A Few Facts about Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country located in East Africa meaning that it has no direct access to port or sea port. It actually has an area with coverage of 241,000 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 35 million people with many ethnic groups that include Bantu, Luo, Acholi, and karamajongo that partially still walk naked among others.
Uganda gained independence from Britain on October 9, 1962. English is the official language as well as Swahili and many other different local languages are spoken that include Luganda in central, Runyankole Rukiga, Rutooro dominating the western part.
About 70 percent of Uganda land is covered by forest, woodland and grassland especially in west and southern part of Uganda with few areas in northern part that is semi- arid.
Uganda also referred to as the Pearl of Africa is home to over half of the remaining Mountain Gorilla population in the world. Tracking these endangered Mountain Gorillas and the Chimpanzee is in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest and Kibale National Park respectively. A part from watching the primates, Uganda accounts for 50 percent of Africa’s total bird species. In fact, about 1,040 different types of birds have been recorded, making this country a leading destination for bird watching in the whole of Africa. The capital city of Uganda is Kampala, while Jinja is where the source of River Nile is located.
Due to the fertile land and regular rainfall in the country, its major foreign exchange is agriculture and a bigger percentage of the economy depends on this sector.
Uganda is one of the largest coffee producers in Africa. The natural resources in this country include, copper, limestone, cobalt, phosphate and recent discoveries of oil in Albertine region, that is to say; around lake Albert.
This country has a variety of landscapes which range from flat and dry Savannah, forest, mountainous and lush landscape attractive to all travelers since these places actually habour a variety of animals and birds. It boasts of beautiful national parks where tourists can watch a variety of wild animals. Visitors traveling to Uganda are required to have a valid visa, evidence of yellow fever and polio vaccination for children under the age of five years. Other recommended vaccinations include; Malaria, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus, Rabies, Meningitis.
Visitors who want to go on a Gorilla tracking in Bwindi impenetrable forests are actually recommended to buy their permits and book early due to limited availability. The number of people allowed to visit each gorilla group is limited to a maximum of 8 per day as a strategy for their conservation for future generations.
One hour is the maximum time you can spend with the Gorillas in those semi jungle places. You can also go biking near the spring of the Nile using a 4 wheeled motor bike also referred to as All Terrain Bike. Uganda is a world-famous holiday destination for water rafting on the River Nile attracting many tourists from all over the world. Nile rafting trips range from half a day up to three days.
Uganda is also famous for the mystical Rwenzori Mountains with the 3rd highest peak in Africa known as Mt. Stanley / Margherita at 5109ft ASL. The hike to Margherita requires 7-9 days depending on your speed and you must be physically fit to make it to the summit.
Popular Uganda Trips
- 3 Day Gorilla Tour
- 10 Day Uganda Wildlife Safari
- 14 Day Gorillas & Wildlife
- 15 Days Uganda Tour