Batwa Trail – Uganda’s Influential Cultural Tourist Trail
Combining a Uganda holiday and culture is a great experience that waits travelers to the country year round especially those of Uganda gorilla tours to Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga national park.
Uganda has rich and unique history as a strong component of the travel and tourism. The most interesting tourist trail the Batwa trail in southwest Uganda and its am impressive forest trail inside within the forest. You experience this wonderful trail in both Uganda mountain gorilla parks.
In Mgahinga National Park, the trail winds through the dense forest of Muhabura mountain ranges that has famed to the world as the one for golden monkeys and mountain gorillas. The presence of these two endangered species confirms how influential it is in most Uganda safari holidays. Kisoro is one of the best attractive travel districts filled up with amazing landscape, friendly people, rich culture and the interesting adventures with ever lasting memories.
If you want to find pride of the Uganda ancient traditions and hospitality while on your Bwindi gorilla tour, just visit outside Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in Uganda and experience a living history encounter. No wonder it’s called a trip of a life time because experiencing ancient in the present it’s really incredible.
At Bwindi forest, the Batwa tour is one of the main park daily excursions done by tourists. Find out how they feel living outside there originality home and how their life is all about from the time they relocated from the forest. The original dwellers and keepers of the rain forest claim to have been great friends with mountain gorillas and none of their hunting activities could harm the beautiful apes. They had spent their entire life depending on the forest until 1993 when Bwindi forest was gazette as a national park. There main activity of survival was hunting using bow and arrows, a thing they still never forgot though now they respect all the park wildlife including the world most unique primate, the mountain gorillas.
They never knew hospitals because God was merciful to give those trees and shrubs the system they practice to show the new generation the grass root of their origin. A hut is the best luxury shelter they could construct using trees, leaves and climbing plants. Batwa families live in unity and share pains of brother and sister ties.
Every gorilla tour can be complete with a visit to the pygmies or batwa people and experience the real life of an ancient Ugandan. It’s amazing to see how the forest people used the forest to survive and leave happily as well as offering memorable experience to guests who visit their premise. The pygmies are too friendly and hospitable, and there visit can be done any time of the day depending on the tourists schedules. Otherwise you will always be welcomed as a family and you will never notice any character of one being unhappy or annoyed. What a great cultural experience the pygmies offer outside the forests of Uganda mountain gorilla parks.
Read MoreRhino Tracking In Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Rhino trekking is a recent though an interesting wildlife adventure in Uganda, only done in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
A few decades ago, Uganda was a home to over 700 white Rhinoceros; until massive rhino poaching took the center stage and hundreds of black and white rhinos in Uganda’s wild could not survive the tragedy. Rhinos are one of Africa’s big 5 mammals and a name rhino originates from the Greek words Rhino meaning nose and “ceros” meaning horn.
The white Rhinos aren’t exactly white and neither is black actually. The word white was just merely mispronounced by the ancient Dutch settlers in South Africa from the Dutch word “wyd” meaning wide. But in actual sense the Rhinos both the black and the white are grey in color.
During civil wars and political insurgencies in Uganda in the 1970’s the number of Rhinos reduced dramatically. Currently they are only a few left in Uganda. Only two found at the Entebbe Zoo and the remaining others are under the watchful eye by the Ugandan wildlife Authority in the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary in Nakasongola along Kampala- Gulu highway just 180 km from Kampala the capital of Uganda.
By the support from Rhino fund Uganda and Uganda wildlife Authority, Ziwa sanctuary is a home to over 15 Rhinos making the place a progressive sight that is also visited by different people across the world.
The Rhino is among the big five mammals, including Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos, the buffaloes, Elephants and the lion. The Rhino is also the second largest land mammal in the whole world.
Some of the interesting facts of the white rhino are, it is a social, similarly to the Elephants and they also have small families called the “crash”. The dominant male plays the role of the father and also the protector.
