Popularly known as a traditional treasure for the people of Tooro Kingdom, the Amabeere ga Nyina Mwiru caves and campsite provide a unique experience blended by a nature walk, cave exploration, waterfall experience, local culture and a learning experience.

The caves, falls and the three surrounding crater lakes located in Fort Portal, Kabarole District make an interesting journey that all adventurous people and culture lovers ought to experience.

Hidden in a thick jungle, the caves attract thousands of dollars annually from both local and foreign tourists, who visit the place for either adventure or learning.

The site attracts between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors per month during peak seasons of June to September and December to February.

To enjoy the magnificent natural creatures, domestic tourists pay an entry fee of Shs5,000 per head, Shs2,000 for secondary students and Shs3,000 for tertiary students. Foreign tourists on the other hand pay an entry fee of $10 per head (about Shs25,000).

It could be difficult to find words that can suitably describe the ambience created by the beautiful waterfall that spills down from the cliff above the caves and the sight of milk-like water that drips from breast-like pointed pillars.

This leaves many visitors longing to go back to the site over and over.
However, Mr Wilson Isingoma, a tour guide at the site says pro-longed droughts resulting from climate change and global warning have continued to dry up water from the rocks; affecting water dripping, a scenario that threatens the tourism potential of the site.

The caves acquired the name Amabeere ga Nyina Mwiru – literary translated as “the breasts of Nyina Mwiru” – after King Bukuku of the Tooro Kingdom cut off the breasts of his daughter – Nyina Mwiru and had them thrown inside these caves, following a prophecy that she would get married and give birth to a son, who would kill King Bukuku and take over his throne.

According to the local legend, the prophecy came true, when Ndahura, who is believed to be Nyina Mwiru’s son, killed King Bukuku and took over the throne.
Geographically, however, it is believed that the breast-like rocks in the cave are limestones, a permeable rock that allows water to pass through, forming stalactite and a stalagmite.

Mr Isingoma explains that the dripping water has calcium carbonate, which when blended with water that passes through the rock, it drips down, solidifying to form stalagmite on the floor of the limestone cave.

The dripping milky water because of the calcium carbonate, is traditionally referred to as “breast milk” by the local people in the district.

On observation, they (stalactite and a stalagmite) grow in pairs and the corresponding formation on the ceiling of a cave is known as a stalactite. When these formations grow as the process is repeated, they result into what is known as a column.

The growth rate of these formations is so slow that once broken, they cannot recover during a human life span of time. They grow one millimetre every 10 years.

Mr Isingoma, however, says that Mr Yasamu Rubombora, the site manager and proprietor is involved in a continuous tree planting exercise to counter the effects of long droughts and ensure that tourism at the site remains booming throughout the year.

By: Bruce Amp

President Museveni, according to a state house statement, said the move would prevent other countries from using it.

“I have learnt that another country is trying to patent itself as the Pearl of Africa. There have been complementary messages on the brand name of Uganda. Sometimes Uganda has been referred to as ‘Gifted by Nature’ and more recently people have referred to it as Irresistible Uganda. It is therefore necessary to have a clear defining brand that will eternally be market,” Xinhua News agency quoted Mr. Museveni as saying.

The President said it was necessary to have a clear brand for marketing Uganda and recommended the private sector which has been vital in promoting Uganda’s tourism potential abroad for flying Uganda’s flag high and proud.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1907 referred to Uganda as the Pearl of Africa after he was captivated by the country’s beautiful nature scenery.

Since then Uganda has used “Pearl of Africa” as its catch phrase to market itself as a tourist destination.

Tourism is Uganda’s second largest foreign exchange earner after coffee. In 2010, the country earned over $600 million (Shs.1.2 trillion) from tourism

Lonely Planet, a famous travel guide magazine, voted Uganda the world’s best tourism destination in 2012.

The country boasts of hosting the endangered mountain Gorillas, being the source og the world’s longest river, River Nile and the beautiful scenery and wild animals.

By: Bruce Amp

For a country like Uganda with immense tourism potential, it is good to see the tourism ministry engage in initiative that possess equally immense potential to drive up Uganda’s tourism revenue

Dubbed My Uganda, the recently launched Champaign will allow people from across the globe to share impressions, experiences and memories of the country, its people, wildlife, scenery, and culture. Contributors will make the use of the platform by loading Videos, photographs, and written reflections onto a dedicated Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/MyUganda ) while those with Twitter accounts can use hashtag#myuganda.

