Uganda General Information

Overview Uganda straddles the Equator between the mighty rain forests of the Congo Basin and the vast savannah of East Africa. It’s a place of shimmering lakes, lofty mountains and mysterious forests. Ugandans refer to their country as the ‘Pearl of Africa’ – a phrase originally coined by Winston Churchill – and it’s easy to see why. For a little country no bigger than Britain, it’s got some of Africa’s major attractions. It is bordered by the fabled snow-capped Rwenzori ‘Mountains of the Moon’, a proclaimed World Heritage Site. It contains four of Africa's seven Great Lakes, one of which - Lake Victoria - is the second largest body of fresh water in the world. It’s the source of the Nile at Jinja where this mighty river begins its great journey north. It is home to over 1 000 species of birds, making Uganda the richest birding destination on the continent, and it has the greatest variety of primates anywhere in Africa, including chimpanzees and the highly endangered mountain gorilla. Uganda has such an abundance of natural resources that, in the 1960's, the country was widely regarded as Africa's premier safari destination. But a lengthy civil war put a stop to that. During the war Uganda lost many of its animals and her game parks were destroyed. 15 000 elephants were slaughtered in Murchison Falls National Park alone. Uganda has had a turbulent history, and during the 1960-70s was regarded as a place of terror where power-mad dictators ran amok, leaving the country they pretended to govern shattered, broke, and with a massive loss of life - both human and animal. Only a decade ago, the buildings of the capital city Kampala were still riddled with bullet holes, electricity cables lay twisted on the pavement and there was no running water. But Uganda has been politically stable since the late 1980's. Thanks to a democratically elected government and massive investment, the infrastructure is back on track. It is once more a safe and easy country to travel through. Kampala is now a clean and modern city though it still retains an air of African street life - just go to the mind-boggling minibus taxi stand or the city market! There is greater protection for its unique wildlife - the country's wonderful natural heritage is safeguarded in 20 national parks and reserves - and animal numbers are steadily increasing. The Ugandan people are some of the most warm, welcoming, and friendly you will find anywhere in Africa. The population is put at around 25 million divided into 52 different ethnic groups. When driving through Uganda’s countryside, you will be bombarded by waving kids yelling “Hello teacher” (the first words of English they learn) and in the markets every trader wants to stop and chat. The overriding impression is of happy people who surprisingly hold no bitterness about their past, only bright hope for the future. Uganda is a fabulous place to drive through overland and it’s the best way to get around. The scenery is lush, moist, and incredibly green, with well-watered fertile hills and valleys. Every fruit and vegetable known to man grows here and it’s the only African country that can sustain a surplus of food. The hillsides and plantations are terraced ‘Bali-style’ and all over the countryside subsistence farmers till their land and cart off piles of green bananas, mangoes, and pineapples to market to trade. A Ugandan market has got to be one of the most colourful places in Africa. 17% of Uganda is covered by water – rivers, waterfalls, the regally named lakes of Victoria, Edward and Albert, and a number of smaller ones, including the spectacular irregularly shaped Lake Bunyonyi - a famous beauty spot in the hills around Kibale and a stunning place for canoeing along the borders of neighbouring Rwanda. The national parks and game reserves are a showcase of Uganda’s diverse scenic splendour. They harbour ancient forests, craggy forbidding mountains, volcanic crater lakes and some very special animals. Without doubt, the biggest attraction is the rare privilege of trekking into the forest to watch a family of mountain gorillas in one of their last natural habitats. Gorilla Travel and tracking is on offer in Bwindi National Park, another World Heritage Site near Kabale, and on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes at Mgahinga National Park near Kisoro. An hour’s audience is permitted with each habituated family and it often takes several hours to track them down. It’s worth it though, as to look a massive silverback directly in the eye is indubitably one of the most special wildlife encounters on earth. Chimpanzees can be tracked in Kibale Forest or visited on Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria’s Sese Islands - a home for orphaned and rescued chimps. Uganda’s list of adventure activities is steadily growing. There’s grade five white water rafting on the Nile, challenging glacier climbs in the Rwenzoris and even bungi jumping or quad biking in the forests around Jinja.