One unique thing is that the Rhino mourns the death of a family member; they have a thick inches skin up to three inches. The ziwa sanctuary is the only place in Uganda that one can have an amazing experience of Rhino tracking.
Enter the territory of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary’s rhinos on foot. Rhino Fund Uganda has well skilled and informed guides that will guide you through the bush to where the rhinos are on the day of your visit. The guides are there to keep you safe from harm so listening to the safety briefing prior to trekking is very paramount. Rhino trekking is preferred mostly as an enroute activity to the Murchison Falls national park, or cutting the long journey short to the North Eastern based Kidepo valley national park.
While at the sanctuary you will also encounter a wide range of other wildlife species including Uganda Kobs, reed bucks, Oribis, rich bucks, hippos and crocodiles.
Other activities include; Bird watching, and the famous Shoe bill canoe ride, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is also home to over 250 bird species and is a great sport for serious birders interested in finding those rare African species. Experienced bird guides will enable you enjoy this experience.
The Rhino tracking excursion lasts for about 1-2 hours; Visit this Rhino sanctuary in Uganda and witness these critically endangered species in their natural habitat at a close range, while contributing to their conservation.
International Birders Praise Uganda
Uganda receive the three prominent international birders recently, one is the organizer of the world’s largest bird fair in the UK called Tim Appleton, the other is Bill Thompson, the editor and co-publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest, one of the most read North America’s birding magazines, and Dominic Mitchell, who is the founder and managing editor of Bird Watch, Europe’s leading monthly magazine. These three prominent international birders roomed the country, a first ever since the Big Birding Week started 11 years ago and paid glowing tribute to Uganda’s nature and proved that Uganda is really a pearl of Africa.
As he was speaking on the event, Appleton said that Uganda has the possibility to attract ten of thousand traveler’s whole over the world because Uganda is proved as a bird’s paradise with all most all types of birds. These entire where said during the launch of the big birding week at forest resort in Kasenge, Mukono district. He also noted that, ‘’Uganda has the highest population of birds not only in the east Africa but also in Africa, and not only seeing birds but birders also have the chance of seeing other mammals and primates like the gorillas on a gorilla safari and chimpanzees among others,’’. Appleton, however, noted that Uganda needs to improve its infrastructure if it is to attract more birdwatchers. He also added that Uganda needs more nice wide trails for better viewing of birds because there is no point in having small trails where if some in front of you sees a bird, the one behind misses it,” he said’’. He also asked the Uganda tourism board (UTB) to get involved in the UK Bird Fair, which, he said, attracted more than 22,000 people from 68 different countries annually.
Uganda is a God gifted country with very many species of birds and Uganda is considered the best safari destination for birders and it boosts of more than 1,057 species accounting for 11%of the globe’s total and 50%of Africa’s. The African bird club ranking Uganda as home to two of the top 10 birding sites on the continent. Bwindi impenetrable national park is ranked number one birding destination and Murchison falls national park in the ninth position. Nature Uganda in 2003 started the concept of the birding week which is developed into the big birding day, this came after seeing the potential that lies in birds. This year the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Uganda Bird Guides’ Club, among others, partnered with Nature Uganda to organize the event which was so colorful.
Maria Mutagamba the minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities was represented by Rosemary Komutagi, the acting commissioner for tourism development in the ministry of Tourism. As she was speaking on the event, she said that very may bird species visiting Uganda had increased and this has resulted to the increase in the number of tourists who droop in to watch them in their natural habitat last year alone over 3,000 birders where registered in the country, according to Komutagi, spent $5,000 on average, bringing in $15 million. She urged tour operators to prioritize birds because they bring in more money than all the other tourism products. According to records she said, ‘’on approximation, each birder spends about 3 weeks on safari as compared to one week of a safari tourist’’
The executive director of nature Uganda Mr. Achilles Byaruhanga in his speech on the event said that despite the growing interest in birds and tourism in general, the number of birds is reducing, in the last 30 days over 90% that’s from 10,000 to 100,000 of the grey crown crane (crested crane), which is the country’s national symbol. “Although the interest is growing, we are losing the numbers. The challenge is matching the enthusiasm in bird watching to conservation,” he said. However he credited the decline to the fact that most of the birds are living outside the protected areas that’s on people’s private land, where they are easily killed. He said that there are over 34 birding areas according to the research carried out by Nature Uganda including Mabamba, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Murchison fall national park, queen Elizabeth National Park among others. He said also that some thing must be done to preserve birds because they can easily migrate since they don’t need visa to fly.
