Uganda Safaris | Uganda Tours

Uganda is renowned for its physical beauty. Strung like a necklace around its borders are some of the continent's greatest geographical landmarks. A full circuit would take you from the shores of Victoria, queen of African lakes, to the Virunga and Rwenzori mountains, the Western Rift Valley lakes Edward and Albert, the Nile, and Mount Elgon.

The country encompasses golden savannas, semi-desert thirst lands, equatorial rain forests, and farmlands said to be so fertile that a seed dropped on the ground will sprout and bear fruit without benefit of care. Often described as the "Pearl of Africa", this lush tropical land is the true birthplace of the Nile, where the great river spills out of Lake Victoria and starts its long journey to the Mediterranean Sea.

Uganda's National Parks are counted among the best in Africa. Uganda is celebrated as much for fine scenery as for its abundant wildlife.

History

Until the 19th century, there was very little penetration of Uganda from outside and, despite the fertility of the land and its capacity to grow surplus crops, there were virtually no trading links with the coast. During the reign of Kabaka Mwanga in the mid-19th century, contacts were finally made with Arab traders from the coast and European explorers.

Unlike Kenya and Tanzania, Uganda never experienced a large influx of European settlers and the expropriation of land which went with it. Instead, the tribes people were encouraged to grow cash crops for export through their own cooperative organizations. As a result, nationalist organizations were much later arriving on the scene than in neighboring countries and when they did, it was on a tribal basis.

By the mid- 1950's however, a Lango schoolteacher, Milton Obote, managed to put together a loose coalition which led Uganda to independence in 1962 on the promise that the Baganda (the people of the Buganda tribe) would have autonomy. The kabaka (king) was the new nation's president and Milton Obote was the prime minister.

Soon, it became obvious that Obote had no intention of sharing power with the kabaka. Obote moved fast, arresting a number of cabinet ministers and ordering his army chief of staff, Idi Amin, to storm the kabaka's palace. The raid resulted in the flight of the kabaka and his exile in London. Obote made himself president, the Bagandan monarchy was abolished and Idi Amin's star was on the rise.

In January 1971, when Obote went to Singapore to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference, Amin staged a coup. And so began Uganda's first reign of terror, which lasted until 1979, when Amin's army (who at this time wanted only to rid Uganda of Amin), threw down their weapons and fled, enabling the Tanzanian soldiers to push into the heart of Uganda. Kampala fell without a fight and by the end of April, organized resistance had effectively ceased.

Amin fled to Libya where he remained until Qadafi expelled him. He Died In Jeddah In 2003. Uganda's problems continued over the next several years until 1986 when the Ugandan civil war was effectively over, apart from some unrest in the extreme north-west and Karamoja province.

The long nightmare was finally over, newspapers reappeared on the streets and a drive was launched to clean up Kampala and get its public utilities repaired and working again

Chimpanzee

Gorilla

Murchison Falls

Geography
Uganda a land-locked country in East Africa, has an area of 147,178 square miles and is bordered by Kenya, Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. Straddling the equator, much of her southern border is dominated by Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria, and the Victoria Nile, which flows through much of the country, create one of the best watered areas of Africa. The land varies from semi-desert in the north-east, to the lush and fertile shores of the lake, to the glacier- capped Rwenzori Mountains in the west, and the beautiful, mountainous south-west.

Religion

About two-thirds of the population is Christian, the remaining one-third still practices animism while a small percentage is Muslim.

People
Uganda has a population of over 24 million people made up of a complex and diverse range of tribes. Lake Kyoga forms the northern boundary for the Bantu speaking peoples who dominate much of east, central and southern Africa, and, in Uganda, include the Baganda and a number of other tribes.

In the north live the Lango and the Acholi who speak Nilotic languages. To the east are the Teso and Karamojong who are related to the Maasai and who also speak Nilotic languages.

Pygmies live in the forests of the south-west.