Still last week, in a private prayer driven initiative, Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest online travel company, and Africa’s Great Explorations ( A G E Safaris) – an indigenous East African Tours and travel company  — started working together to extend the reach of Uganda hotels to millions of travelers  worldwide. Under this partnership, Ugandan Hotels will have a chance to gain access to nearly 60 million travelers that shop for and book travel on Expedia website in 70 countries worldwide each month.

In a world where controversial films like Kony 2012 are succeeding in attracting the interest of millions from around the world through platforms like YouTube, the promoters of our tourism market must make the most of the internet phenomena.

Last year’s figure from the World Travel and Tourism Council showed that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was expected to be Shs.1.4 trillion (about $545m), which is 3.2 per cent of total GDP. Uganda’s tourism Authorities have plans to see this figure rise by 5.8 per annum to Shs.2.4 trillion (about $958m) by 2012.

Sector players have previously set themselves the ambitious target of seeing the industry contribute 9.2 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Product for Uganda by the year 2015. On the face of it, these targets might seem difficult to attain but if government prioritizes the tourism sector, it is possible for Uganda to Reap the full bounty of its gifts of nature.

By: Bruce Amp

In ordinary times, Cameroon’s Bouba N’Djida National Park is largely unremarkable and soulless, no doubt owing to its remote location in the arid north-eastern border region with Chad.

But a massacre that has been silently taking place there has disrupted any veneer of senility and hoisted it onto the global wildlife conservation spotlight, much like its poorly sighted moles coming suddenly into the light.

Some 600 savannah elephants -over half of the park’s elephant population- have been brutally slaughtered over the last two months by marauding Sudanese and Chadian poachers perched on horseback and armed with military-issue machine guns.

Belated rescue
Normally lethargic over wildlife conservation (only six soldiers guard the 220,000 hectare frontier park), the sheer horror of it all, however, shamed the Cameroonian government into scrambling a military operation, only to suffer more embarrassment as its poorly trained and armed soldiers quickly found themselves overrun.

International conservation group World Wildlife Fund on March 20 said: “The forces arrived too late to save most of the park’s elephants, and were too few to deter the poachers.”
“This incident constitutes an invasion of Cameroon’s sovereign territory and willful slaughter of its wildlife,” said Natasha Kofoworola Quist, a WWF’s representative.

Forest elephants in the Central African country’s Boumba-Bek and Nki national parks have not been spared either, with poachers believed to be launching from neighbouring Congo Brazzaville.

While last year was widely recognised as the worst for African game, it is the blatant disregard for borders over the last year that is in headline, even in Central Africa where internal insecurity regularly compromises anti-poaching responses.

In February, a South African court sentenced three Mozambican poachers caught illegally hunting rhino in its Kruger National Park to 25 years each.

In Botswana, reports of highly-organised foreign poaching syndicates targeting its rhino herds were enough to alarm President Ian Khama into warning would-be cross-border game hunters that ‘safaris’ to the country would be a “very, very high risk undertaking”.

Poachers have in the past months visibly racked up their efforts to feed the lucrative Asian market with rhino horn and ivory, where they are believed to cure cancer and have aphrodisiac properties, in addition to being used as ornaments.

In West Africa, poachers operating in Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger almost wiped out the free-roaming Niger giraffe, which has only began to make a reappearance in the Sahelian sub-region after a brush with extinction following competition for scarce resources with human population.

Concerns are rife that cross-border poaching will get worse this year, as well-oiled international syndicates employ more sophistication across the region’s notoriously porous borders.

The ready and voracious Oriental market provides the incentive, according to campaign group Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
“Demand is soaring and retail prices have increased alongside this demand. Illegal traders are cashing in on this: in EIA’s recent investigation into the illegal trade in ivory in China, one illegal trader boasted that if he had 10 illegal shipments en route and only one came through, it would still be worth his while,” Ms Mary Rice, the executive director of EIA, which says it has documented the trade in illegal ivory trade for close to three decades, said. One tusk can fetch as much as $35,000, and $55,000 for a kilo of rhino horn.

Ms Rice added: “The bottom line is that it is worth the risk.”
The international trade in ivory was banned in 1989, but the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species in 1999 and 2008 allowed two one-off auctions for stockpiled ivory to countries that are known as Approved Buyers.

By: Bruce Amp

The African Buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear. Owing to its unpredictable nature which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated unlike its Asian counterpart the domestic Asian water buffalo.