Read MoreWhy Use A GPS When Traveling Around Uganda
Uganda is sometimes referred to as the pearl of Africa; it’s named due to its incredible variety of tourist attractions that inhabit the country, many people whole over the world jet in to have a glance on God’s creature. It’s a home to a variety of wildlife, beautiful landscape and rich cultural history. Some of the tourists prefer travelling under the guidance of a safari guide because it’s a much safer option used more frequently by many travelers in the recent years. However many travelers have started embracing the self-drive option which many believe that its much cheaper also offering privacy and freedom. Uganda offers a variety of interesting destination to visit all offering unique attractions however they requires adequate knowledge about routes, shops and accommodation and this where the Global Positioning System (GPS) comes in to help. Some experienced travelers know how to use a travel map but the GPS is a way better option as it offers real time positioning.
Cheaper option
This option is much cheaper when you compare it with hiring a full driver/guide. if you book with us at Uganda self drive, we will give it to you at a fee of usd$ 10 per day cheaper than hiring a driver we charge usd$20 for a driver/guide per day. So it’s cheap and you get the much freedom you need and avoid going by a guide’s itinerary.
Good Navigation
The Global positioning system offers the best navigation service than any other system, if you rent a car with it you are assured of not getting lost on the way, as this garget offers you a chance to type in destination you want to visit and it will draw the path showing distance and time taken to get there. Not only that but it gives you an opportunity to mark some so the interesting route, shop, restaurant, bank or tourist attraction to remind you along the way when you need to make a stopover. It can even remind you the right path in case you get lost. Indeed it’s the best garget to use while on your self-drive safari most especially in the destination you are not well conversant with.
Fuel Sparing
The moment you hire a car with a GPS garget, you have the chances of economizing on fuel, this comes as a result that the GPS will choose for you alternative and shortest routes to use hence help you make fuel estimates since you already know the distance for each route.
Portable and Easy to use
The GPS is very portable as a phone with easy to follow instruction on the main surface. You can easily place it at the window and connect to the car since some come with a rubber stamp. So if you are planning to hire a car form a rental car company, you should also consider getting GPS to guide you around especially if you are going to a destination you do no well. For more information you can write to us at info@ugandaselfdrive.com or you can call us directly on +256-751552950
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Uganda a Better Tourism Destination in Africa
When you plan your African Vacation, I know you got choices to take, these may refer to where you want to go, what you like to see, how long you would like to be there and this all base on to your budget. Amongst all the African regions, East Africa tends to be more friendly than any other part of the continent. But remember unless you got a big budget you will travel the whole region. For those people who have limited time for vacations and fund, a Uganda safari Vacation would be ultimate. Why? You got the whole Africa in it’s ” pearl”.
Starting with the people who live in the region with more than 50 tribes expect to have variations in the cultural set up of the people in Uganda and this will be interesting to see different people of different languages, community set ups, the dances and many more. They are not confined in one place but here you need to move from region to region to experience this.
Apart from the people, physical appearance to the country still differs from each region. In the eastern part of the country is where you will see the open flat lands extending many kilometers, and some few hilly places will be seen. This explains how much precipitation these areas will receive in terms of rain fall, and they are some of the dry areas in the country so they grow crops other than plantation. Unlike the western part of the country which is characterized with hilly areas where much of rains fall is received you will find plantation farming taking place.
