The Western Region of Uganda – With stunning landscape and beautiful scenery
The Western region is well known for its beauty – the stunning landscape in some parts of the south west will blow you away. Beauty that almost seems unreal! – The vegetation cover and hills carefully blend into each other to give you that perfect scenery. If that is what you love, why not explore the entire region!
Most of the Ugandan people will refer to this region as the ‘land of milk and honey’- Of course with specific allusion to Mbarara; which is predominantly the main town in the region with vibrancy and commercial activity.
The western region is known for its distinctively long horned cows – call them the ‘Ankole cows’ and for some time now has been the hub for Uganda’s milk, cheese and beef production, and some of the finest of Ugandan tea is grown in this region too.
The kingdoms of Bunyoro, Toro and Ankole still prevail. The cultural roots of the people of this region are so ingrained into their daily activities – evidently through their dressing, songs and dances.
The major towns include: Mbarara, Bushenyi, Kabale, Hoima, Kasese, Kisoro, Masindi and more that fall within the respective western region districts. To date there are 26 administrative districts in the region.
Tourists love this region; particularly for the famous gorilla tracking in the Bwindi impenetrable National Park and the mountain hiking of the snow peaked Rwenzori Mountain ranges also known as the ‘Mountain of the moon’…. and by the way, those 2 places are also gazetted as UNESCO World heritage sites.
The region also plays host to the Mgahinga gorilla National Park, the Queen Elizabeth Nation Park that offers prime grazing savannah for the buffaloes, elephants, antelopes and over 600 bird species and the thick tropical rain forests, the Semliki National Park, the Lake Mburo National park – known for its rich bird life and the Kabale National Park that is home to over 1000 chimpanzees and over a dozen monkey species.
The western region possesses such a variety of flora and fauna and while travelling through this region, believe you me, you will be amazed at some of the beautiful scenes that could easily be part of the moments of your life – again don’t forget to pack that camera!