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.
Countries neighbouring Uganda are: Democratic
Republic of Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Weather in Uganda
View a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around
Uganda.
Entebbe
Weather, Kampala
Weather.
Uganda was made up of four kingdoms and many tribes before it was
ceded to Britain, in 1890.
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.
Uganda is a landlocked republic in eastern Africa, although almost
20 per cent of its area is water.
Journal of The Nile
Discovery
|
John Hanning
Speke: (1827-1864)
In December 1856 John Hanning Speke accepted an invitation from Richard Burton to join an
expedition to search for the reported great lakes in east central Africa and,
particularly, to try and find Lake Nyassa, said to be the origin of the Nile.In Search of
The Source of The Nile:
Galen R. Frysinger retraces the steps of the famous explorers from London to Zanzibar, and
Tanzania to 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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Book Uganda hotels online to save yourself time and money.
Hotels
in Uganda:
Find hotels in Uganda with special online rates.
Books
on Uganda Travel:
Browse Amazon's best-selling list of books on travel in Uganda.
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