Camping in Uganda – Adventure At Its Best.
Camping in Uganda will give you the true discovery of Mother Nature of this country. You get to see the natural beauty: the scenery and the kind of activities you get involved with are what you will not find if you stayed in the luxury Hotels in Uganda.
I should say; you will not find that many campsites across Uganda but again unless you make the discoveries, you will never see the beauty of the so called ‘Pearl of Africa’ and why it is called so. No matter which section of the country you have as your destination, there will be some great place that you can camp at.
Camping in Uganda isn’t just about laying around in the sun and at night-break lighting a camp fire and gazing at the stars and the moon in the wide space, the beauty is the activities that await you: things like golf, sailing, motor boating, kayaking, bungee jumping, hiking, water rafting, photography and a lot more.
Divide up the country into the regions and take turns at each of them as you explore. There are areas such as the Murchison Falls National Park in the north, the bungee jumping and water rafting on the Nile in Jinja, the Nyero Rock in the further east, the Rwenzori Mountain ranges in the southwest, the Mabira forest (beautiful camping site in the forest) in the central region and more places …. you will certainly find camp sites to fit your every need.
Talk about great views and wonderful camping sites, …. Off the Main land onto the Banda Island in Lake Victoria is one place I would highly recommend – good camping site with lots of activities to entertain you for the weekend away.
Back in the Capital – Kampala, you could then stay at one of the backpackers hostels while you explore further into Kampala’s nightlife – good way to wind down a long travel week and meet up friends.
How you go about camping in Uganda will depend on what you consider for your holiday. One of the other options that you could try is to hire a self-drive car (a 4×4 would be more appropriate), with camping equipment and go round some of the national parks and beautiful places in the country side.
It gives you the freedom of driving in Uganda and camping while you pickup the fresh organic fruits and food along the road side markets for your dinners – great!
If you have not driven here before, take a local experienced driver – it takes away the anxiety as you sit back to enjoy. The challenges of you driving around could be with the country-side roads that are many times narrow, filled with pot holes that could turn slippery on a very rainy day.
You could meet all sorts of things from the crazy bus driver, old lorries with broken axles that seem to be coming your way to the usual goats, cows and chickens on the road.
The one place you shouldn’t miss on your list of camping in Uganda is Lake Bunyonyi – what a scenery! Very refreshing and relaxes your mind – in fact you could save it for last. It is right in the southwest of the country that some have referred to as the ‘little Switzerland’- it is a magnificently beautiful place – go see it yourself and let me know what you think!
Camping in Uganda can be fun – if only well planned otherwise it can also get messy if you don’t take care of a few things. I can guarantee, you will experience magnificent views, plenty of out door recreation of all kinds and create the most wonderful for you and your family.
You will realize that camping is actually inexpensive, its much more economical than staying in a hotel or hostel. Most camp site in Uganda average about $5 per person (with own equipment) to $70/$100 or more for a family banda ensuite that sleeps four. In some places you might have access to a bar and restaurant but find out before you make any bookings.
Just a few tips for your camping in Uganda:
To make your vacation an enjoyable one but also leave the site fit for the next user, always try to use existing campsites and set up your tent on areas with no vegetation – avoid digging up trenches and tearing up the landscape.
You will be expected to follow all fire procedures and restrictions – only use fallen timber for your camp fires and try to keep the fires to the existing rings that are laid out.
To preserve our environment, don’t pour any waste: soap, wash residue or food into the streams and lakes. For any dirty water, pour it on the dry area for it to get absorbed and keep it at least 100 feet away from the streams and lakes. .
The above should be commonsense but again, camping can be an all new experience to some of us and therefore I thought I should mention these. Follow all safety measures and the rest should fall in line for a perfect memorable holiday.
Camping in Uganda is a good get-away from your daily workday routine and worries – try it!
I was so touch by this; this is what Vicky from Edinburgh says about camping in Uganda ….’Our outstanding memory is that diversity of the landscape,: we saw something new everyday and the warmth and hospitality of the local people make it a very special country and well worth a visit’