Your visit to Uganda may not necessarily focus on the community set ups, you may read from several sites on the internet and look at the amazing creatures that are found in Africa, like the Rhinos, Cape Buffaloes, Forest Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Nile Crocodiles to mention. These are all found in Uganda, remember Uganda has got ten National Parks where these animals can be traced. So when you choose a Uganda Safari, you choose which animals you like to see and this will answer the question which parks you gonna visit and for how long you will be with us here in Uganda.
Read MoreUganda to Quadruple Tourist’s Numbers – new UTB boss
Uganda is one of the perfect destinations for budget and luxury gorilla safaris in Africa. Endowed with wildlife in national parks, birds, mountain gorillas and chimpanzee the primates, geographical features, the new executive director of Uganda Tourist Board (UTB) Steven Asiimwe has promised to take tourism to greater heights, boost the numbers of visitors, attract investors and brand Uganda across the globe.
“The onus is upon everyone to paint a rosy picture of Uganda as a destination,” said Asiimwe.
“I appreciate the outgoing team for attracting 1.2m visitor here annually. However, with the new team we intend to quadruple the figure.”
Asiimwe stressed that during his reign, he is going to engage the whole nation and work with regional partners, conservation groups, local government, cultural institutions and the media to implement the tourism master plan which is embedded in the country’s ambitious Vision2040.
Deputized by John Ssempebwa, Asiimwe has called upon private investors to exploit existing opportunities in tourism.
In his speech, Cuthbert Baguma thumped his chest with satisfaction while talking about his achievement and the hurdles he braved to earn numerous accolades from renowned tourism bibles.
“Somehow Uganda has stayed on the face of the world with source of the River Nile being declared one of the seven wonders of Africa, Kidepo Valley National Park was also named one of the best on the continent,” said Baguma.
“The Ishasha tree climbing lion won an award in the national geographic photo contest.”
“Besides that Uganda cannot be ignored when talking about 29, 200 available gorilla tracking permits per year,” stressed Baguma.
“This part of the world, endowed with 1050 different bird species was declared a bird watchers paradise.”
The Uganda Tourism Board chairman James Tumusiime said operating on a shoestring budget cripples any activity and leaves the staff without any motivation.
“Kenya put in sh74b to tell the world what they have. Tanzania comes close on their heels with sh12b. Rwanda trails with sh12b,” added the representative of Uganda tour operators.
“Uganda has stagnated at sh221m. The budget ought to be beefed up. And our products need a presence on the tourism maps.”
Cries are audible in the tourism circles for the $25b provided by the World Bank to be injected in marketing Uganda products.
A half of it has been allocated to renovating the Jinja School of tourism and human resources.
The weaknesses that were pointed out in tourism comprise; lack of a consistent global identity, double taxation of tourism facilities like hotels and community tourism packages.
Parading miss tourism, Harriet Nakito and Africa’s next top model Stacy Aamito, the minister of tourism and antiquities, Maria Mutagambwa observed that the new UTB team comes at a time when the continent is facing a crisis.
“Statistics have it that a rhino is killed by a poacher in every ten hours. This has left the continent with less than 3500. A whopping 25,000 elephants were poached in 2011 and 22,000 in 2012,” said Mutagambwa. “We have to jealously protect our wild life from this illicit trade.”
Meanwhile every effort is being done to check these extremes by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
They have trained rangers and equipped them with modern crime bursting skills and equipment. But the poachers are fast getting more sophisticated and better armed. More than seven rangers have lost their lives on duty.
Africa needs the rest of world’s support in the fight against extinction of the rhino and the elephant.
UK recently announced $16m to tackle poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
“If we cannot save our elephants now,” said Mutagambwa. “We simply cannot wait – because if we do-it will be too late to save these iconic species in Uganda National Parks.”
