Uganda - possibly the friendliest people you'll find anywhere (Uganda)

Member Name: cezzybunny

Product:	Uganda
Date:	11/06/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, jungle, mountain gorillas, cheap, what more do you want

Disadvantages: You may not want to leave

Uganda is a small but remarkable country in east Africa. The troubles of the time of Idi Amin have been overshadowed by the genocide in Rwanda, both unfortunate periods in east African history.

I spent a week or two in Uganda last summer, and I'll just write about the things I have experienced first hand. The first place I stopped in Uganda, apart from the border where I paid about £30 for my visa, was a camp high up in Mgahinga national park in the Virunga mountains. This is where the mountain gorillas live, when it suits them, and is a much much quieter and less touristy alternative to some of the other locations you can go to see these creatures. Unfortunately I couldn't afford the fee for this and instead paid $20 to track endangered golden monkeys (i think), which was great fun. I stayed at the community camp which ws dirt cheap and gave beautiful views over the mountains. Prob paid a couple of pounds a night. Right up near the entrance, cant remember what it's called, used to be red chilli.

I also visited Lake Bunyoni, beautiful terraces, and went to the floating market. I stayed at the backpackers lodge and met some cool people, this comes highyl recommended too. Make sure yu hire a dug out and go for a paddle!

Then moved on to Kampala and stayed at red chilli which was great fun, full of overlanders, and had a small hot tub sunk into the ground. Good value for money, think again it was a few pounds a night for a dorm room. With red chilli I then paid to go on a 3 day safari to Murchison Falls, it was dirt cheap as far as safaris go, $240 for everything except food. We saw elephants, giraffes aplenty and lots of other creatures. It was also a great laugh, especially as I was travelling alone.

In terms of infrastructure, the roads in Uganda are a bit better than those in tanzania, but there are no trains. You could get by on about £10 a day, staying in hostels and eating cheaply, travelling by matatu (minibus) and drinking the local brew...

Summary: Lovely country with great people