The African buffalo is a very robust species. Savannah type buffaloes weigh 500 to 910 kg, with males, normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range. Savannah type buffalo have black or dark brown coats with age. Old bulls have whitish circles around their eyes. Females tend to have more reddish coats.

The horns of African buffalo are very peculiar. A characteristic feature of them is the fact that the adult bull’s horns have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield referred to as a “boss,” which cannot always be penetrated even by a rifle bullet. From the base the horns diverge, then bend down, and then smoothly curve upwards and outwards.

By: Bruce Amp

This neck shaped island resort on the Lake Victoria has a six kilometer long white sand Beach. It is so big that it can be se3en from the outer space. 30 minutes away from Kampala by boat on the Bulago Island or an 8 minutes flight from Kajjansi airstrip, Pineapple Bay is not actually a new place. This exotic small paradise away from chaos of Kampala was initially called Bulago Island Lodge. The resort boosts of almost 10kms of shore line on 30 acres.

Surrounded by Lake Victoria, its shoreline is made up of rocky outcrops and low cliffs. Around the shore the soil is highly fertile and tree covered. The North East tip of the island contains a small portion of rainforest that is rich with forest avi-life. The interior of the island is less fertile and is covered with savannah like grassland. This island is also in the protected Fishing area on Lake Victoria which makes fishing for fun or spot a fun experience.

Pineapple is small, which for a particularly friendly atmosphere and can accommodate a maximum of 12 guests in a six double and will eventually take up to 31 guests when fully completed.

A club house facing the Lake has been sympathetic ally covered into a sitting, dining and bar lounge for club members, sleeping guests and plot owners on the island. The club walls are decollated with canoe oars and illegal fishing hooks which have been captured from illegal fishermen and treated to make for conservation décor.

Pineapple Bay is open for lunch and for those looking for day out, there is afternoon tea, sun downers at the lake and a fancifully stocked bar.

The rooms are tastefully built and equipped with locally crafted fittings and furnishing using a b blend of metal and wood combined with natural fabric to create a natural and ethnic ambience. Each of the rooms is probably one and half of a small Kampala bungalow- which helps if you know your next room neighbor and are perfectly adequate if you fancy a touch of old fashioned furnishings.

A resident flock of birds that stage an impressive show of acrobatics especially around tea time and sun rise is an interesting feature of Bulago Island. The rooms are right next to the beach and it is very romantic affair to walk barefoot on this island.

Dinner time is a friendly affair with the entire staff helping out and the food definitely represents the best fine culinary. A complementary pineapple juice is a norm.

A day on the island

In the morning, the energetic members and mostly birders may opt for a walk in the forest which will last two hours with our experienced guides. The trail and tracks are well maintained and the walk is very exciting. During this guided walk, one can master a descent tally of close to 200 birds species that have been recorded on the island.

In the afternoon, you can choose to take a leisure boat ride around the bay for fishing or sundowners.  This is a very popular activity on Bulago Island. Otherwise relax in the pool or around the pool while you sip in a glass of excursively selected house wine.

For those who fancy a massage, this is available but must be pre booked with the lodge. Other activities include a complimentary horse ride for in-house guests. Pineapple Bay is open to to visitors who simply want to see the lodge, play in the pool or use the lodge grounds at a fee.

Bulago Island has always been known as a honeymoon destination. For those who have missed the loved one’s wedding reception at the Pineapple Bay. The lodge offers a complementary room for the newly Weds. The honeymoon package too is one not to miss. The staff here will really pamper you. Golden sun sets will make your wedding photos a delight.

For the corporate, Pineapple Bay organizes retreats for up to 50 guests and this is very ideal for team building and board meeting.

By: Bruce Amp

Rwenzoris incharge of treking John Hunwick talks to Edwardson and Musinguzi.

Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has received mountain rescue equipment from aid agency USAID that will be used to train Ugandans with skills for rescue emergencies.

The items were handed over by the Africa program coordinator for United States Forestry Service (USFS), Matthew Edwardson to the Acting executive director of UWA, Elly Musinguzi in Kampala on Friday.

Musinguzi pointed out that the USFS international program team is currently in the field carrying out two courses with UWA.

Training will includs trail planning, construction and maintenance which involves topics like mountain search and rescue training with basic skills.The training will also benefit people in tourist communities.

“Mt. Rwenzori is a great World Heritage Site UNESCO, where people can enjoy good scenery, hiking, bird watching and forest walks. It is the only place in the world where you find ice and snow at the Equator, which is a beautiful experience”, Musinguzi remarked.

