Lets talk about Uganda.
Seems there are no travellers to or from Uganda, or if there are, none are blogging here. Has anyone else noticed this or is it just me?
I have travelled my fair bit in Uganda, and Hopefully shall get this thread rolling. Please please travellers, posts on Uganda needed.
Reply to this My friends and I were thinking of spending a few weeks in Uganda prior to our safaris in Tanzania and were looking for some suggestions. We were thinking of doing some treks at the national parks and maybe some white water rafting. Any suggestions?
Reply to this Hello Mwangi 😊
I have been to Uganda. I wrote no blog about it but have made several posts on this site about it.
The reason not many travellers go to Uganda is because of the civil war there. We are advised that we should avoid it.
When I was there I stayed on a couple of islands on lake Victoria. I forget the names of them. Maybe you can provide them because I recommend them to Kyle and Darren. There was no electricity or running water on the islands when I stayed on them 9 years ago.... I dont know how much you guys are willing to rough it...... There are however a couple of guesthouses there so you would have someplace to stay.
Mel
Reply to this It is very safe now to go to Uganda!!
I think its now one of the safest countries in Africa
Mara
Reply to this Hello Mara 😊
As far as I know there are still some very troubled parts.
Maybe Mwangi can give us more details about which parts those are.
Check out information on the internet about the activities of the Lords Resistance Army.
Mel
Reply to this Hi people,
Uganda must be one of the "safest" countries in Africa.
Ok, maybe safe is relative here, but still, Uganda is much better than most other countries in lots of respects. In any case, the LRA are pretty much restricted to the far north of the country. From my geography classes, there are lots of interesting places in the south, west and east.
Travellers, be ADVENTUROUS!
motobaridi
Reply to this Which places in Uganda do you recommend for us to visit, Mwangi ?
Reply to this Just came from Uganda a few weeks ago, and I agree that for the most part it is safe - you just need to be careful in the north of the country (where the Lord's Resistance Army can be active) - but there is so much to see elsewhere in the country, you don't really need to head to that part anyway. Also, I think some parts of the border with DR Congo are a bit unstable too.
I stayed in the Jinja area and undertook some adventure activites - and it seems to be a very popular destination for travellers. This area is very safe, and the biggest danger facing you is getting bruised whilst rafting the rapids!
Kampala is a safe city by African standards, and assuming you take the usual precautions (not walk alone late at night, avoid an ostentatious display of valuables) you will be fine.
Reply to this I travelled to Uganda in 2005, and I have to say it was one of the best experiences... stayed there 4 weeks, and I preferred it over Kenya and Tanzania. The only thing Uganda lacks is the coral reef and beach on Zanzibar ;-)
I would recommend on going to the west part, Kabale region... Lake Bunyonyi was a pleasant experience, not to even mention volcanoes on the border with Ruanda and Congo or mountain gorillas... Kampala was in my eyes much safer than Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
I'm actually planning to go back... to do some more volcano climbing and to do a trekking and climbing in Rwenzoris...
Reply to this Hi Uganda travellers,
we are a group of 4 who would like to go to Uganda next year or the year after. Which tour operator could
you recommend? Anyone experience with one of the following organisations:
- Matoke tours
- Kazinga tours
Which is good? Which can be trusted? We would like to do a tour of about 18-20 days, not too expensive ofcourse. We certainly would like to visit the Gorilla's.
Thanks a lot in advance
Reply to this I'm planning on travelling to Uganda for two weeks this year to do medical work. I'm still not 100% sure if I will be able to go, but if I do, I will be staying in a small village called Kaberamaido. We're raising money and asking for donations of medical supplies.
Reply to this Jimmy -
No idea about the tour operators. We have been doing it largely independently. There aren't many independent travelers but it is easy enough to do and you get to pick your own itinerary. With 18-20 days, it would be plenty of time to visit the gorillas and see whatever else you would like. If you land in Kampala, visit Let's Go Travel in the Garden City shopping mall and they have tours you can set up once you get here and you would likely save money. Then again, there are a lot of poeple that do overland tours with bus loads of other tourists, and they seem to be a riot.
Anyway, we visited Murchison Falls, Lake Bunyonyi and Bujagali Falls and have had a blast! It has to be one of my favorite countries thus far. Completely recommend it to anyone.
Reply to this How much does it cost to get a Gorrila treking permit in Uganda these days? When I was there it was incredibly expensive. A few hundred Euros if I remember rightly.
Reply to this Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo have standardised the price for a gorilla permit - which now sits at US$500 for the day.
Reply to this Gorillas permits are issued by the relevant government authorities and permit you to visit the gorillas. I am unsure of Uganda, but in Rwanda it is the ORTPN (the Rwandan National Parks and Tourist Office) - and they only issues 8 permits per day for each gorilla group - as of late May there were 7 groups - thus 56 tickets per day. The price includes 1 hour with the gorillas, many hours of hiking, plus guides, armed scouts and men with machetes to cut through the undergrowth. On the day I went about half the tickets were unsold, but at peak times, they can book out weeks in advance. Since DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda now have standard rules and prices on gorilla permits, I would assume that the 1 hour rule and the accompanying guides and scouts would apply for any Ugandan gorilla trek as well.
Reply to this I would recommend avoiding areas where there are fruit bats and try to have limited contact with animals. A european woman recently died of Marburg after she visited a cave in Uganda.
Reply to this I'll be in Fort Portal (Western Uganda) from Sept 08 to Dec. 08. It sounds like an amazing country and i can hardly wait to get there. If anyone is down for a weekend of white water rafting let me know
Reply to this 