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Fly 540 Lowers Fares Again for Regional Holidays
Information received from the Kampala office of Fly 540 confirms the buzz amongst travel agents and regular travelers to Nairobi that the fight for market share has just become a notch harsher and ‘specials’ are being put out by the airlines, and often superseded by yet better deals, just as soon as the ink on the promotional pamphlets has dried. Fly 540, which last week confirmed a fare of USD 268 return all inclusive has over the weekend lowered this to US Dollars 240, inclusive of all taxes and surcharges, applying pressure on their competitors Kenya Airways, which is facing renewed strike action if last ditch efforts to find a common basis with the Aviation and Allied Workers Union in Nairobi fail, but also vis a vis Air Uganda.
The latter recently introduced a third daily flight between Entebbe and Nairobi, going one up on Fly 540 – KQ operates 4 daily flights between the two airports – but from usually reliable sources it was learned that the flight occupancy was still needing more ‘work’ to meet expectations at this moment in time and U7 too was considering dropping fares in order to get extra passengers into their seats.
Air Uganda, according to another source, has offered a range of ‘specials’ for their flights between Entebbe, Mombasa and Zanzibar, indicating that market conditions are ‘tough’ and unless passengers can be found, and kept, the struggle for not just market share but also for financial viability is a steep uphill journey. To lure more passengers most especially leisure tourists who seek a safari in east Africa on this route they are presently offering a companion rebate of 50 percent on their US Dollars 319 fare (terms and conditions apply) for the second ticket, making this deal slightly cheaper than Fly 540 if traveling ‘in pairs’ and cheaper still with their ‘family fare’ which goes for US Dollars 959 for two adults and two children.
Meanwhile it was also learnt that Fly 540 had offered a special fare for weekend travelers from Uganda traveling to Nairobi for the African Cup of Nations qualifier at only US Dollars 210, to be also repeated again for the upcoming ‘half term’ holidays of local schools between 15th and 24th of October.
Uganda drew their match 0:0 with Kenya and presently tops their qualifying group to the joy of the ‘Cranes’ supporters who for long have waited to see Uganda return to the continental stages, leave alone of course making an appearance in a FIFA World Cup final for the first time ever.
Said one football fan traveler with 540 to this correspondent: ‘at 210 Dollars I could not refuse to fly with Fly 540 and instead of spending a hundred or so dollars more with others, that money saved I used for my tickets and transport in Nairobi. And they have a very good aircraft, very comfortable’.
Read MoreAnnual Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race set for 08 and 09 December
Second annual Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race set for 08 and 09 December, 2012
The second annual Sipi Falls mountain bike race will take place on Saturday 08 and Sunday 09 December 2012, in Kapchorwa, eastern Uganda. The event will be hosted by Sipi River Lodge.
The race itself is what we call an XC event – which stands for ‘Cross Country’ – this means the race includes both downhill sections and climbing sections. Said the host
The course we use for the race is 19km long and is truly an epic ride with amazing scenery passing waterfalls and cliffs along the way. We start and finish at the lodge, after 4km of tarmac we turn off for a fast section of single-track downhill before reaching the valley floor where we begin a mix of climbs and descents along murram roads, eventually meeting back up with the tarmac for a few more km’s to the finish line.
When asked about last year’s race, Sipi River Lodge team said The fastest event time recorded at last years race was 1hr 34mins. The fastest time not in an event is 1hr 25mins. We think these times can be smashed by some serious riders!!
The weekend is not just about the bike race. The weekend is a chance for us to showcase our activities in the mountains. We have half price rock climbing and abseiling all weekend. Trekking, fly fishing, tandem paragliding and coffee tours are all on offer. For the more mellow vibe why not just relax in our garden with a cup of freshly roasted coffee and wait for the riders to finish.
You can stay wherever you like in Sipi Falls, but at Sipi River Lodge we will allow camping for this weekend only at $10 a night as well as our other great accommodation – and we’ll be having a BBQ cooking all day with Burgers and Tasty food. The party after the event will be at the Lodge.
We hope this will be a great Festival atmosphere and we are looking forward to showing everyone what fun can be had in the mountains of Eastern Uganda!!
