Uganda Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Uganda has once again become an outpost of hope in East Africa. As it makes steady progress toward peace and works to improve its tourist facilities, travelers have returned in ever-increasing numbers to enjoy its stunning landscape—green rolling hills, lush rain forests, snowcapped mountains, majestic rivers and massive lakes—and its fascinating wildlife, including about half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas.

Uganda has some of Africa's major attractions. It is bordered to the west by the Rwenzori Mountains, named a World Heritage site for their eerie, craggy tips and giant vegetation, and the majestic Virunga volcanoes rise along the southwestern border with Rwanda. It is the source of the Nile that empties out of Lake Victoria—the world's second-largest lake—at Jinja. It is home to more than 1,000 species of birds, making Uganda one of the richest birding destinations in Africa, and its richly varied savannah wildlife—large herds of elephant, tree-climbing lions, snorting buffalo and peering giraffe—is complemented by one of the highest concentrations of primates on the continent.

The country's progress as a tourist destination was brutally interrupted in early 1999, when Rwandan rebels murdered eight tourists in Bwindi National Park, the country's premier gorilla-tracking destination. However, Bwindi has since been protected by the military, and nothing similar has occurred since. It may be some time before Uganda achieves its full potential, but the country once known as the pearl of Africa has regained much of its luster for visitors.

Geography

Most of Uganda is relatively flat, comprising an undulating plateau perched at altitudes of 3,280-3,936 ft/1,000-1,200 m between the eastern and western arms of the Rift Valley.

But some of the continent's most impressive mountains reside on Uganda's borders with other countries, notably the Rwenzori, which rise to 16,761 ft/5,110 m on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Virunga volcanoes on the border with Rwanda, of which the 13,537-ft/4,127-m Muhabura is the highest of the Ugandan peaks.

The eastern border with Kenya is punctuated by the 14,173-ft/4,321-m Mount Elgon, 10,116-ft/3,084-m Mount Moroto, 10,063-ft/3,068-m Mount Kadam and 9,020-ft/2,750-m Mount Morungole.

High precipitation makes the countryside far greener than elsewhere in East Africa, and lakes, rivers and other wetland habitats account for almost 25% of the surface area. The most extensive freshwater bodies that lie within Uganda or along its borders are lakes Victoria, Albert, Kyoga, Edward, Kwania and George.

Of these, Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania, is the world's second-largest freshwater lake. It is also the source of the White Nile, which flows out of the lake at Jinja and passes through lakes Kyoga and Albert before crossing the northern border with Sudan.

History

Before gaining its independence in 1962, Uganda appeared to have a bright future. Kampala had a cosmopolitan atmosphere and one of the finest universities on the continent. The country's national parks had abundant game in their lush savannah settings, with some animals found in even greater numbers than in Kenya, Tanzania or South Africa.

Uganda was thought to have the best prospects for prosperity of any of the newly independent African states. But the first prime minister, Milton Obote, rewrote the constitution to concentrate power in his own hands, and nationalization of foreign assets failed to improve the country's economy.

A 1971 coup led by Idi Amin, a former sergeant in the British colonial army, further dashed hopes of a peaceful, prosperous future. For eight years, Amin directed a reign of terror, during which hundreds of thousands of Ugandans were murdered and society collapsed.

Amin miscalculated when, in 1978, he invaded Tanzania over a territorial dispute. His army was quickly defeated, and Tanzanian troops joined Uganda nationalists for a counterinvasion. By April 1979, Amin had fled the country.

A civil war broke out between various ethnic groups and dragged on until 1986, when the National Resistance Army leader Yoweri Museveni was sworn in as president. Museveni brought stability and the beginnings of an economic renaissance.

Museveni was long criticized for his policy of no-partyism, a form of government that prohibited political parties and effectively kept him in undisputed power for 20 years. In January 2006, however, when Uganda held its first multiparty election, Museveni was returned to power with 59% of the vote as compared to his closest rival's 37%.

Despite an economic growth rate that has averaged more than 6% during the past two decades, the majority of Ugandans still live in poverty, and the peaceful state of most of the country has been undermined by events in the far northwest, where the shadowy Lord's Resistance Army, based across the border in Sudan, has waged a consistent war of terror against civilian peasants and their children.

Nevertheless, Museveni has generally represented a major step forward after the Amin and Obote eras, and Uganda remains in considerably better shape than its war-torn neighbors.

Snapshot

Uganda's main attractions are the savannah and forest wildlife (including chimpanzees and mountain gorillas) protected within its 10 national parks. Other important attractions include ethnic cultures, white-water rafting and other adventure activities, bird-watching, Murchison Falls, the lush mountain scenery of the Rwenzori, the Virungas and Mount Elgon, and the expansive Lake Victoria.

Uganda will appeal to adventurous travelers who are interested in wildlife and African scenery. The highlight of any trip to Uganda is a chance to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. To stare into the soft-brown eyes of a gorilla is an experience not easily forgotten.

Don't go to Uganda expecting to find consistent deluxe accommodations or to have things go according to schedule, although most major attractions are serviced by at least one lodge or hotel that meets high international standards.

Potpourri

Uganda straddles the equator. If you are visiting one of the many Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria, you can swim across the equator. Most boat captains say they know where it is.

Uganda's problems with rebels and widespread poverty may have obscured another tragedy in early 2000. A religious group known as the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God is believed to have committed a mass suicide, with more than 800 victims.

Several of the country's many banana species are used to make a local variety of wine. The bananas are buried in their leaves to ferment, which produces a strong alcohol that should be imbibed with care.

Far more people are familiar with the name of Uganda's airport, Entebbe, than will ever visit the country. It was the site of a dramatic commando raid in 1976 that freed the passengers of a hijacked Air France plane and reinforced the daring reputation of the Israeli military. The movie Raid on Entebbe, starring Charles Bronson, was released a year later.

It used to be said that the mainstays of the Ugandan economy were the three Cs and the three Ts—coffee, cotton, copper, tobacco, tea and tourism. The horrific policies of Idi Amin ended all that. Today, Uganda's primary export is coffee.

A Ugandan motorcycle taxi is called a boda-boda. The name literally means "border-border" and originates from the border towns where bicycle taxis are used to cross no-man's-land between the borders. In Kampala, motorbikes are used as boda-bodas and rides can be a little scary. If you are uncomfortable with the speed, say pole-pole to your driver, which is "slowly" in Swahili.

Most Ugandans you will encounter speak English. You may find that small children will say "Good morning teacher" to you. These are the first words of English they learn at school.

Mount Margherita, the highest peak in the Ruwenzoris, towers 16,750 ft/5,109 m above sea level and is the third-tallest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.

When it rains in Uganda, which it does a lot, everyone simply plucks a leaf off the nearest banana tree and uses it as an umbrella.

The country of Uganda includes four ancient kingdoms—Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Toro—all of which have oral traditions dating back to the mysterious Batembuzi and Bacwezi kingdoms, centered around Ntusi and Mubende in the 12th century.

Uganda is a corruption of Buganda, whose people—known as the Baganda—make up more than one-fifth of the country's population. The Baganda monarchy was dismantled in 1967 by Milton Obote, but current President Yoweri Museveni reinstated the kabaka (king) in 1993, much to the delight of his people.