Uganda
– August 2007
Route
Our route in Uganda was not particularly logical as we had to race to
Kampala to pick up our gorilla tracking permits before the weekend so
that we could get to Bwindi (Nkuringo) for tracking the following Wednesday.
This left us in the very south of the country and meant that we had
to head back north to explore and then backtrack south to leave.
So, in summary,
we entered from Kenya at Malaba and managed a lunch-stop in Jinja before
racing to Kampala and then stopping for the weekend. We broke the journey
down to Bwindi at Lake Bunyonyi, then headed north to Fort Portal and
the crater lakes. Finally, we dropped back down to Queen Elizabeth National
Park (QENP) before a stop in Masaka on our way back into Tanzania over
the Mutukula border. This took us 27 days at a very easy pace.
Border formalities
The Malaba border was busy and hustly on the Kenyan side but quiet and
shiny-new on the Ugandan side. It’s mostly trucks so, although
there was a queue, we were ushered through and looked after straightaway.
For us (Brits) the
visas cost $50 each, payable in US dollars. We also paid 35,500 USH
(about £10) for road tax based on the weight of our vehicle and
our destination - we said Kampala before we realised but I guess if
we’d said Jinja we would have paid less. Actually, I think we
probably shouldn’t have paid this tax at all but the customs guy
was not used to dealing with private vehicles, as we could tell from
the laborious completion of our carnet!
We also bought 3rd
party insurance at the border at a cost of $30 for three months –
no shorter periods available apparently….
General
driving conditions
Uganda is a beautiful and interesting country to drive through and compact
enough to traverse easily. The main arteries that fan out from Kampala
are very good – including a new upgrade on the Kampala to Fort
Portal road – but secondary roads between and off these can be
really shocking. We didn’t venture into the north but understand
it is pretty universally neglected up there (and that’s not just
the roads…). Kampala is hectic and can get gridlocked at rush-hour
but it is negotiable.
As in Tanzania,
drivers indicate left if you can overtake them and right if there’s
oncoming traffic. It can be un-nerving to have your life and death decisions
made for you so don’t feel obliged to overtake! Fairly unique
to Uganda are the ridiculous speed-bumps – some so high and steep
you have to take them at an angle to spare your diffs. The Bradt guide
has some great advice about self-driving in Uganda.
Specific driving conditions
Due to heavy rains, much of the info on the dirt roads is bound to change
season to season so ask locally if you can. All times are driving times
and do not include the numerous photo stops!
- Eldoret
(Kenya) via the Malaba border to Kampala. This took us 8 hours driving,
with probably 1-2 hours of this negotiating Kampala. Malaba to Jinja
was pretty terrible (under construction) and after Jinja we looped
north to take the longer but quieter and more scenic route via Kayungu.
Good tar roads all along this loop
-
Kampala to Mbarara (A109). 5 hours on good tar
-
Mbarara to Kabale/Lake Bunyonyi. 2½ hours mixed good/pot-holed
to Kabale then a 20min 4x4 track to Lake Bunyoni
-
Lake Bunyonyi to Nkuringo via the scenic route - 2½ hours.
We drove around the lake to Muko on a very beautiful road, which had
sharp rocks and was single-track in many places. Muko to Nkuringo
was well-sign-posted and maintained dust and also very scenic
-
Nkuringo to Kabale via Kisoro. 4 hours on a bumpy but stunning road
as far as Kisoro and then a really terrible road from Kisoro to Kabale
-
Kabale to Fort Portal and then the crater lakes. 5 hours on good tar
to Fort Portal by taking the A109 and the shortcut from Ntungamo to
Ishaka. Allow another hour or so on good dust roads into the crater
lakes depending on where you want to stay
-
Masaka to Tanzania via Mutukula border. Good tar to the border. It
took us 6½ hours Masaka to Biharamulo (Tanzania) on the B8
-
For roads in QENP, please see below
UWA and the parks
Apart from soaking up the lively culture and enjoying the scenery, most
activities in Uganda revolve around the parks run by the Uganda Wildlife
Authority. We were impressed by the amount of community projects the
UWA were also involved in and, so far, they seem to have avoided the
problems of high-end tourists being shipped past poor villages and causing
bad feeling. We loved out stay at Nkuringo Community campsite (maybe
as much as the gorilla tracking itself!) - see our Uganda trip report
for details.
