Tourism

Uganda is a fast growing tourist destination gifted by nature together with its growing stability and hospitable communities. It continues to offer its competitively priced and high quality range of wildlife products offering an awesome experience. The development of tourism and leisure has been enhanced by effective promotion, of both the destination and products offered by government and specific businesses. Establishment of awareness programes, qualified, trained and skilled human resources, improved and stronger tourism administration, investment in the tourism plant and associated products (attractions, entertainment, shopping, etc), enhancing marketing methods and development of basic facilities, social services and proper infrastructure.

Wildlife Tourism

While the cultural diversity and effortless warmth of Ugandan people is remarked upon by all who visit the country, most itineraries revolve around the protected areas under the direction of Uganda wildlife authority (UWA). And these are magnificent , encompassing not only conventional savannah- mesmerizing tracts of African bush teeming with antelope, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, zebra, Forest Hogs, big cats – but also the snow capped peaks of Africa’s tallest range of mountains , tropical rainforests of mind boggling biodiversity, and atmospheric lakes and rivers heaving with hippos crocs and birds.

As yet untouched by mass tourism, Uganda’s parks are ideal retreats for the discerning eco-tourist. Uganda is the world’s premier primate – viewing destination, home to half of the world’s mountain gorillas, large populations of chimpanzees and a dazzling variety of monkeys. For bird lovers, Uganda is practically peerless: it is the only African country that has a record of more than 1000 bird species.

Friend A gorilla Campaign

UWA has set up the Friend-A-Gorilla initiative as a means of raising awareness at national and international level about the protection of mountain gorillas and their habitats. The core of the program is internet driven; making use of the most popular social networking sites i.e. Twitter, Facebook, My Space, etc.The program is open to individual as well as corporate participation

• An individual can become a Gorilla friend for as little as $1
• While a corporate can gain Special Gorilla Friend Status in various ways

The program was launched through a series of events in August and September 2009 Your befriended gorilla(s) will be interacting with you o a weekly basis, giving you updates and posts on to their movements in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. You will be able to follow births, new relationships. Or simply keep in touch with your gorilla friend. One also does not have to be part of the listed social networks sites to have a gorilla friend on the friendagorilla site. In addition the Friendagorilla.org site will have a section named Geo-Track, where you can track gorillas using actual GPS coordinates, provided regularly by the UWA gorilla Trackers.

Other Eco tourism activities

Source of the Nile:
River Nile is the longest river in Africa with Lake Victoria as its source. The river starts it 6,500km journey to the Mediterranean Sea (Egypt). A tour to the Nile will take you through another life of adventure. There is a golf course unwinding along the banks and the source of the Nile provides a pretty focal point to the flow of water from Lake Victoria’s only outlet. Booking a safari downstream on the Nile River brings you to Adrift Nile High Camp with various activities including Bungee jump. A few kilometers further, is Bujagali Falls, the adventurer’s capital with grade-five white water rafting, kayaking, river boarding and mountain-biking.

These activities offer a unique way to explore the river banks, passing though farms, forests and villages beside the Nile.Up along the Nile’s course is Lake Kyoga which also feeds the river with fresh water. The course then leads you to the great Murchison Falls, where the world's longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the rift valley escarpment plunging into a frothing pool 43 meters below. From this point, River Nile flows though Lake Albert to the northern part of Uganda, to Sudan and finally Egypt were it pours its mass into the Mediterranean Sea. This is the Victorian Source of the Nile, the source of adventure and excitement!

White water Rafting
The world’s longest river roars to life as the White Nile minutes after slipping quietly from Lake Victoria. It thunders between heavily forested islands and then leaps wildly into a series of spectacular drops. The roar of the rapids drift upstream with the gently breeze. Wooden canoes laden with excited locals congregate in the calm waters anxious to see our rafts in action. To the amazement of our audience, we plunge into the maelstrom and ride the mountainous waves downstream. Our rafts explode through huge walls of whitewater and drift through the warm green pools (27°C) in the equatorial sunshine. This is whitewater rafting at its very best; the wildest rafting trip on the planet.

Nile High Bungee (44 metres)
Leap from one of the most spectacular sites in the world. Water touches the source of the Nile (it is the only jump over the Nile), tandem jump with a friend or ride off on your bicycle. Try the ‘Nile High Combo’ where you can bungee jump and raft in the same day.

Ssese islands
The 84 lush Equatorial Ssese Islands form worlds of their own on their extra ordinary Lake Victoria. There is a lot of wildlife to see, delightful empty beaches, friendly islanders and peaceful environment providing an excellent opportunity for fishing, bird watching, boating and walking.

Lake Bunyonyi
As it's serpentine shape may suggest, is essentially a flooded valley system, extending northwards from Rwanda border over a distance of 25 kms through the contours of the steep hills that separate Kabale from Kisoro. It is thought to have formed around 8000 million years ago, as a result of lava flow from one of the Virunga Mountains which blocked off the Ndego River at present day Muko to create a dam.

Over the past few years , the lake ha further gained in popularity to proliferation of budget and other campsites and resortsaround the small fishng villages of rutinda and (also known as Kyabahinga)and near by Islands. In it's favoru also is a high altitude location which ensures a moderate climate(often becoming quite chilly in the nights ) and a relatively low incidence of malaria. Bilhazia is reliably reported to be absent from the lake ,as are crocodiles and hippos ,which means that swimming is very safe. Active travelers are catered for with canoes kayaks and mountain bikes available for hire and enough potential excursions to keep one busy for days.Tourism activities at lake Bunyonyi include;

The bamboo walk; these are guided nature walks which have been established and are highly recommended for any body who may be looking for a serious leg stretch in the Bunyonyi area.Excursions around Bunyonyi; Visits to most places of interest around Lake Bunyonyi can be arranged through the lake shore resorts and hotels and it’s also possible to reach some sites using our transport facilities.

Sport fishing

This is done on Lake Victoria and Murchison Falls National Park.
The main catch of the Lake is the Nile Perch which is the largest fresh water game fish in the whole world. The method of fishing is by use of trolling lures. At Murchison Falls, fish are often caught using live bait. Fishing is generally done over a few days, requiring some level of fitness and experience. Common types of Fish include Nile Perch, 10-80 kgs, and Tilapia and tiger fish. Most companies doing fishing offer equipments with powerful boat engines.

Birding Safaris outside the National Parks

Uganda is an equatorial country with astonishing contrasts. No other area in Africa can match its amazing diversity of habitats and this richness is reflected in its bird list of over 1000 species. From the source of the Nile on Lake Victoria to the snow capped Rwenzori Range, the montane forests of the Virunga volcanoes to the desert plains of karamoja, bird watching is an exciting experience for the traveler. No birder will be able to resist the attraction of some of Uganda’s most spectacular birds in areas such as Mabamba Swamp, Budongo Forest, Mabira Forest, Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Kajjansi Fish Farm, Kampala and Environs among others areas