Kampala Things to Do

If you've got an extra day at Kampala and you're out of ideas what to do, you could do much worse than going for a nice trip to the Ngamba island on the Lake Victoria.

There's a chimpanzee sanctuary on the island and any travel agent in Kampala will be more than willing to organise the trip for you. It usually is a half-day affair, but you can also choose to stay overnight on the island. The boat departs from Entebbe, it takes around 45 minutes and the ride can be quite rough, depends on the weather. There's a brief lecture on chimps and the purpose of the sanctuary first, followed by a walk around the sanctuary, usually it's around feeding time. Watching chimps is always fun so time will pass quite quickly.

If you're not in a hurry to return to the city, you could stop by the Entebbe ZOO after returning from the island. It's nothing spectacular, but it's probably the safest bet to see the shoebill stork, one of the symbols of Uganda. Oh, and there's more chimps in the ZOO :)

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Muyenga is a neighboorhood in Kampala and is located on the highest points in the city at 1306 meter above sea level. The hill house some water storage tanks which supply Kampala. Because of the water tanks, Muyenga is also known as Tank Hill. Muyenga is a place with some nice residences. It's less crowded than downtown of Kampala, and the city view makes it also a popular place to stay. Tank Hill Road from Kabalagala to Muyenga are the restaurant and nightlife area of Kampala. Kampala International University (KIU) is located in the hill.

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Muyenga club in Tank Hill is a club where you can be at a swimmingpool. The pool area does't deserve its exclusive reputation because it's rather ordinary and nothing more than that. The entry costs 7000 UGS (3 USD), and you get a sunbed and towel. A cafe serves snacks and beverages right beside the swimmingpool. The temperature of the water was too cold, and I was the only guests at the swimmingpool area this day in June.

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Kampala matatu station is a chaotic place in the downtown. Small buses, in most cases toyota Hiace, are crowded in a very dence area. From here you can take a matatu to the suburbs of Kampala, but also go for a long distance drive.

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Kabalagala is a neighborhood in the south-east Kampala. The centre of the neighborhood is the crossroad of Tank Hill Road, Ggaba Road and Nsambya Estate Road. Kabalagala borders the neighborhoods of Muyenga and Kansanga.
Kabalagala are known for many restaurants, bars and night clubs, especially in the beginning of Tank Hill Road and up to Muyenga. The name Kabalagala comes from a local type of pancake made from cassava flour and sweet bananas and is spiced with local peppers.

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Kampala is called the city on seven hills. And the view over the city from the hills are good. Visit one of the hills if you like to take landscape photos of the city.
Most parts of the city is lush and green.

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UPDATE MARCH 2010. THE TOMBS HAVE BURNT DOWN veiw pictures at this web page

http://pictures.newvisionuganda.info/index.php?option=com_rsgallery2&Itemid=70&gid=9&subcat=9&limit=12

I must say I thought my visit to the UNESCO world heritage site of Kasubi Tombs was a bit sad.

The main hut and gate house are all very impressive the main tomb building is supposed to be the largest grassed roofed building in the world and there are a good selection of spears and shields inside the building itself. What I found sad were the strange beliefs and misogyny that the Buganda believed and a lot of these superstitions linger on to this day.

My guide was delighted to tell me that it wasn't until Daudi Chwa II's reign that women were not allowed to eat chicken, eggs, or grasshoppers. I was shown a pair of chairs that were given to the kabaka (king) for himself and his wife by Queen Victoria. Old Vicky didn't realise Kabaka at the time had 84 wives and besides women were not allowed to sit on chairs.

My guide also told me that because she was not a member of the colobus monkey clan she would disappear if she stepped beyond the line drawn in the hut!!!

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My favourite pool in the centre of town at the Equatoria was having some serious work done to it in fact the whole hotel was closed while work was going on. So I was told that the next best swimming pool was out of the town centre in Mengo.

Nice big pool at the Pacify which I had mostly to myself even though it was a Saturday all for 5,000 UGX