During our trip around Crater Lakes, we spotted a small vanilla plantation, so we stopped and visited it. Uganda is a leading exporter of vanilla beans known for its high vanillin content, which surpasses equivalent grades from Madagascar. It is the only country in the world to harvest...
The little coffee plantation at Isunga Community was across the road from the tea plantation we visited earlier. Uganda ranks second in Africa and eighth in global coffee production. The country grows Robusta and Arabica coffee at a ratio of 4:1. Accounting for 10% of global coffee farms...
We made a deal with the Isunga Community to tour us on a local motorbike boda boda around tea plantations, coffee plantations, and crater lakes for 55 USD (3 motorbikes / half day with a guide). Tea is Uganda’s third biggest foreign exchange earner after coffee and fish. A favorable...
Our journey continued through some of Uganda’s most incredible crater lakes. On the first day, we had terrible luck with the weather, so we did it again the next day on motorbikes (boda boda). On the highest hill behind Lake Nyamirima, we visited the viewpoint Top of the world, where you...
We stopped at one of many villages to see the traditional way of brickmaking. In open clay quarries, damp earth is dug from the ground and shaped in a mold. Many of these blocks are then piled up (there can be thousands in one stack). Mud is plastered over the whole surface to help retain...
We hired a small car (130000 UGX) to drive narrow, dirty roads around Fort Portal. Our first stop today was the reputed birthplace of King Ndahura (🎟️50400 UGX), 8km northwest of Fort Portal. This small cave offers more cultural significance than a natural wonder. The water dripping from...
We drove slowly to Fort Portal through Mabale, where we spent one night. The town is situated at about 1,500 meters and overlooks the mountains of the Ruwenzori Range and the Mufumbiro volcanoes. Several tea estates are concentrated east of the town. We found a lovely spot to park in the...
We drove through Uganda’s largest national park (🎟️45 USD / 24 hrs, 🚙50 USD) and one of its best. Animals are in plentiful supply, but our main target was the raging Murchison Falls, where the Victoria Nile crashes through the rock and descends dramatically towards Lake Albert. Despite a...
On our way to Murchison Falls, we stopped overnight at Hoima, the city with the palace of King Omukama of Bunyoro. We found parking in the city center at Cultural Lodges (20 USD) and walked to the HB Hotel to swim (10000 UGX). We visited Hoima Market and then drove to the national park...
We arrived from Kampala in an hour through a modern expressway (10000 UGX) to the pleasant and chilled city of Entebbe. It is set just outside Kampala, near the banks of Lake Victoria. This buzzing city is the former capital and has made Hollywood connections through numerous films about...