Visiting Uganda

Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It has a diverse landscape from the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains to the immense Lake Victoria. The country has many national parks to delight visitors.

Exploring Kampala

The capital of Uganda, Kampala borders Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake. Red-tiled villas and many trees cover the surrounding hills. Contemporary skyscrapers can be seen in the urban center.

The small Mengo Palace was built in 1922. It is the former home of the King of Buganda. Visitors can tour the palace's underground prison. Down below there is a dark concrete tunnel with many cells. In some of these cells, you can see the charcoal messages on the walls that once were written by former prisoners.

Kasubi Tombs are a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is the burial place of the Buganda Kingdom kings and royal families. This huge thatched-roof palace was built in 1882. After an arson attack in 2010, the tombs were rebuilt.

The Uganda Museum has an ethnographic collection of clothing, hunting, agriculture, medicine, religion and recreational displays. All of these displays are well-captioned. Highlights include traditional music instruments some of which visitors can play. Outside you can see the traditional thatched homes of various Uganda tribes and get a look at the Mercedes once owned by Idi Amin.

The impressive National Mosque is also widely known as the Gadaffi Mosque. The mosque was completed in 2007. The tour takes an hour and you can go up in the minaret for the best views of Kampala.

Parliament House is open to the public. Visitors can tour the building and see the government in session when the parliament sits from Tuesday to Thursday. Tours are conducted in English. In the main lobby, you can see a huge wooden cultural map of Uganda that features the country’s flora and fauna.

Rubaga Cathedral is a twin-towered Roman Catholic cathedral. It’s a memorial to the Uganda Martyrs, with 22 Catholic victims (later declared saints) enshrined in the stained-glass windows.

Traveling in Uganda

Kibale Forest National Park will place you in dense jungles and wetland forests. This park has many wild chimpanzees. Visitors can go on game drives and safari excursions.

Other monkeys here include the rare L’Hoest and the Ugandan red colobus. You can admire the ancient fig trees and take a look at the coffee plantations in the area.

The archipelago of the Ssese Islands has lovely sun-drenched golden sands. It is a lovely and relaxing place to be. They dot the waters of Lake Victoria. Here you can relax at one of the lakeside resorts or put on your hiking boots and take to the hills where you can see swamps with hippos. The island of Buggala offers kayaks and water sports.

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a land of rocky peaks and the greenery of Africa’s oldest primeval forest. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Here you’ll find lots of mountain gorillas as well as colobus monkeys and chimpanzees. You’ll see the breathtaking landscape of the Albertine Rift. There are valleys and summits and teak-shrouded riverways.

Named for its roaring cataracts, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park in Uganda. The biggest attraction is the point where the Victoria Nile comes flowing through a tight-knit gorge and over an escarpment that is over 40 meters in height. You can meet up with giraffes, elephants, lions and more.

Queen Elizabeth National Park or QENP lies close to the banks of Lake Edward.

Thousands of tourists come here every year to see the lazy Congo lions and swinging chimps between the Maramagambo Forest and the grassy savannah.

The area has many volcanic features of the awesome Katwe Craters. This is the place to take safari drives and game-seeking journeys.

Mount Elgon National Park has jungle-topped highlands. Cascading down from one of Africa’s oldest volcanoes are waterfalls. There are cave systems and rugged canyons. There are hot springs. You can see African goshawks and bush shrikes fly through the skies. Among the monkeys here are DeBrazza and colobus.

Lake Mburo National Park is Uganda’s smallest national park with swaying savannah grasses and riparian habitats. Here you can see buffalo herds and zebras, prancing reedbucks and hyenas. There are forests and swamp lands.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park far in the southern depths of Uganda you’ll find the highland mountain gorillas. Here are green rainforests and cloud-shrouded volcanoes.

Here you can see woodland elephants, golden monkeys, wild hogs and jackals along with the rare mountain gorillas.