Places to visit this Christmas
Uganda wildlife Education Center (UWEC)
Commonly known as the Entebbe Zoo, UWEC is way beyond the normal menagerie, where you walk through corridors guarded by cages with animals, and that’s it. UWEC mimics environments from which these animals were rescued from around Uganda.
Take on the more rewarding experience called “Behind the Scenes”. With your spouse you can feed the elephants, giraffe. The strong hearted ones can try out the rock python challenge; remember to take as many photos as possible. This place is perfect for an afternoon retreat, and lunch is served here.
Getting there: It’s about a 45 minutes’ drive from Kampala on a good day without traffic.
There is public transport on this route daily.
Entrance fee: Shs10,000 every individual.
Kibale Forest Camp Byoona
Location: Located in Kibale Byoona Amagara is a community-run, small-scale hideaway on Itambira Island in Lake Bunyonyi. They have a good camp ground for lazy camping or pitching your own. They have a secure, free-of-charge car park near Rutinda Market, with a signpost and from which you can get free canoe transport to the lodge. Canoes take about 50 minutes to reach Itambira Island and are available until 6pm. Kibale Forest Camp is majorly good for friends and family gatherings. Road transport is the most suitable means of transport. If you would rather go with a professional driver and guide, save $455 (Shs1, 632,540).
Sipi Falls Visit
This Christmas, how about a journey to where the sun has breakfast, the Eastern part of Uganda. Here you will find a series of three waterfalls in the district of Kapchorwa. Abseiling is a the major activity I will recommend you try out while in the Sipi Nation. It is a controlled descent of a vertical drop using a rope. At a place called Rob’s Rock you will enjoy abseiling along the side of the main 100 meter high Sipi Falls. You can also take a hike around the area and enjoy views of nature at its best.
Getting there
It might take about 4:30 to Sipi from Kampala driving through Mbale towards Kapchorwa. It is approximately 270 kilometers. You will need like Shs30,000.
Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Surrounded by the peaceful waters of Lake Victoria, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary is home to 49 orphaned chimpanzees rescued from different parts of Uganda. With family or friends, you can book your spot on the morning or afternoon boat ride to the island where you will get an exceptional opportunity to observe, feed and interact with the chimps in a unique setting. Lunch is served at the island, and you can also enjoy beach sports. Full day motorised canoe trips start from $82 per person. Children between five and 15 years pay half price while those under five years enter free of charge.
Zip-lining in Mabira
Located between Lugazi and Jinja is Mabira, the largest forest in Uganda covering approximately 300 square kilometres. Your day’s excursion will lead you Griffin Falls Camp where you will experience the Mabira Forest canopy like monkeys from high in the trees most definitely yelling like an infant. You will be led through ancient trees by experienced Sky Captains / Sky guides across a network of five zip-lines that stretches 250 metres across River Musamya.
After the exhilarating experience, you will hike from the skyway past the beautiful Griffin Falls and back to the camp which offers accommodation, meals and mountain biking among others. You can choose to spend the night or return to Kampala thereafter. The zip lining experience is only Shs60,000 for Ugandans.
Accommodation at Griffin Falls Cam ranges from Shs30,000 to Shs100,000 per room per night, exclusive of meals. You could choose to travel with your tent and sleep in nature at a camping fee of only Shs5,000.
Getting there: The drive from Kampala is about 44 kilometres (approximately 1 hour 20 minutes) depending on the traffic flow. There is also a daily taxi service on this road.
Ssese Islands
If your plan this Christmas is to slow it right down, Ssese’s lush collection of 84 islands along Lake Victoria’s northwestern shore present the perfect holiday gift to give to your fiancée, friends or family. The stunning white-sand beaches evoke sentiments of the Caribbean beaches. With the few days of Christmas you might not be able to visit all 84 islands, but can surely enjoy the largest of them all called Buggala, easily accessible by ferry. You can rent a bike and cycle around the island, or board a canoe, or sit at the beach lazily and watch the sun dip into the water, while sipping on some nice cocktail juice.
Getting there: There are two large ferries serving Buggala Island.
One, a modern passenger/car ferry that runs daily between the Nakiwogo dock just south of Entebbe and Kalangala Bay. The ferry departs from Kalangala for Nakiwogo at 8 am daily, and returns leaving Nakiwogo at 2 pm daily. The journey takes about 3.5 hours, and there is a snack bar on the ferry. The ferry costs Shs10,000 per person second class, or Shs14,000 per person first class. There is little difference between the two classes, except that the first class area may be less crowded. There is usually plenty of room for passengers, but space for cars is limited. Nakiwogo can be reached easily by taxi, and sometimes by minibus, from downtown Entebbe.
The second ferry departs from Bukakata (near Masaka) and Luku/Bugoma on the Western end of the island. It leaves Bukakata at 8:00 am, 11.30 am, 1.30pm, and 4pm, returning from Luku/Bugoma at 9:00 am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 5pm.
Jinja Sailing Club
Location: Jinja Sailing Club is located in Jinja. This is nearly a one hour drive from the country’s capital Kampala.
Jinja Sailing Club is blessed with beautiful gardens on the Shores of Lake Victoria; with a cool, fresh breeze all through the day. Road transport is the most suitable means of transport anyone can use when going to this place. This place is favorable majorly to family gatherings. It can however also be friendly to a couple.
Things to carry: Life Jacket. Casual cloths. These may include; a pair of shorts and shirts for men and women.
Boat Cruise: Shs30,000 per person.
Bakiga Lodge
Location: Bakiga Lodge is located in Ruhija: the heart of Bwindi Forest, Uganda. Bakiga Lodge is a five minute drive to the Ruhija Gorilla trekking meeting point and from the start of birding guided walks. Comfort, great service, fantastic food and wonderful views are some of the special things anyone can enjoy at this place.
Things to carry: Forest friendly walking boots, binoculars, a camera and camping related items.
Accommodation: Luxury tent at $120 per person
Lake Bunyonyi
Location: Southwestern Uganda between Kisoro and Kabale close to the border with Rwanda.
Lake Bunyonyi gets her name from the Bantu translation of the word ‘birds’, and is basically a “Place of Many Little Birds”. But at Bunyonyi, it’s not just about the feathery hosts, it’s a lot more about the geography. You have seen Lake Victoria the second deepest lake in Africa but have not seen Uganda’s most beautiful Lake, Lake Bunyonyi. The shores present terraced hillsides while the water is dotted with 29 islands in total. On Christmas morning, you will be happy to celebrate the birth of Jesus with the rising sun over Africa’s second deepest lake. You can enjoy a lazy morning with limitless views of the lake, and in the afternoon, treat yourself to a canoe ride or crown your Christmas evening with a swim in the waters of Lake Bunyonyi.
Getting there: If you prefer a self-drive from Kampala, the travel time ranges from seven to eight hours.
There is a daily bus service to Kabale at a fee that falls between Shs20,000 and Shs30,000. From Kabale you can board a taxi at Shs3,000 to one of the hotels near the lake. This is about 15 kilometres on a murrum road (approximately 20 to 30 minutes’ drive)
