Uganda

Quick Facts

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Capital

Kampala

Population

25,633,000

Government

Republic

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Protestant), Islam, indigenous beliefs

Languages

English, Ganda, Nyankore, Soga

Calling Code

+256

Nationality

Local name

Introduction

Football in Kabale

© All Rights Reserved helelyn

A past of genocide and other human rights atrocities as well as a current AIDS epidemic would usually suggest that a country is not particularly suited to visits from casual travellers.

But in Uganda's case, things are fast improving. Political stability over the past decade signals safety. Sure, there are parts of the country to avoid, but Uganda's best attractions can be visited with little difficulty. Uganda is starting to realise its own potential. Its lush, arable land is unusual for this part of the world and creates fantastic opportunities for agricultural export. Moreover, the forests which thrive in Uganda are an ideal habitat for mountain gorillas, giving Bwindi National Park the distinction of being home to half the world's population of mountain gorillas. Activities like white water
rafting down the Nile in Jinja are one of the reasons why visiting this town is a must.

Uganda is perched on the brink of large-scale tourism, so if you prefer solitude on your travels, better be quick. National Parks like Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth are now attracting visitors from all over the world, visitors drawn by the parks' wide variety of flora and fauna.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

Uganda's 80 districts are spread across 4 administrative regions.

• Northern Uganda
• Eastern Uganda
• Central Uganda
• Western Uganda

Cities

• Kampala - The capital.
• Entebbe - Just south of Kampala, the international airport is located here.
• Jinja - Known as the source of the Nile river and capital of extreme sports and activities in the country.
• Fort Portal
• Tororo
• Kabale
• Kisoro

Sights and Activities

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the prime spot in Uganda to go on a trekking to see the Mountain Gorillas. The park is located in the southwestern corner of the country and apart from gorillas offers a wide range of monkey, birds, butterflies and other wildlife to view upclose. A gorilla permit is expensive though, around 500 USD and as this is the most favorite spot in Africa to go on a trekking, the permits sell out quickly, especially by tour groups who buy them well in advance. As an independent traveller, you might be more lucky in Rwanda to get a permit within several days.

Kibale Forest National Park

Kibale Forest NP is located in the west of the country, not far from Fort Portal and is famous for its chimpanzee tracking and bird watching.

Murchison Falls National Park

This park is known for its falls, the Murchison Falls, where the Nile drops down for over 40 meters, being one of the most powerfull waterfalls in Africa. A boat ride will take you along hippos and crocodiles and other wildlife in the park includes elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard and many species of antelope and birds.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park, crater

© All Rights Reserved Winkekatze

This park offers another option to go on a safari, with great wildlife viewing between Lake Edward and Lake George and on top of that the Kasinga Channel has the largest concentration of hippos in the world! Also, the endemic Ugandan Kob, a species of antelope, lives here.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Uganda has a tropical climate with hot and humid weather throughout the year. There are two dry seasons, the cool and long from June to September, and the warm and short from December to February. From March to May is the long rainy season, with heavy rain possible for days on end. From October to early December is the short rainy season with showers at the end of the day but most of the time it is dry. Daytime temperatures usually hoover around 30 degrees Celcius, but a bit lower from June to September. Some parts in the north are warmer though and temperatures over 35 are not uncommon. Night temperatures are typically around 20 degrees Celcius. In the mountains in the west temperatures at night can become rather chilly though.

Getting There

By Plane

Air Uganda is the national airline of the country and only started flights in 2007. It is based at Entebbe International Airport (EBB) near the capital Kampala. International destinations are Nairobi, Mombasa, Khartoum, Kilimanjaro/Arusha, Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar. Other airlines serving the country are mainly African airlines serving a number of destinations in East and Central Africa. South Africa Airways flies to Johannesburg, Brussels Airlines to Brussels, British Airways to London and KLM to Amsterdam. Eagle Air has many charter flights to lots of African countries only.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

International bus connections include those to Kigali in Rwanda (8 hours), Nairobi (12 hours) in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. You can also cross from Uganda directly to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

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