Uganda is saturated in colour, the outstanding natural beauty of its people and its landscapes have always stirred inspiration in travellers and residents.
Parts of Uganda have changed very little in the last hundred years; the period of turmoil between 1967 and 1986 virtually ground all industrial and economic progress to a halt.
This was an era when other countries in Africa were enjoying the fruits of international aid and their economies expanded as fast as their populations.
Uganda has only just started to receive positive international attention and it has been slow and cautious in coming. The increasing confidence with which donor countries treat Uganda is a direct result of its current leadership, which has been so responsive in progressive policy making.
There has been much to learn, for both the donors and the public and private communities in Uganda, from the results around the rest of the continent. Lessons have been learnt. The result has been fast and real progress has been made. In some cases, Uganda has started to set trends for other countries to follow, financial Policies have got to grips with wildfire inflation and currency fluctuations. The government is allowing free expression and, through this, is unifying the Ugandan peoples.
Matters of constitution and restitution are a priority, which is creating a very positive forum for peace and stability.
Agriculture, the traditional backbone of Uganda’s economy (employs about 80% of the active population), contributes to debt service. The massive sugar and textile industries of the 1960s are reviving, along with the large tea estates long neglected.
The government controls on the coffee and cotton industry have been loosened to allow the farmer a larger market in which to sell his produce, and private exporters have been granted licences.
Horticulture and floriculture are receiving increased investment as air-cargo becomes a viable means of’ transport.
The government has facilitated foreign investment with attractive incentives and streamlined import and export procedures. Many expelled Asians have returned to reclaim their properties and are reinvesting in a growing economy.
Tourism, the most sensitive of all industries to develop, is finally attracting investment and interest. Significant progress has been made in the redevelopment of infrastructure in the National Parks. The devastation of the animal populations that took place during the war years is beginning to be repaired through increased control and management.
New areas of interest such as mountain gorillas and eco-tourism, white water rafting and sport fishing have put Uganda back on the East African tourist circuit. The Nile, a source of wonder and inspiration for thousands of years, cuts a verdant and often turbulent median south to north through the country.
The Nile flows from Lake Victoria at what was Rippon Falls and into Lake Kyoga. Still the Victoria Nile, it cuts a raucous passage west across Karuma Falls and through the narrow pillars of Murchison Falls towards Lake Albert. Finally the Albert Nile meanders along a slow, wide corridor into Southern Sudan. 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 Mufumbira 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.
Kampala, the modern capital, is the centre of most economic activity. It is steadily being rebuilt after systematic looting and destruction during the changes of government. The city infrastructure has been restored and new office towers, hotels, stadiums and shopping malls are appearing almost monthly. 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.
Tourism and increased commercial agriculture will gradually redress the balance, as they have elsewhere in Africa. Uganda is rich with culture and artistic talent, Ugandans are lively actors and public speakers. Hardly a night passes without the rhythmic sounds of traditional dancing or, in Kampala, modern disco music. The overriding impression of Uganda is of its happy people. Hardship and war are not forgotten, but they are in the past, to be recalled in silent prayers and thoughts for absent friends.
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Uganda lies in the heart of Africa along the equator and shares borders with Sudan in the north, Kenya in the east, Tanzania and Rwanda in the south and Zaire in the west. Uganda covers an area of 241,038 sq kilometers and stands at an average altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level. The highest point on Mt. Ruwenzori stands at 5,590 meters while the lowest is 620 mts at Albert Nile.
Climate:
Equatorial, tempered by cooling breezes from the mountains. Temperature varies between 60-85 degrees F.
Rainfall:
Rainfall in Uganda varies from region to region with the highest levels around Lake Victoria area (20cm). The north-east and Ankole receive as low as 5cm. There are mainly two rainy seasons: May and October although this rainfall pattern has been changing of recent. Uganda is quoted as a country where a seed of any tropical fruit thrown on the ground can germinate and only to be found three weeks later bloosoming due to the favourable rains throught the year.
Vegetation:
Uganda is endowed with a mixture of tropical rain forests, high altitude vegetation in the south and savanna woodland with a little bit of semidesert in the north and north east. Uganda boasts of the evergreen vegetation covering the largest part of the country with fascinating rolling hills and meadows in the western parts and flat savahanas in the east.
Language:
Being a country with multicultural background, Uganda has more than 30 different languanges spoken in various areas. However English is the official Languange and others like Luganda and Swahili being widely used. For a foreign visitor, communication using English will not be a problem with the natives since English is the medium of teaching in all Schools in Uganda. French and German is taught in some schools and a good fraction of people mostly in Kampala do understand the same.
Time:
GMT+3 Uganda’s Power voltage is 240volts AC
Currency:
Uganda shilling (average 1000 shs = 1US$)
Capital City:
Kampala, the city on hills.
Access:
By air: through Entebbe International Airport, 40 km from the Capital. Entebbe Airport is served by a number of Airlines including, Uganda Airlines, the national Air carrier, Sabena, Alliance Air, Kenya Airways, Air Tanzania, Air Malawi, Air France, British Airways, Air Iran, Gulf Air, Inter Air, Air India, plus many connecting fligts.
Airport tax: Airport tax is payable for all international flights and is in the ammount of $20.
By road: a network of modern tarred roads feed the Capital from different boarder posts. Coming to Uganda from Kenya, one can get to Kampala via the Nairobi-Kisumu-Malaba-Kampala highway.
By rail: Kampala is linked with Kenya by rail.
By lake: A steamer service links Port Bell with Mwanza in Tanzania
Entry formalities:
All visitors to Uganda are required to have valid passports and citizens of certain countries are require to have a visa. Uganda has no currency regulations.
Health requirements: Visitors are advised to have international certificates of innoculation against yellow fever and cholera. They are also advised to take a course of anti-malaria or seek medical advice on precaution against Malaria.
Customs regulations:
A traveller may be asked to open his/her baggage for inspection at the custom post. Personal effects (binoculars, domestic radios receivers, cameras) not intended for disposal or consumption in Uganda are allowed duty free entry.
Purchase and export of game trophies can be arranged with game wardens.
Restricted/prohibited goods such as fire arms, ammunition, explosives, pornographic materials, transceivers and restricted drugs must be declared at customs entry points.
Foreign Journalists:
Uganda has no resctrictions on foreign press, although any visiting foregn journalists are advised to obtain accreditation in advance from the Uganda Ministry of Information or Uganda’sEmbassy abroad
More information can be obtained from Uganda’s missions abroad or from the foreign embassies in Uganda.