Uganda is a beautiful country with so much greenery thanks to the high rain fall and volcanic plateau between the Rwenzori Mountains and Lake Victoria. After a tumultous period of wars following the independence in 1962 peace and stability came back to the country in 1996 under Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the current President of Uganda. Visitors have come rediscovering this brilliant country, its unique wildelife, the beautiful national parks and the fascinating and the mountain gorillas Uganda is one of the few places in the world where you can have up close encounters with the majestic mountain gorilla .

To the far west of Uganda, on the Zaire border, the snow covered Rwenzori Mountains (or Mountains of the Moon as Ptolemy called them) rise into almost permanent equatorial mists. The mountain slopes have their own strange successive worlds of vegetation, each with its own characteristic flora. In the extreme south-west are the Mufumbiro volcanoes, a chain of imposing cones that rise out of the lava plain f the western rift. The tropical hardwood rainforests of Western Uganda such as Maramagambo, Budongo and Bwindi evoke adventure and wonder. 

Money tips:

Credit cards are not widely accepted, only large hotels and companies will take them but you can use them at banks to withdraw cash.

The Uganda shilling is generally stable against the US Dollar.

Dollar cash is the most welcome foreign currency. Other major currencies accepted are euros and British pounds.

Road distances from Kampala KMs

Arua              523

Entebbe           37

Fort Portal     317

Gulu              332

Hoima           200

Jinja                80

Kabale          411

Kasese          427

Lira               347

Masaka         130

Masindi         217

Mbale           256

Mbarara       267

Mubende      164

Soroti           360

Tororo          211

Bushenyi       394

Rukungiri      442

Entebbe, the former administrative capital, is still very picturesque, though rundown and neglected. The century old botanical gardens are being restored to their former splendour. The presence of the international airport at Entebbe will ensure its continued restoration. 

Of the other towns around the country, Jinja, at the source of the Nile, Mbarara, on the road west, Fort Portal, at the foot of the Rwenzoris, and Mbale on the eastern border are all howling promising signs of economic recovery. The apparent slow development and poverty of areas outside Kampala is combined result of cautious investment and the relatively recent restoration of countrywide infrastructure.