I'm planning a trip to see the Mountain Gorillas in Uganda in December with some friends. We're looking into flying BWI-LHR-EBB. One destination we're considering is the Rwenzori Mountains. Has anyone been there? Any thoughts on travel to Uganda? Anyone been to EBB?

Lived in Uganda for six months!

EBB is your basic African airport... when an international flight arrives the terminal (whole airport) becomes swapped. There are no gates; you just step off the onto the tarmac and walk to the terminal (about 200 meters). It's also very hot and humid, with lots of flies and flees and mosquitos and whatever else from nearby Lake Victoria. It's actually quite a pleasant airport (as most African airports are) in terms of it's rural location, and the city of Entebbe has a sort of lazy "seaside" atmosphere, with an old colonial flair, with nice botanical gardens and a zoo. It's good place to acclimatize and get rested before hitting the road. Would recommend you acquire a visa before you travel to speed immigration procedures. Bags arrive before you do, seeing as there are few other flights the airport must contend with.

The Rwenzori Mountains are very beautiful; some of few true "mountains" in all Africa, and the landscape and forests along the foothills is also gorgeous. The gorillas are also an amazing site to behold; I've seen just about everything of African wildlife, and nothing about tracking, finding and seeing the gorillas failed to impress and do nothing short of create absolute amazement. Better to book through a local operator if you can, as prices are lower, or maybe through a travel company in South Africa. But whatever the price, it's well worth it.

You can also see gorillas on the Rwanda side, and maybe see that country while you are in the area. It's also very picturesque with rolling green hills and cultivated countryside. There are some very moving and educational genocide memorials (some also very gruesome, with preserved bodies still lying in classrooms where they were slain).

While you're in the area of the Rwenzori, you might also want to stop in to see the Impenetrable Forest; it's also beautiful and still has a substantial population of pygmy people, although they live in absolute poverty. The nature is spectacular, of course, with very dense and diverse growth.

Queen Elizabeth II park, near Lake Albert, is really nothing much to see; you had better go to the parks in Kenya, Tanzania or South Africa.

The Murchison falls on the Nile are also quite nice, but quite a detour; if water does not impress, better give it a miss. An easier and more spectacular/interesting waterfall is Sipi Falls (a few hours east of Kampala), which comes from the Sipi river that has its source on Mount Elgon near the Kenyan frontier. There is much to explore there and see besides the falls, and the lodge there sits on the opposite side of the valley from the falls, and sits on a high prominory that looks down from the escarpment onto breathtaking flatlands below (lodge is very basic though; don't know what your requirements are for quality of accomodation).

If you are into water sports, are adventurous or really want to scare yourself silly, then going whitewater rafting on the (source of) the Nile from Jinja (about 1 hour east of Kampala) is an absolute must. I'm no expert on whitewater, although I've done a few rivers before, but the Nile was by far the most challenging I have done. A huge rush.

Better give most things in the North a miss, for now anyway, due to the continuing LRA violence. There is not much to see anyway.

And then there is Kampala. It certainly is no Paris or New York, but if you take the time to explore, get to know the place and have fun, it is a very vibrant and fun city. A few days to a week are a great time, and unless you want to stay at a pricey expat hotels, decent and clean hotels are fairly cheap and very convenient. On top of that, it is a SAFE city, unlike places like Nairobi or Johannesburg or Kinsasha (but still use commonsense of course).

Just a few things to do in Kampala:
- Nakasero Market: buy your fruits and vegetables
- Owino Market: An absolute must, one of the funnest markets in all Africa. One enters this extremely dense and bustling market and you really have no idea where you are going. You just walk for two hours until you emerge on another side. One can buy almost anything there, including all the second hand cloths from the West (maybe you'll find an old shirt you gave up years ago; it's really quite a laugh at times seeing old graduation shirts and the likes). Be prepared to haggle and bargain though.
- Parliament building (one can view debates from the public gallery, and some people are willing to explain the unique district system of Uganda)
- Buganda parliament (good history about the local Buganda people and kingdom)
- Makerere University: oldest university in East Africa. The students are quitie eager to show people around, talk to people etc.
- Kasubi tombs: where Buganda kings are buried, interesting historical stuff.
- Nile Hotel: on Sundays they have fun traditional dancing, and usually all the tourists and locals watching get involved, even the shy ones; a fun time.