He expressed gratitude towards to the USAID STAT for the support given to UWA through various projects that include Pearl of Uganda Program, Visitor information Centre survey and design project, training guides, Queen Elizabeth marketing and experimenting tourism promotions.

“We work with communities and people around the parks. A such, we have our partners Rwenzori  Mountaineering services and Rwenzori Tourist services who offer employment to the people in the surrounding communities who in turn market the Rwenzoris,” he observed.

By: Bruce Amp

Bwindi Impenetrable National park was early last year voted Africa’s number one birding site ahead of South Africa’s renowned Kruger National park and Cape Town’s ocean shores.

Ranking done by African Bird club put Murchison Falls National Park in ninth place among the top 10 birding sites in Africa.

In October, the Virunga volcanoes, shared with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo were voted number one of the 20 must-see places for 2012 in the National Geographic Traveller magazine. They were described in the magazine as ‘Africa’s Green and Fiery Heart.’

The National Geographic site also voted Ishasha tree-climbing lion the best picture for 2011. There have been other rankings where, for example, Rwenzori Mountain was voted among the top 15 hiking places in Africa.

Lonely Planet also cited Kampala as the safest city in Africa. This is the best place to go during your holiday so book Uganda safaris today.

By: Bruce Amp

In the late 1960s, Uganda had a prosperous tourist industry with 100,000 visitors each year. Tourism was the country’s fourth largest earner of foreign exchange. The tourist industry ended in the early 1970s because of political instability. By the late 1980s, Uganda’s political climate had stabilized and conditions were suitable for reinvestment in Uganda’s tourist industry.
However, the loss of charismatic wildlife in previously popular safari parks such as Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park prevented these parks from competing with similar tourist attractions in neighboring Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda’s tourist industry instead promoted its tropical forests. The keystone of the new industry became Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With more than 300 Mountain Gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has approximately half of the world’s population of Mountain Gorillas.

Tourist attractions

Uganda is one of only three countries where it is possible to visit Mountain Gorillas. The others are Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Mountain Gorillas are Uganda’s prime tourist attraction. The vast majority of these are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with a few others in Mgahinga National Park, both in southwestern Uganda. In Bwindi, visitors have been allowed to view the mountain gorillas since April 1993. The development of Gorilla tourism and the habituation of gorillas to humans is proceeding very carefully because of the dangers to gorillas, such as contracting human diseases.

Tree Climbing Lions

Although lions do not normally climb trees, they may sometimes do this when chased by another lion group or wild buffalo. The exception to this is in Queen Elizabeth National Park – Ishasha Sector of Uganda, where one finds the Tree Climbing Lions. They climb trees and rest on them in the afternoon, when the sun is high. This is a truly unique phenomenon. There have only been rare similar sightings in Lake Manyara National Park of Tanzania

By: Bruce Amp

Prior to Uganda getting independence, three sub-committees were set up to deal with Uganda’s national symbols. They were responsible for the National Flag, Anthem and Court of Arms. The sub-committee

Prof. Yusuf Kironde Lule is the president who served Uganda for the shortest term – just 68 days. He was 68 years the day he was asked to relinquish the presidency.

The first black principal of Makerere University College, Lule was installed president by the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) shortly after the fall of dictator Idi Amin Dada.

Political analysts say being a Muganda, Lule was strategically made the first post-Amin president on April 13, 1979 to win support from the powerful Baganda ethnic group.

To some, Lule’s involvement in the anti-Amin struggle was a span of few weeks spent in hotel rooms and caucuses after flying from Scotland in the UK. To others he was like flies falling on a carcass killed by others.

As leader of the Uganda Freedom Fighters that merged with President Yoweri Museveni’s Popular Resistance Army to form the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1981, Lule was the unlucky man that missed the chance to become today’s president as leader of NRA. He died shortly in 1985 before the NRA captured power.

Described by some as the only unifying factor of all Ugandans to form a post-Idi Amin government in 1979, Prof. Lule is also regarded by others as a conservative and rigid principal of Makerere University College – now Makerere University Kampala (MUK) during the colonial times (between 1940s and the 1960s). As principal, however, he is credited for encouraging and physically taking black students to Makerere University for better education.

Uganda’s political history, especially the politics of the events that unfolded before independence, would be incomplete without Benedicto Kiwanuka, who rose from a poverty-stricken family to emerge

By:  Bruce Amp