Make friends with a traditional healer and a craftmaker as you admire superb views of Lake Bunyonyi from a central peninsula that few travellers ever visit. Jump into a traditional dugout canoe and have a closer look at the lake’s most famous and unusual islands. [Culture on the Crest + island visits]
Highlights
- take in spectacular views and island stories
- have fun at a nursery school
- get anything healed by a traditional healer
- learn how to make crafts
- have delicious lunch with a local family
- get close to Punishment Island
- visit Bwama Island, a former leper colony
- do a walking safari on Kyahugye Island
- enjoy a hearty final meal at Edirisa
Facts
duration: 1 day; difficulty: medium
area: east coast + major islands
departures: daily at 9am
Price: USD 110 per person (USD 180 when one person only)
Includes guiding, dugout canoeing, 3 meals, water, juice, all activities, tips and contributions.
Itinerary
If you have opted for our free night offer, you will wake up at Edirisa on Lake Bunyonyi and be treated to a substantial breakfast at 9am. If you have chosen a less basic accommodation elsewhere, we will collect you by a dugout canoe and bring you to Edirisa in time for breakfast (if you of course wish to take it with us).
A short tour around the forested peninsula will show you some pretty interesting things. Grass-thatched huts were erected for volunteers decades ago, an ingenious submerged swimming pool was later built to teach life-saving skills, a tree house was constructed by an Israeli lady, and there is more!
After a detailed briefing session the paddling will begin at 10am. Under the auspices of young skippers who have grown up on the lake, this will be a piece of cake. The first program item on the terraced hillsides of the Kyabahinga peninsula will be a dancing and singing presentation by nursery school pupils. At a trading centre above the school you will be invited to a cup of the local brew, obushera. (It is gonna be … unforgettable.)
The prize for your next activity, a relatively intense climb of about 30 minutes, will be tremendous lake vistas. Kyabahinga is uniquely located to give you an outlook over most of Lake Bunyonyi, its 29 islands and the distant Virunga volcanoes. You will hear the colourful tales, legends and historical facts related to the islands.
On the ridge of the peninsula you will meet Mr. Barara, a traditional healer, who will share some carefully chosen secrets of tropical highland flora. By 1pm Mrs. Annah, a craftmaker, will have prepared lunch for her family — and you! Beans, sweet and Irish potatoes, ground nuts and dodo (local spinach) will make for a filling meal.
But Annah is more than just a good cook; she is a master of craftmaking. She will show you how local crafts are hand produced, and give you ample opportunity to make some for yourselves. And, no, this is not for ladies only! Gentlemen can attempt a banana leaf elephant or a photo frame, for example.
By now you will have had your dose of tremendous views and feel ready for a couple of islands. You will be led to the lake at 2:30pm and enter the dugouts.
The destination: Akampene or Punishment Island with its incredible story – pregnant unmarried girls used to be left here to die. After that another bit of Lake Bunyonyi’s history will be revealed: Bwama Island, a former leper colony. It is now an impoverished boarding secondary school that we love to support. The island also hosts a regional medical centre often run by Slovenian medical students and doctors.
On the way to the mainland you can check on Bunyonyi Eco Resort, Kyahugye Island, provided you haven’t seen enough impalas, water bucks or zebras elsewhere in East Africa… Yes, you have read it right — there are unexpected animals on this island!
At 6pm a buffet dinner will be served at Edirisa, including the lake specialty, crayfish, and complete your program.
To go deeper into this itinerary check out The Secrets of Our Most Popular Ugandan Hiking Route written by our guide Owen!
Please schedule a call or leave us a message to learn more about this itinerary, express your needs and share your wishes.
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featured photo: Marcus Westberg