Some nice places to go out in Kampala:
- My favorite: Rock Garden... a popular place, bar and dance club with expats, but still a very lively place, open air, good mix of local and Western music, and great place to meet people (beware very persistant prostitutes however).
- Great Ethiopian restaurant is at the T-junction about 2 km past the US embassy, on your right as you veer right, as you towards Bungga.
- Pink Panther: a more intense dance club than the Rock Garden, with mostly locals and heavy house music towards the end of the night.

Another nice thing about Uganda is that the minibuses ("matatoos") (public transport) are quite reliable and easy to use, once you have got your bearings. And it is dirt cheap. Best to have a local explain fares to you, however, to avoid being cheated. There are no metered taxis, but there are taxis to hire; you must negotiate a price before departure. Again, get to know the local rates before you use them, otherwise you will pay triple the normal/standard fare.

A side note... Ugandans call foreigners (non-Africans), and especially white, "muzungus." It basically means white person, but also has connotations of wealth, education, means etc. etc. Don't be offended if every stranger you meet/pass by calls you that.

Ag, man... I really have gone on quite long enough. Sorry about that. A bit exciting to find someone who actually wants to go to Uganda though, instead of just South Africa! Good luck!

Thanks SchmeckFLyer!

Thanks for all the information. I'm fortunate to be travelling with a friend who has spent a lot of time in Africa and has already been to some of the places we will be going. Our itinerary is shaping up and it looks like we'll be going to Bwindi to see the Gorillas, then on to Arusha, Tanzania before heading to Lake Natron and then the Serengeti.

I wanted to resurrect this thread as I currently am planning to go to Entebbe, Uganda as part of a two month round the world trip. I currently have 8 days scheduled in Uganda via the BA London - Entebbe flight. It is at the end of March which I realize is not the optimal time for Uganda but was what fit into my schedule so it was that time or not visit at all. A must for me is the gorilla tracking for which I've budgeted $1000 - 2000. Although the actual time with gorillas is one hour it seems most tours are 3 days in total including transportation from Kampala.

My question is what do to with the remaining part of my time. I am a big fan of waterfalls so Murchinson Falls seems appealing. Any current updates on the security situation in the north? Also, I understand the game viewing is better in Kenya than Uganda. Would it be preferable and within the time allowed (5 days) to try to go to the Ngorongoro crater?

I have been game viewing once before to Sabi sands outside of Kruger and at Chobe and had a great time. How would game viewing at Murchinson Falls or Ngorongoro in late March / early April compare? Final question is regarding value -- I realize uganda will be the most expensive part of my trip but keeping in mind that I've been to Sabi sands and Chobe would it worth doing the game viewing in Uganda other than gorilla viewing or should I adjust my schedule so I'll spend only 4 days in Uganda. The rest of my trip is primarily is lower cost countries such as Peru and India. (overall budget is to average $150 - 200 a day for land costs, and I'll clearly spend less than that in Peru) Thanks for the advice -- I had excellent help from flyertalk when planning my first trip to africa.

I am going to Uganda next week, so will be able to give you a much better idea then now. From what I have read, Uganda is better on Primates and Birds. For larger animals, though, of course, there are some, it is better to look elsewhere.
I got some great info from posters on the women's forum and it has been moved here.

I enjoyed both QE Park and Murch. Falls in the north. If you are on a budget, there is an outfit in Kampala that can organize the trip north:

http://www.redchillihideaway.com

I have used these folks and it all worked out very well... understand that we were camping, but in purpose-built huts.

For QE Park, I can't recall the company, but it is across the street from the Emirates airlines office in Kampala on the ground floor of an office building not far from the modernesque mall/cinema.

