UGANDA – a visual travel guide
Uganda, a land locked country in East Africa offers a tropical and lush terrain, friendly people, delicious food and is one of the three countries in the world where you can see gorillas in the wild.
There is so much to do here, but to make life easier, my top 5 of Uganda are as follows:
(1) Gorillas
Yes, the Gorilla permits are expensive but well worth the cost. Uganda permits per person are USD 600/day (as in 2019), compared with the Rwanda permit of USD 1500/day.
Use a reputable company to obtain your permits and arrange the trekking. You are assigned into maximum groups of 8 and have a rather intense hike through the thickness of the rainforest. The rangers take good care of you, so you have nothing to be worried about.
FACT: about 42% of the gorilla’s in Uganda are habituated.
(2) Kibale National Park
There are numerous national parks is Uganda, but I rate this one the most due to its rolling hills and variety of activities offered, should you be interested – they range from a swamp walk to mountain biking. It is located in Wester Uganda, about a 6 hour drive from the main international airport or capital.
(3) The friendly and welcoming people
Majority of the people in Uganda speak English and are more than happy to have a chat. So walk down the street and have a drink with the locals!
The most heart warming part is the smiling children everywhere who eagerly wave to you.
(4) Biwindi & Queen Elisabeth National Park
This mountainous Biwindi National Park is located in the south-west of the country (not far from the Rwanda border) and is where we encountered the mountain gorillas!
Although I did not spend a lot of time here, just driving past this park makes you realise the vastness of an African savannah. A magical place, where you can see herds of elephants from the road, eagles flying and warthogs playing in muddy water.
(5) The Equator
Uganda is one of several countries through which the imaginary line of the Equator passes. However, to believe the division of the hemispheres, you can witness the flow of the water in differnt directions, just feet away!
Suggested Iteninery
We spent about 8 days in Uganda and got a taster session.
We arrived in Entebbe (1 in the map below) where we spent 1 night. We then drove to Biwindi National Park (2 in the map) and spend 2 nights, including gorilla trekking. We then drove via the Queen Elisabeth Nation Park and spent 3 nights in Kibale National Park (3 in the map). Finally we drove back to Entebbe to spend our final night before the flight.
Where we stayed
We found all the accomodation to be of good standard.
(1) Agandi Eco Lodge in Biwindi National Park:
Our tripadvisor review: A nice lodge with a great view over the valley. The rooms were clean and well equipped, the food was good and the staff hospitable. The lodge is fairly new and we were the only people there the night we stayed which meant we had free roam of the facilities and a quiet and restful stay. It was also ideally positioned for our gorilla trek the following day
(2) Insuga Lodge in Kibale National Park:
Our tripadvisor review: A wonderful stay. Our best in Uganda. The view from the lodge in itself is worth the stay and to that clean comfortable rooms, friendly staff and great food and you can’t ask for more. We made new friends in the sociable longe area but also enjoyed our own privacy.
(3) Secrets Guest House in Entebbe
Our tripadvisor review: Secrets is a nice family run Guest House. The family are very friendly, and welcoming and the complex is quiet but located near a lake, playing fields and a small village which are all within walking distance.
The Guest House cooks delicious meals and their rooms are tidy, clean and comfortable. The air conditioning and mosquito nets are additional nice-to-haves although not everyone will deem them necessary.
The guesthouse is well positioned for Entebbe airport and good value for money.
Currency
Uganda’s local currency is Uganda Shillings but USD is widely accepted. In small shops though, be mindful that things are slightly cheaper if you pay with the shillings. And if you want to covert USD cash into shillings, then the larger the bill ($50 or $100), then the better the exchange rate you get.
Tour Company
We used F & M Adventures and they were extremely professional and knowledgable. I highly recommend them and would use them again in a heartbeat. Just ask for Moses or Farouk!
