Uganda,s Tourism Ranks Top in Africa

 Mr .Nelson Githinji, the secretary of tourism in Kenya ranked Uganda top in tourism industry growth in Africa
According to the 2011 tourism reviews in Africa, Uganda’s tourism sector grew by 25% in 2011 while that of South Africa and Tanzania realized growth of 21% and 13.4% respectively.

Githinji noted that Uganda’s tourism growth is attributed to its tourists’ destination hubs like Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest renowned for its Mountain Gorillas, Lake Mburo Park, Ruwenzori and Elgon Mountains parks, Murchison Falls Park and the remote Kidepo Valley Park all provide excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing

Another unique opportunity for Uganda is having half of the bird species found in Africa, over 1000 species not found in any country in Africa are in Uganda and this accounts for over 50% of all the bird species in Africa, 10% of all the bird species recorded in the World with many of them being endemic to the region including the fox weaver bird.

Also the famous Mountain Gorillas which have now increased to 400 in numbers. An increase in the number of gorillas in the country has been as a result of increased protection and conservation efforts in the parks.
Bwindi is a home to 36 different gorilla groups with one silver back which is the head of the family and not less than 16 solitary males. Out of the 400,10 groups have been  habituated for human contact out of the 8 groups visited by tourists and 2 have been put for research purposes to study their  behavior and learn  about their social interaction.
This has widened the chances of tourists to track Gorillas in Bwindi Park 

The source of the Biblical Nile River is also located in Uganda and has some of the best places for white water rafting in the whole World.

In the West are the Mountains of the Moon – Mount Stanley which is the highest mountain range in Africa with the third highest peak in Africa. The rest of the land is full of rainforests as well as plains with Savannah grasslands

Uganda’s impressive tourism growth is also attributed to the stability of the country in respect to guaranteed security .Security is now stable in Uganda compared to the years of 1960s of Idi Amin and the early 90s of Joseph Kony.Tourists are free to visit the country at any time of the year.
Wild Uganda safaris takes this opportunity to welcome all tourists from different continents to come and discover the thrill in Uganda. Among the other tour packages we offer include:

-Cultural tours

-water rafting/water sports/Fishing

-Horse and bicycle riding

-Game viewing safaris

-mountain climbing vacations

-primate watch safaris

-camping safaris

-Honey moon packages

-Ssese Islands vacations

SNAKE SMUGGLERS ARRESTED AT ENTEBBE AIRPORT

42 poisonous snakes and 147 chameleons were rescued from smugglers at Entebbe air port. These reptiles had all been packed in a very smart box and some of them had died letting off a foul smell which made people suspect what was in the box. This called for through checking of the luggage which they suspected to be of Drugs. Unfortunately it contained reptiles and immediately the Uganda Wild Life Authority intervened and rescued the remained reptiles. Which were a second away from the country.

The packaging level indicated a high level of sophistication in Uganda and it was a very coordinated crime.

The Uganda Wildlife Act allows individual companies to breed and export wildlife but with clearance from conservation bodies such as UWA and CITES .The impounded reptiles will be kept at Uganda Wildlife Education Centre  for some time to enable the conservation bodies to bring in specialists who will ascertain whether these reptiles are suitable to be released into the wild.

The impounding follows another swoop in which captured 13 pieces of ivory in a restaurant in Zana, a suburb along Entebbe road and another 62kg of ivory were also impounded on Monday 12th of November 2012 at Entebbe airport.

Christmas day in uganda

Uganda is the best place to spend a Christmas holiday on the African Continent because it’s a country gifted by nature  ranging from its Weather ,beautiful  scenery of the landscape,beaches,lakes and Rivers, captivating unique activities like Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking, boat/launch Cruises, bird watching, game drives and camping in the wilderness.

Despite the fact that very many Tourists flock the country during the Christmas holidays, this is the best time for you to plan your holidays in Uganda.

Christmas in Uganda is celebrated on the 25th of December every year and it is the birth day  of Jesus Christ which  begins on the 24th of December with a watch night service normally Ugandans call it the Christmas Eve.
During the service, the church is well lit, very well decorated and to make it different from other services, this service includes many Christmas carols. On the day of 25th, the churches are filled to full capacity because even people who normally do not attend services do attend on this day.
People wear new attires, especially children and women to show off their new traditional dresses in rich colors with matching turbans and hairstyles.

Ugandan Hospitals start discharging patients to go home except for those who have serious conditions and most government bureaucrats take their holiday break from almost the middle of December to the second week in January.

Because very many people are eager to celebrate Christmas, the prices of food, transport and other goods become incredibly high and the crime rate also increases.

Christmas plans begin in the month of November when parents start pointing out which chickens would be slaughtered on the day and they make sure that those chosen were nice and fat for the day compared to the rest. Eating chicken in each family is a must and who ever fails to raise chicken at home would count that as a sad Christmas day for him or her.

The day before Christmas is very exciting because some families slaughter cows, goats and sheep. The children always become busy cleaning the home especially sweeping the courtyard, and the grass is cut. Ugandans start cooking on the night of the 24th after the service.

 When food is ready everybody eats and drinks until they cannot eat any more. After the major feast, those who received visitors now begin on storytelling, playing games, dancing and singing while drinking soda and snacking on cakes. The elders would go for Discos, Theatres and watch different stage plays.

Its quiet a unique experience to most Ugandans that is  why they eagerly wait for the Christmas Holidays .

FISHING LOCATIONS IN UGANDA

FISHING IN MURCHSON FALLS

The falls lie in the north western Uganda, spreading inland from the shores of Lake Albert around the Victoria Nile. Fishing at Murchison Falls is currently done in the area at the base of the falls. The fishing is either from the rocks on the bank of the river or slightly lower down stream in the pools from a boat. Access to the fishing spots is either by boat from a point further down stream or by walking down the gorge to the river from the top of the falls.

At Murchison Falls National Park fish are caught on live bait or with casting lures including Nile perch and various species of cat fish. There are also a large variety of smaller species and are caught using live bait, obtained by spinning. Fishing is either from the river bank or from a boat at the base of the falls area.

Nile Perch. From approximately 10-80kg in weight is caught which is the largest fresh water fish in the world. Trolling with lures is the main method of fishing used.  Tilapia is also caught using fly fishing techniques. They weigh about 1-2kg

LAKE VICTORIA

Lake Victoria is located in East central Africa . It borders the countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa occupying a shallow depression and has a maximum depth of 84 metres

Trips normally depart from Entebbe town between 8-9.00 am and return between 5-6.00pm using the pier. Fishing is done around local islands including Bug gala, Koome , Ssese and Ngamba islands  The areas fished  depend upon the weather and how the fish are biting. At certain times of the year the lake can be very rough with large swells and so then we tend to utilise the sheltered bays for fishing. Fishing on lake victoria is mostly done during the drier seasons of  January –March and then July –October

FISHING ON LAKE MBURO

Lake Mburo is located in Kiruhura District in western Uganda. The park is situated about 245 kilometres by road east of Mbarara  from Kampala. About six species of fish are found on Lake Mburo the common one being Tilapia but others include lung fish, mud fish. Hooks are used for fishing Local guides are experienced, and the boats and equipment s are available at the time you need them.  They are experienced and knowledgeable and are able to communicate well in English. 

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