Kabale is a small rural
town in southwest Uganda. You may pass through it, as
it’s en route to gorilla tracking at Bwindi or Mgahinga National
Parks.
Kabale and the nearby picturesque Lake Bunyonyi are popular overnight
stops, and there’s no shortage of accommodation. Kabale is also
where the Kampala road from the north joins the road to the borders
with both Rwanda and the D.R.C. With its dusty streets lined with
goods sheds, precariously overloaded haulage trucks, fuel stations
and roadside mechanics, it has a distinct frontier-town feel.
The region is heavily populated and extensively cultivated. The
town is the major trading centre for the southwest of Uganda, making
Kabale’s fresh food market a must-see. The narrow passages are
full of wooden stalls piled high with colourful fruit, vegetables,
beans, grains and nuts, where traders bargain fiercely with their
customers. The shops along the main drag are consistently busy. Trade takes on a furtive edge with people from the farms coming in
to exchange their produce for brightly striped mattresses, plasticware,
second-hand clothes, blankets, and water containers. The ‘Hot
Loaf Bakery’ is an institution on the African overland route. It sells croissants, muffins, pizzas and pies - a big change from
Uganda’s crumbly yellow bread.
Communications are generally poor in this region but the Internet
has arrived in Kabale at the ‘Voice of Kigezi’ Internet
Cafe, thanks to a hard to miss raft of satellite dishes on
the roof!
|
 |
