lakes George and Kyoga; and parts of Lakes Victoria, Edward, and Albert form its borders with neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania, and Zaire.

These lakes and most of Uganda's rivers form parts of the basin of the upper River Nile; feeding the White Nile that flows through Sudan.

Uganda's highest peak is Mount Margherita (5,119 m); in the snowy Ruwenzori range, on the south-west border with Zaïre.

Uganda Wildlife Authority: (UWA)
Established in August 1996 by the Uganda Wildlife Statute, which merged the Uganda National Parks and the Game Department, the UWA is in charge of management of 10 National Parks, 12 Wildlife Reserves, 14 Wildlife Sanctuaries and provides guidance for 5 Community Wildlife Areas.

Visiting Uganda

The best times to visit Uganda are December-March and June-September; avoiding the two rainy seasons: April to May and October to November, with April being the wettest month.

Entebbe

Entebbe, on the north-west shore of Lake Victoria, is primarily a residential centre for government staff in the nearby capital.

It was the British colonial administrative centre of Uganda from 1893 to 1958. The city has fine botanical gardens.

Airlines and Airports:
Entebbe Airport - the scene of an Israeli commando raid that freed more than 100 hostages, from an airliner hijacked by pro-Palestinian guerrillas, in 1976 - is one of the largest in East Africa.

The national carrier is Uganda Airlines.

Kampala

The capital of Uganda is in the south of the country, near Lake Victoria.

Old Kampala Hill was where the British first established a fort  in 1890. The tombs of the kings, or kabakas, of Buganda are on Kasaubi Hill.

Kampala was capital of the British protectorate, from 1900 to 1905, and succeeded nearby Entebbe as capital; when the country became independent, in 1962.

Mengo, to the south-west, was the traditional capital of the kingdom of Buganda.

Uganda Tourism

Tourism is on the increase in Uganda, due in part to the privatisation initiatives implemented by the government and the increased security situation; especially in the national parks.

African Safaris:
The Travel Notes section for tour operators who offer wildlife safaris to Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

My Uganda:
Uganda's leading Internet resource.

Uganda Tourism:
The official Uganda Tourist Board website.

Uganda Accommodation

Lodging in Uganda:
There are international standard hotels in Uganda, especially in the main towns of Entebbe, Jinja and Kampala. The quality is variable in the smaller towns and rated accommodation is scarce. All of the major national parks offer accommodation in game lodges and tented camps.

Uganda National Parks

Bwindi

Bwindi is in the south-west of the country, 560km from Kampala. The closest large town is Kabale.

Bwindi National Park:
A magnificent verdant swathe across the steep ridges of the Albertine Rift Valley, this ancient rainforest - one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age - is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas.

Kibale

Kibale is near Port Portal, 320km from Kampala.

Kibale National Park:
The most accessible of Uganda's major rainforests, Kibale is home to a remarkable 13 primate species, including the very localised red colobus and L'Hoest's monkey.

Kidepo

Kidepo is 7-800km from Kampala, depending on the route you take.

Kidepo Valley National Park:
Located on the Sudanese border, in the north-east, Kidepo Valley is one of Uganda's most spectacular parks; although travelling there might be unsafe.

Lake Mburo

Lake Mburo is 230km west of Kampala.

Lake Mburo National Park:
Lying in the one part of Uganda covered in extensive acacia woodland, Lake Mburo is the best place in the country to see the gigantic eland antelope, as well as zebra, topi, impala, and several acacia-associated birds.

Mount Elgon

Mount Elgon is near Mbale on the east border with Kenya.

Mount Elgon National Park:
Elgon is a 4,321m high extinct volcano which in prehistoric times stood taller than Kilimanjaro does today. Although the mountain straddles the Kenya border, its loftiest peak, Wagagai, lies within Uganda and is best ascended from the Uganda side.

Murchison Falls

Murchison Falls is 330km from Kampala.

Murchison Falls National Park:
Uganda's largest national park protects a chunk of untamed African savannah bisected by the mighty river Nile, where the world's longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below.

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth National Park is 440km from Kampala.

Queen Elizabeth National Park:
From open savannah to rainforest, from dense papyrus swamps and brooding crater lakes to the vastness of Lake Edward, it is little wonder that QENP boasts one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game reserve in the world.

Rwenzori Mountains

The Nyakalengija trailhead lies off the Fort Portal road, 22km from Kasese.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park:
The 120km Rwenzori chain is regarded to be the legendary snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, described by Ptolemy in AD150. Reaching an elevation of 5,109m, it is also Africa's tallest mountain range, exceeded in altitude only by the free-standing Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.

Uganda Accommodation

Book Uganda hotels online to save yourself time and money.

Hotels in Uganda:
Find hotels in Uganda with special online rates.

Uganda Travel Guides

Books on Uganda Travel:
Browse Amazon's best-selling list of books on travel in Uganda.