Uganda
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Travel Tips
If you are a bird observer such as I am, forget Kibale NP, it is dead. A better bet is a guided walk at Bigodi Wetland which costs 20,000 shillings per person. It's a bit steep in comparison with other costs but if you put the pressure on the guide, you can get about 4 hours guiding for your money which makes it reasonable. The birdlife is very good and the young guides are quite knowledgable.
Grahame Finnigan, Australia (Jun 03)
Kibale Forest National Park - The park entrance fee is now US$20 (as are most parks in Uganda now) and the chimp walk is also US$20. Both are worth it because you have a 90 percent chance of seeing chimps of which I saw loads. The current East Africa LP does not say how travellers can book the bandas at the park. They can do so at the UWA office in Kampala. The people in the office are really friendly and helpful.
Pamela Riley, Canada (Apr 03)
It is possible to participate in the 'chimp habituation project' in Kibale National Park, which is a fascinating experience (around US$125/day - limited number of participants per day). I would urge people who want to see chimpanzees to prepare themselves and be well-informed. Seeing chimpanzees in the wild is an extraordinary experience (like tracking mountain gorillas), but it pays off to read about chimpanzee behaviour in advance. When I was in Kibale National Park, there was actually another tourist who came up with the foolish and potentially dangerous idea of taking bananas with him, in order to feed the chimpanzees and be able to take better photos?!
(1) It is imperative that you do not feed the chimpanzees and/or eat in their presence.
(2) Chimpanzees may look sweet but they are wild animals and an adult chimpanzee can do serious harm, as they are incredibly strong and can inflict serious biting wounds.
(3) It is important to keep your distance, not only for your own security, but also for the chimpanzees' sake. Chimpanzees, like other primates (gorillas) can get ill and may even die from human-borne diseases.
(4) If you are not a professional or do not have a good lens, taking good photos of chimpanzees may be very difficult. The vegetation is often dense, there is often not enough light (take 800 ASA film), the chimpanzees move a lot and you are supposed to keep some distance. In addition, viewing the chimpanzees is NOT guaranteed. A national park is not a zoo. Some people seem to forget that and consequently are very disappointed because they are unable to see the chimpanzees or take photos from close by.
Anthony De Lannoy, Belgium (Mar 03)
Based on our former experiences while travelling in Africa we didn't take travellers cheques, but only cash (mixture of euro and US dollar). For Europeans it's absolutely no problem to come with euros; they are changed in every Forex Money Change Bureau. When you have to pay for the gorilla trek at the Ugandan Wildlife Authority and also at other parks they convert the dollar price into Ugandan shilling or euro at the correct rate. Don't change too much money at the airport Forex Money Change Bureau because the rate is not very good.
Manuela Stahl, Germany (Feb 03)
A porter is highly recommended for the climb up Mt Elgon. It is a good way to help the local tourist industry and it lets you focus on climbing â?? it is steep and up! The porters cost Ush 8,000 a day. It is nice to tip both the porters and the guide at the end. The porters will also make a fire, boil water for tea and coffee, and generally be of great assistance and company.
Klara Henderson, Australia (Nov 02)
If your payment card (credit or debit) is to expire within three months it will NOT be accepted outside Barclays Bureau de Change. From Uganda it can take up to three months to clear funds, by which time your card will have expired. This is a problem with hotels, restaurants etc.
Joseph Capaldi, UK (Aug 02)
Changing money at the border crossing: Rates are relatively better then in Kenya OR, in Uganda (Kampala), BUT, I got tinged there, so I ended up losing most of my money. As they say, there are no free lunches. Here is how the guy did it: First you have to understand that there are about a dozen people surrounding you and lots of noise, and in all this mess you are trying to concentrate on the deal with just one guy. There is no place to go aside at the border crossing so you don't have much choice and you need that local money. The guy closes the sum with you, then he gives you the money to count. He usually gives you a pack of bills tied together which some up to 10,000 Ush. BUT, usually, he has to add up a few bills more to balance the transaction. So, in front of your eyes, he takes back the bills you just counted, adds in front of your eyes the remainder of bills to be exchanged and give the whole pack back to you. In the whole time, he never let the money out of my face and he never changed hands with the money. Still, a few bills were missing when I counted the money again after a few hours. Second time I was smarter and after he gave me back the pile of bills again, I counted the whole thing againâ?¦ and found that a few bills were missing. By that time the guy was already gone and when I caught him, he smiled at me, looked surprise and after two seconds gave me the rest of the bills.
Adir Regev (Jan 02)
Due to a travellers' cheques scam a couple of years ago, it is extremely difficult outside of Kampala to change travellers' cheques. Take US dollars.
The boat service that used to run between Kasenyi to Ssese Islands no longer exists (it sunk a year ago). The only way to get out to Buggala is via Bukakata.
Beware when trying to get into Mgahinga if you're not tracking gorillas. If you're looking for birds, walking etc., they're often not interested and will tell you the park is shut.
Fergus McGaugh, UK (Feb 02)
Moving About
Despite what I was repeatedly told - it is possible to travel via Lake Victoria from Port Bell to Mawanza - initially tried going on a cargo carrier through Ugandan Railways (get permission from railways then show this at the port), but ended up going on a TZ cargo carrier - takes about 16 hours - great trip - just asked the chief officer ... karibu sana!!
Sue Thomas, Canada (Nov 01)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
There are three gorilla trek groups in Bwindi National Park. Make a reservation in Kampala. Ask about the groups and discuss which group is the right one for you. We didn't get any information and then in Bwindi we went for HA. It was very nice but hard work! The 3 groups are HA - 20 Gorillas, babys in this group, long walk; HB - there is a risk that you don't find them; M - short walk, one short but energetic climb up.
We were told there is a bus going to Butogota every day. Butogota is some kilometres north of Buhoma, where you enter Bwindi. Rather than that the people at the bus stand recommended that we take the bus to Kihihi. From Kihihi to Butogota we went in the load area of a pickup. The direct bus from Kampala arrived many hours later.
From Butogota to Buhoma there is no public transport. You need a special car. If you plan to leave Bwindi on a certain day tell the driver and he will pick you up in Buhoma. Keep in mind that you don't know exactly when you will come back from the gorilla trek. Our driver was reliable and he waited and waited for us though it was very late. Then we had a discussion with the rangers because of darkness and security. Finally we were allowed to leave.
Bwindi is called the inpenetrable forest and it's like that. It goes up and down and up again. Take gloves (for garden or manual work). This will help you to grab trees for climbing up without getting picked by ants, thorns and other things. Take water and long sleeves-t-shirt and rain-jacket and good trekking shoes. All in all we walked 9 hours and saw 4 gorillas including a silver back.
Manuela Stahl, Germany (Jan 03)
^ back to top
|