What is Uganda's history? At the time of the first European exploration of what we know as Uganda, three main kingdoms existed - Buganda, Kitara, and Karagwe. Each was ruled by a king with separate laws and customs. These are thought to have their origins back in the 16th century and the land before this time was probably occupied by bushmen and pygmies (the latter are still living in remote forest regions of Uganda). The first Europeans to visit Uganda were German missionaries in 1849, who sent reports back to Europe of ‘great lakes and snowy mountains'. Then in 1862, the explorer John Speke found the source of the Nile at Ripon Falls near present day Jinja. The British colonialists were next to arrive, and made Uganda their own in 1893 - hence the very English names of Uganda’s lakes and national parks. Uganda achieved independence from Britain in 1962, and for a moment it was thought to have the best prospects for prosperity of any of the newly independent African states. In particular, the country's national parks had abundant game in lush mountain settings, and animal numbers were higher than in Kenya, Tanzania or South Africa. But it wasn’t long - thanks to a series of inept and despotic regimes - before things started to go seriously wrong for Uganda. The first of the dictators was President Milton Obote. He banned opposition parties in 1969, and rewrote the constitution putting all the power in his own hands. Next up was the infamous Idi Amin. He overthrew Obote in a 1971 coup and made himself President of Uganda, King of Scotland, and Master of all the Fishes in the Sea (his inaugural speech was that of a man with a warped mind). A former sergeant in the British colonial army, the insane Amin directed a reign of terror for eight years, during which 300 000 opponents of his dictatorship were murdered, many more were tortured, and society collapsed. He hit on the educated classes - dragging them out of their classrooms and offices to be shot - blaming them for spreading the word of dissent to the uneducated man on the street. Next to be targeted was the 70 000-strong Asian community, mostly traders and business people. In 1972 they were ordered out of the country with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Blatantly using them as a scapegoat for the troubled economy, Amin grabbed the US$1000 million in cash and assets they were forced to leave behind. He then threw out the British companies with interests in tea plantations and other industries, and once again squandered the US$500 million they left behind in investments. Uganda was governed by a tyrannical, inept leader, dressed in shades and a combat outfit, protected by a pet security force of armed and financially rewarded henchmen. Anybody who challenged him was killed or thrown into jail. His wayward armies managed to destroy most of the animals in Uganda’s unprotected national parks. Then in 1978 Amin’s insanity reached fever pitch when he decided to invade Tanzania. But he severely underestimated the force of the Tanzanian army, who joined forces with Ugandan nationalists and quickly turned around and counter-invaded Uganda. Amin was finally ousted and fled to Libya in 1979. A few years later, Gaddafi threw him out after a quarrel, and he died in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in 2003. Few Ugandans mourned his death. Obote subsequently returned to office but soon found himself fighting guerrilla groups: the remnants of Amin’s army and Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Army. A civil war broke out between the various movements and ethnic groups that claimed another 100 000 lives. Conflict dragged on until 1986, when the National Resistance Army finally took control and Yoweri Museveni was sworn in as president. Museveni is now in his third term of office - won legitimately through democratic elections - and peace and stability have returned to Uganda. The economy has grown steadily, foreign investment has increased and many Asian Ugandans have returned to reclaim their businesses. Though the majority of Ugandans still live in poverty, and the Aids epidemic has struck hard in Uganda, the country remains in considerably better shape than its war-torn neighbours, even after the horror years of Amin and his successors.

What does Uganda look like? Uganda covers about a quarter of a million square kms of East Africa. It’s a landlocked country, firmly barred from the sea by Sudan to the north, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the west, Tanzania to the south, and Kenya to the east. Uganda sits astride the equator (you can swim over it in Lake Victoria!) and is a lush and fertile country with a remarkably diverse landscape. The central areas are covered with a highish plateau at an average of 900-1000 metres above the not-so-near sea level, dotted with small, rounded, richly fertile hills. It is also surrounded by some pretty big mountains, notably Mount Elgon on the border with Kenya, Mount Moroto in the North East, the Virunga Volcanoes to the extreme south-west on the border with the DRC and Rwanda, and the south-western Rwenzori Mountains on the border with the DRC. The latter are commonly dubbed the ‘Mountains of the Moon’ for their eerie, glacier-tipped crags and giant vegetation. All the Rwenzoris are over 2 000 metres high. Mount Margherita at 5 109 metres is Africa’s third tallest mountain. Uganda is a well-watered country with close to 17% or 51 000 square kilometres of land dedicated to swamp or open water. Uganda shares the shores of East Africa’s great lakes - Lake Victoria (the largest freshwater lake in Africa and second biggest in the world) and lakes Edward,and Albert. All are home to hundreds of thousands of hippo. The Victoria Nile flows through much of the country and forms a sizeable delta on its route between lakes Victoria and Edward. Another distinctively different landscape is the dense tropical rainforests on the slopes of the Virungas and at Bwindi that support an abundant bird life, and one of the last remaining populations of mountain gorilla. The diet of the mountain gorilla is unique; these are two of the very few regions in the world (the other two populations are over the border in Rwanda and the DRC) that grow the right combination of gorilla foodstuff to keep them alive.

What is Uganda's weather like? Uganda has a moderate tropical climate and receives abundant rainfall. It’s rich in fertile land, a major determining factor in settlement of the region. Average rainfall is about 1 200 mm, most falling during the two wet seasons of March to May, and October to November when it gets moderately humid. At other times of the year skies are clear and sunny with the odd afternoon thunderstorm. Temperatures range from 17-35°C all year round - never too hot, never too cold! What do the people speak? There are a number of local languages but most people in Uganda, as in all East Africa, speak Swahili and English. Here are a few Swahili words so you can say hello and at least get a cold drink. A little Swahili goes a long way in Uganda and most Ugandans will be thrilled to hear visitors attempt to use it. Since the language was originally written down by the British colonists things sound just like they look. • Hello - Jambo! • How are you? - Habari? • OK/fine - Sawa sawa • Very well – Mzuri Sana • Friend – Rafiki • And you? – Na wewe? • Where are you from? – Unatoka wapi? • I’m from – Natoka • Yes - Ndiyo (try to skip the 'N') • No - Hapana • Good - Mzuri (To say 'very good' you add 'sana' - 'mzuri sana') • Bad - Mbaya - (again, 'very bad' would be 'mbaya sana') • Please - Tafadali • Thank you (very much) - Asante (sana) • Goodbye - kwaheri • How much? - Pesa Ngapi? • No problem - Hakuna matata • Where is the bathroom? - Iko wapi choo? (where = wapi) • Water - Maji • Ice - Barafu • Hot - Moto • Cold - Baridi ('Nataka beera baridi sana' - ' I want a cold beer') • Tea - Chai • Coffee - Kahawa • Milk - Maziwa • Meat - Nyama ('Nyama choma' is cooked meat) • Beer - Bia or beera • I don’t speak Swahili but… - Sisemi Kiswahili, lakini