Further information about the Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race, Sipi River Lodge or any of the activities around the area, email Sipi River Lodge on info@sipiriverlodge.com
You can also follow updates on the race by liking Sipi River Lodge Facebook page on www.facebook.com/SipiRiverLodge
Read MoreParagliding Comes to Uganda
Exploring Uganda’s varied Landscapes By Tandem Paragliding
Fly Mami Afrika is the first renowned firm in the adventure business to launch Tandem Paragliding flights in Uganda. Managing director Adam Robinson found time in his hectic schedule to talk to the Uganda Tourist about his company’s latest activity on Uganda’s adventure itinerary. “Exploration is the spice of life”
After paragliding in 13 different countries, the search was on for a new location to introduce paragliding. So far there have only been a handful of people to fly in Uganda over the years.
Uganda has many varied landscapes, this makes for interesting flight characteristics. Beautiful wildlife is abundant, the vistas awe inspiring. We fell in love!
When looking for a viable location for Tandem Paragliding, many factors play a part. Like baking a cake, without the proper recipe and ingredients, the result will be lackluster. Mt Wanale (visible upon entering Mbale 2hrs East of Jinja) is the logical first site for Tandem Paragliding.
Highways between Iganga and Mbale are some of the best in the country, and there are passable roads to the summit. The flying has great distance potential, with elevation gains equal to cloud level on a good day.
Paragliding has evolved immensely in terms of passive safety and performance since it’s conception in the 1960s.
Unlike parasailing, a paraglider is not a parachute pulled up behind a boat. A paraglider doesn’t have a rigid frame like a hang glider. An aerodynamic airfoil creates lift using the same principles as an airplane.
A paraglider uses soaring and thermal techniques identical to a large bird to gain elevation while flying. Soaring is a reference to air blowing at a mountain ridge and jumping off the top like a skateboarding ramp. We fly along the edge of the ridge where that air compresses. Thermals refer to air heated by the sun that releases vertically due to variable topographical features (ie trees, rocks, water, even buildings). When a stork ascends making circles, it’s found a thermal.
Imagine no mobile phones, or work deadlines, and no traffic! Just woven kevlar lines, industry ripstop nylon and mylar in the canopy, safety parachute, a harness that reclines into a chair, the feeling of weightlessness, and wind in your hair. This is paragliding!
Our pilots have CPR/First Aid training, Wilderness First Responder certifications, and the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association’s T3 Tandem Instructor, Instructor, and P4 ratings.
The Package:
Fly Mami Afrika is currently offering combination packages including 2-3 night stay at the Sipi River Lodge after the tandem excursion in Mbale. FMA intends to expand by offering tandem flights in other locations throughout Uganda, individual paragliding instruction, and guided paragliding tours for established pilots.
The info:
To book a Paragliding flights with Fly Mami Afrika log on at www.flymamiAfrika.com | Call Tel: +256 (0)785 748719 |+256 (0)793 040238, email: info@flymamiafrika.com
Read MoreKazinga Channel View Resort opens in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Kazinga Channel View Resort in Queen Elizabeth National Park is now open for booking
Information reached us recently of the opening of Kazinga Channel View Resort, a new budget resort in Queen Elizabeth National Park located, in southwestern Uganda. The newly opened hotel is located in Katunguru area along Kazinga channel, 1kilometre within the game park. The Kazinga Channel which links two lakes – Lake George in the northeast to Lake Edward in the southwest is a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park trip as the area hosts a wide range of water bird species, hippos, elephant, buffalo, warthog and Nile crocodiles. Wild game can be seen right within the resort’s grounds.
Kazinga Channel View Resort offers accommodation in categories of singles, doubles and twin rooms and bandas for safari holidays, vacation rentals or temporary lodgings. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. Singles from US$76 and doubles from US$152. There is also secure camping grounds. The resort has own restaurant & bar.
Due to its prime location, Kazinga Channel View Resort offer guests a good base for activities like; boat launch trips, sport fishing and bird watching.
For more information about Kazinga Channel View Resort or to book your room.
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