Akampeine Island

Lake Bunyonyi


Translating as Punishment Island, this tiny island was so named because it was once the place where unmarried pregnant women were dumped to die. Their only rescue from drowning or starvation was if a man who was too poor to pay a bride-price came over to claim the banished woman as his wife. There’s nothing to see here, with just one spindly tree in its centre.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lake Bunyonyi attractions

1. Bwama & Njuyeera (Sharp’s) Islands

0.89 MILES

Many boat drivers will take you to these islands, where British missionary Dr Leonard Sharp founded a leper colony and settled in 1921, but the story is…

2. Kyahugye Island

1.51 MILES

Run by Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort, this 35-acre island is worth a visit if you want to see to wildlife such as zebra, waterbuck, ipala and kob up close. All…

3. Kabale Arts Center

5.58 MILES

Inside Kwanzi, this simple but worthwhile cultural museum houses a replica traditional homestead, built of sticks and papyrus, showing how the local…

4. Great Lakes Museum

18.13 MILES

Along the highway on approach to Kabale, keep an eye out for this museum. It has a varied collection of artefacts and masks, information on clans, and…

5. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

19.39 MILES

The smallest of Uganda’s national parks (34 sq km), Mgahinga punches well above its weight. Tropical rainforest cloaks three dramatic extinct volcanoes…

6. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

22.8 MILES

Home to almost half the world’s surviving mountain gorillas, the World Heritage–listed Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of East Africa’s most…

8. Volcanoes National Park

25.31 MILES

Volcanoes National Park, which runs along the border with the DRC and Uganda, is home to the Rwandan section of the Virungas. Comprising five volcanoes,…