Mbale Travel Guide

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Nothing better to do on a nice hot day in Mbale than to take a refreshing swim in the pool at the Mbale Resort Hotel.

In what was once the gardens of the hotel they are now building another even bigger hotel which will have a bigger pool or so I am told!

The cost of a swim is 5,000 UGX, but as well as a pool there is also a gym and a sauna

Al the usual Ugandan favourites plus on occasions you can get bamboo shoots Malewa . These are usually cooked together with ground nut sauce.

This was my favourite bar in Mbale but on arriving in town on my last visit I found the place all closed down. Since my previous visit it had changed names from Mountain view to Dawn to Dusk. It looks like the place had a very short life as dawn to Dusk.

A few years previous i had many a good night here drinking tumblers full of kasese for 600UGs

With a few exceptions transport from Mbale in all sorts of directions leaves from the bus park. Buses from here leave to Moroto, Kotido, Nakapiriprit, Kumi, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Busia.

Some of the early Gateway buses don't enter the park but stop outside Tawfiq restaurant. Elgon flyers have their own office on Kumi Rd with regular buses to Kampala.

Buses to Nairobi and other destinations in Kenya can be caught from the Akamba bus office on Naboa Rd or form Kampala coach office on Cathedral Rd.

I always end up buying something from the market in Mbale even if it is a tin of Rob or a bag of avocadoes. This area of eastern Uganda produces vast amounts of fresh fruit and veg that fill the market.

The market spills out of the market place and on to the surrounding streets. At night time the shirt sellers will set up stall around the streets near the clock tower in between rolex sellers and women selling baskets full of boiled peanuts that go down well with a cold Nile.

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1/2 an hours taxi ride away from the centre of Mbale is the small village of Bududa.

Bududa is situated to the south east of Mbale tucked just south of the peaks of Mount Elgon. The whole area is surrounded by hills and behind them higher peaks again making this place one of the most beautiful places I've been to in Uganda.

In the village of Bududa itself there is not a lot apart from a post office and a small collection of dukas. When I arrived there was a small hoteli/ restaurant open where I was able to get a chapati and chai before walking a complete circle around the hill to the east. The guy in the hoteli suggested I do it by boda, when I asked if it was possible to walk he said
"Yes it is possible it will take you about 2 hours".
2 hours after I set off from Bududa I was only halfway around and only found out then that to complete the circular route I would have to walk 10 miles.

4 hours later I wandered up the hill passed the post office back into Bududa and sank a well deserved bottle of Pilsner.