We booked our gorilla
tracking permits from home direct with the UWA. There’s no doubt
that they are more used to dealing with tour agencies and it took me
some time to find a contact but once I’d emailed the UWA address
on their website they were helpful and easy to deal with. The Kampala
office was also great when we went in there but the outlying offices
(even Mweya in QENP) seem disenfranchised and disinterested so I’d
advise booking all activities in advance through the Kampala office.
We chose to spend
our park time in QENP, which has several sectors, landscapes and habitats.
This made it great value as the most you can pay for is 3+ nights at
119,000 TSH each (about £50) and we stayed for 8 nights across
three different campsites. Uganda parks don’t have a great global
reputation but we saw all the usual stuff plus lions twice. We also
successfully tracked chimps here for $30 instead of the $70 charged
in Kabale (due to the decreased chance if seeing them). The guides are
all very knowledgeable and friendly – we took a forest walk with
Bernard in Maramagambo and were mentally exhausted by the end of it,
and a Mweya guide kindly told us where to find the lions when we were
self-driving.
Out of the campsites,
Mweya is well-situated but very run-down and busy. We met a family who
had used one of the wild camps outside the camp gates and raved about
it so maybe try that. Maramagambo is pretty and peaceful but Ishasha
was our favourite. Nobody else there but the hippos and the armed guards
sent to protect you! A real highlight.
Of the roads,
the A109 road dissecting the park is very good tar, albeit with loads
of speed-bumps. The roads to Mweya and around the Kasenyi plains are
normal OK dust park roads. The road from Katungura down to Ishasha is
pretty terrible though, allow 2-3 hours from the turn-off. Similarly,
the route from Ishasha to Rukungiri was bad and very difficult to navigate
- we got lost and ended up taking ages – but the Rukungiri to
Ntungamo section is very good.
Accommodation
There are lots of opportunities to camp in Uganda, from wild park campsites
to hotel gardens. Almost all are good value.
Some favourites:
-
Nkuringo Community Campsite. Near the trailhead for tracking the Nkuringo
group in Bwindi but I’d consider going there anyway! It’s
a basic village site but surprisingly remote and unaffected without
being intrusive
-
Nkuruba Lake Community site. We stayed here for days. There’s
a small primary school on the grounds and we expected to be mobbed
but weren’t. Plus a very pretty lake and loads of different
monkeys (who needs Kabale!)
-
Masaka Backpackers. A friendly campsite and hostel with great food,
cold beer and pretty gardens with a view. Joseph will help you out
with anything and is good company
-
Ishaka in QENP – see above
Some
useful sites:
-
Agip Motel in Mbarara. OK so it’s in a hotel garden but the
ablutions and the Indian restaurant are good
-
Kampala Backpackers. No water when we were there but it’s well
located and surprisingly green
Think
again:
-
Lake Bunyonyi is lovely but the lakeside campsites are steep and no
good for a rooftop tent. I’d say if you want to go you might
as well go out to an island and stay
-
Amabere Caves (Fort Portal). Strange set-up, strange caretaker. Waterfall
is worth a day-visit
Food and
water
Water is normally available but the quality is variable. Fill up on
good stuff when you find it.
Uganda is very fertile
and there is fruit and veg everywhere! Cabbages, potatoes, carrots and
greens (dodo) were especially prevalent when we were there. The best
and cheapest market we went to was in Kisoro. We also found a good cheese
truckle in a Kabale grocers.
Good beef stew is
a Ugandan speciality and you’ll find it in all the local restaurants.
Lake fish (mostly Tilapia) is also widespread and there are people selling
it on the roadside between Kampala and Masaka (and also cars with it
tied to the grille!).
CVK in the crater
lakes is a good lunch-stop. Finally, if you stay at Masaka Backpackers,
treat yourself to Jen’s pancakes for breakfast and whatever she
is cooking for dinner.
Costs
Diesel prices ranged from 1720 USH to 2300 USH (average 60p/litre).
The cheapest was in Kampala and it got more expensive the more remote
you got.
We only spent £30
per day as a couple (all in bar the gorilla tracking permits). We camped
every day except one, had the occasional budget meal out and 1-2 beers
most nights.