If you have time, there are daily coaches to Kigali which is a nice small city. Figure about 7 hours - depart mid morning and arrive early evening. If you are American, there is no visa fee into Rwanda, but you'll need to pay $30 to get a fresh Uganda visa upon your return. No problem to get Uganda visas at the border or airport.

We did a 2½ week tour of Uganda in January/February of this year and we loved it. We had a driver and car with us all the way which I think is a good way to see the countryside and still quite reasonably priced.

Gorilla viewing is a treat -- you should not miss it. The place for that in Uganda is Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in South-Western Uganda, a hard day's drive from Entebbe. Be sure to book early as there are only a limited number of gorilla permits available and they tend to go fast. Buhoma is the center for gorilla viewing, with a number of accommodation options to suit most budgets.

An alternative for gorilla tracking is going to Rwanda where the permit situation seems to be easier (at least it was in our case early this year). We did go to Bwindi but went to see the gorillas in Rwanda because of the permits. Bwindi was worth seeing in any case.

The Rwenzori Mountains are indeed majestic, but they are best enjoyed by hiking and the hikes can be rather strenuous. Note that there is no gorilla trekking in the Rwenzoris. The gateway to the Rwenzoris is Fort Portal which is a pleasant small town even if it does not have much tourist attractions.

There was a comment about Queen Elizabeth National Park not being much to see. I disagree with that comment. It does not have the concentration of game some of the best Kenyan or Northern Tanzanian parks has, but it has reliable viewing of elephants, lions, and hippos, and it is a very pleasant, relatively undeveloped park. We spent five days there (staying at the Mweya Safari Lodge) and enjoyed it a great deal. QENP also offers pretty reliable chimp viewing.

Depending on your schedule, combining QENP and Bwindi might be a good option.

Kampala is a relatively pleasant African capital with enough to see for a two or three days. There are a few chain hotels, but I would recommend the Emin Pasha which is a very nice (if somewhat pricey) boutique hotel set in a lovely garden a just outside of the city center.

We used a tour operator called Kazinga Tours which is Ugandan operated and owned. We were very pleased with them and can recommend them.

If you are interested, I can provide you with contact information etc. Just PM me in that case.

Cheers,
T.

HI,

Not sure if you saw this but the Chimp tracking in Ft. Portal is a great time as well.
If you have time Lake Bunyoni (sp) in southern Uganda is a great experience as well.
Finally the Sseese Islands in Lake Victoria are an interesting diversion. Last I heard there was a ferry. SS Kalangala running from EBB to the islands. Ferry is new and very fast. I would suggest this over the other ferry that runs out of one of the towns south of Kampala.

Best of luck on the trip, Uganda is fun to travel and a little less developed than TZ or Kenya!

Here is some info I posted about a year ago, mainly about Kampala

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=683566

Most of what SchmeckFlyer posted above is still valid as well.

Thanks for the input. DesertNomad thanks for the redchilihideways links, the budget sounds perfect for what I was looking to spend to go to Murchinson Falls, and I don't mind camping for a few days. Gungadin please post a trip report or in this thread about your experiences in uganda when you get back.

Any recommendations if I'm in EBB only for a day (or more like 15 hours)?

Do you want to go into Kampala, or stay in ebb? Keep in mind it may take about 1 hour each way if you go into the city. If you want to have a nice lunch/dinner, you could go to the Laico in EBB, or the Speke Resort in Kampala. Are you wanting to "see the city" or just get out and about?

One time I walked in past an empty immigration desk and into Uganda free and easy.

It's Mzungu and it's Swahili which isn't really spoken by most Ugandans these days as far as I can tell. Maybe you heard it from Kenyans or TZ'ers? I've tried speaking Swahili many times in Kampala and people, at least the ones under 30, just don't understand it. They all speak their local Bantu dialect.

Just pick a nice place on the lake to relax and have a good meal. I see lots of places like this when driving by, but I don't have any specific recommendations.

Haven't decided. Am open to either. I'm a very quick traveller in general and have squeezed a lot into a short time, although that was in cities that didn't have a reputation for traffic jams.