Why go to Uganda?

April 11, 2009 / Travel / 3 comments

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, within which it shares borders with Kenya and Tanzania.

Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompassed a portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.

If you ever wondered why would you go to a place like that, here are some pretty good reasons.

First and main reason for going to Uganda is:

If there is someone who doesn’t know who this guy is, I’ll just say Idi Amin and I think that everything is clear. You can have a great time there if you become good friend with the president. Good tip before visiting this country would be watching the movie ” The last king of Scotland”.

For all nature lovers Uganda can offer not only a beautiful nature, but also one unique adventure. Uganda’s star attraction is the endangered mountain gorilla, the bulkiest of living primates, and among the most peaceable.

Don’t even bother trying to learn local colloquial language because there are over 30 different dialects. Situated at the geographical heart of the African continent, Uganda has long been a cultural melting pot.

If you think that you haven’t been blessed with ideal height, the best thing for boosting your self-esteem is hanging out with these guys. The third attraction by which Uganda is world wide known are Pygmies, the world’s smallest people. Adult male are never taller than 150cm!

Besides numerous languages in Uganda, there are even more various religions. Probably you will find very interesting one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed pipe-smoking spirit known as Kalisa, which is the spirit of hunt. There are big chances for you to attend the ceremony of initiation, which symbolically presents traverse from childhood to manhood. In some of this tribes during the initiation boys single-handily must kill a lion or an elephant so they would prove their aptness for marriage.

Comments

http://www.stellasmagazine.com stela

This is a great article! It makes me wanna jump right into a plane and go to see those Pygmies!
Jemima

This article seems to have been written in complete ignorance. Nobody goes to Uganda to see Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda who ravaged the country of its resources and decimated the country. Watching ‘The Last King of Scotland’ will tell you something about the man, but not a great deal about the general history of the country, and nothing at all about the country today.
Moreover, I think it’s important for anyone who goes to a foreign country to try and pick up a little of the local language.. if only to be able to greet and show your respect for the locals. My experience of Ugandans is that they are wonderfully friendly, and they will be all too eager to translate for you. Their schooling is conducted in English from year 5 [ages 9-10].. English is the official language of the country!
Uganda is over 80% Christian, also around 11% Muslim with the remaining few percent being split between African animistic beliefs and others.. these people no longer believe in ancient spirits and hunting rituals.. many of them live in brick houses, there are internet cafes and people have mobile phones.. they ride motorbikes! Have you even been there?
http://www.stellasmagazine.com stela

Hey there, nice to hear that someone actually reads something, most of people just watch pct. This article I imagined to be a funny one. Of curse I know that Uganda is a developed country now, it was just imagined to be interesting to someone who reads it. it is logic that English is an official language since, with so much colloquial dialects as In India is the case. Thanks for the comment. If you are interested to write more about this lovely country you can send it to me and I’ll be glad do publish and promote it! Thanks again!