Uganda Travel Information

Travel to Uganda Information

Uganda is the ‘Pearl of Africa’, as referred to by Sir Winston Churchill after exploring this lovely country. Located Astride the Equator and covering a land area of 236,580 square kilometres in the East Africa region. 

The Republic of South Sudan borders Uganda to the North, the Republic of Kenya to the East, the United Republic of Tanzania and Rwanda to the South and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the West.

Uganda is majorly a plateau with an average altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. Uganda features mountains like Rwenzoris in the great East African Rift Valley, rain forests, lakes, and rivers. The country is located north and shares part of Lake Victoria, the 2nd Largest lake globally and the source of River Nile, the 2nd longest river globally.

Conservation and Tourism

Uganda is putting increasing efforts on the conservation of nature, with about 60 protected areas. Some of these include ten national parks and 6 Wildlife reserves. Game parks include; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Kibale National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mount Elgon National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Semuliki National Park. With unexploited nature and the country’s robust and diverse culture, all the above pose an authentic tourism experience in the Pearl of Africa, Uganda.

Weather and climate

Uganda’s Climate is generally Equatorial and temperate but varies depending on altitude. Areas of central Uganda near along the shores of Lake Victoria and near Mabira forest receives rainfall most of the year. The mountainous regions around Mt. Elgon, Mount Rwenzori, and the volcanic areas of southwestern Uganda are generally wetter with rain than the Northern and North-Eastern parts of the country, which are semi-arid.

Most parts of the country lie within the tropics, with a temperature range between 16 – 260C for the majority of the year; April to November. However, during the warmer months of December to March, temperatures can rise beyond 300C.

When to visit

Based on the above weather and climate Uganda can be visited all year-round; the months of January, February, June-October and December are generally dry and considered high season; it could be the best time to visit as the rains are less. The dry season is also the best time for gorilla trekking adventures in Uganda.

While March-May and November are usually wet months and are regarded as the low season with low numbers of visitors to the tourism destinations, this could be the best time for travellers who don’t like visiting destinations with and the influx of many people. Some accommodations usually offer low season discounts, and the cost of travel is low during this season.

People and Culture

Though Uganda has diverse tribes of people and cultures, speaking different languages, Ugandans are one of the most hospitable people in the world. Various kingdoms, music, handicrafts and art are part of the strong culture in the Pearl of Africa.

Among the 40 different Indigenous languages, the most commonly spoken include; English and Swahili are the official languages. Luganda is a significant language spoken in the central part of the country and countrywide among the most Bantu speakers.

Visa

All travellers to Uganda need a visa for entry as per the Ugandan Immigration laws. The visa application is made online, and payment can be made online or on arrival.

Uganda has several types of visas for different purposes; most important for tourism include; the single entry Visa $50 and the East African tourist Visa $100, which allows you to visit other East African countries like Kenya and Rwanda. More info…

Travel to Uganda

Entebbe International Airport serves many international flights, including British Airways, Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Egypt Air, Rwanda Air, Kenya Airways, Air Tanzania, Uganda Airlines and many others.

By road, there are also several regional cross-border buses that connect Uganda and the neighbouring countries. Easy Coach, Modern Coast, Akamba Bus, Baby Coaches, Trinity, Jaguar, Kampala Coaches and Gaagaa Coaches are many bus companies that operate daily busses between Kampala and the neighbouring country cities like Kigali, Nairobi, Bujumbura, Juba and Dar-es-salaam.

Getting around Uganda

Uganda Has several scheduled and chartered local flights between Entebbe and different regions of the country. Some Flights are operated by Aerolink, Eagle air, Kampala Executive Aviation, while others by Airserv and MAAF. Contact our Expert, and they advise on the best flight for your destination.

Taxis and special hire cars will always take you from point to point within the country. At the same time, public buses and Matatus operate between Kampala city and most towns in the country.

For safari experiences, private Safari 4×4 vehicles are the best and safest means to get around different destinations within the pearl of Africa.

Money

The official currency is the Ugandan Shilling, and the US Dollar is widely accepted and utilized, as well as the Euro and the Pound Sterling. However, other international currencies can be acceptable in the city towns of Kampala and Entebbe.
For Foreign Currencies like the USD, be sure to curry clean notes and those printed after 2009.

ATMs and Credit Card

There are many ATMs in towns and Credit card machines at most tourism centres, lodges, shopping places and cafes that accept credit cards especially using Visa, MasterCard and Amex. Some devices may accept more.

Some information on this page is sourced from; UTB, Wikipedia.