Tag: Kampala /Uganda/
altitude: 1,190 m/ 3,900 ft
estimated population: 1,600,000
The city also known as crazy crazy Kampala is the party central of East Africa. An urban sprawl touching Lake Victoria, Uganda’s capital is a bustling, freedom-loving place. Be it a weekend, a holiday or the middle of the night, enterprising Kampalans are ready to feed your stomach with cheap roadside food and your soul with bumping Afrobeat. Mushrooming shopping centres and second-hand markets are two dimensions of a place that sells anything from anywhere, at any price.
But not so far from the organised chaos of the Old Taxi Park — an actual attraction — there is serenity in Kampala’s green areas and religious sites. The only Baha’i temple in Africa, the Kampala Central Mosque and the Makerere University campus are three sites you should definitely consider visiting.
Uganda’s entry into the Gorilla Highlands region, Entebbe International Airport, lies 40km/26mi from Kampala.
Our Stories:
-
Your Trailblazer Takes You to Congo (And Kampala!)
Quarterly newsletter for Gorilla Highlands lovers I only like Kampala on Sundays. This awesomely crazy city is much more relaxed, quieter and enjoyable on weekends. So being stuck alone in Uganda’s capital during the holiday season does come with a benefit: it feels like some kind of Sunday again and again and again! But why?…
-
The People Who Will Put It in Your Pocket
The Pocket Treasure booklet means very little without distribution partners, without the people who will help it actually get into visitors’ pockets. That’s why we’re reaching out to hotels, craft shops, duty-free stores, bookstores, organisations, … — you name it. We’ve been there, or we’ll be there soon (suggestions most welcome!). The good news is…
-
First 100 Pocket Treasures
Merry Christmas 🎁! The first 100 copies of the Pocket Treasure were ready in Uganda’s Kampala last night, neatly packed in box. Meanwhile in Rwanda’s Kigali, we have been checking on potential venues for the launch. As you wait for the place information, save the date and time: Thursday, 8 January 2026, 5pm. Join us…
-
Our Gift to the Region: Pocket Treasure
What do you want for Christmas? Our region wants a beautiful little booklet! The team at MPK Graphics in Kampala has just started turning our “Pocket Treasure 2025” file into 5,000 paper copies. Pocket Treasure is the successor to the Gorilla Highlands Pocket Guide, last published in 2019. It will cost USD 10 (RWF 15,000…
-
Lost Co-Founder Climbs Back in the Window (Kampala 2010)
This is the tenth instalment of a weekly series that marks 20 years of Edirisa and 10 years of the Gorilla Highlands Initiative. Click here for Part I. It was 2010 when Miha, in his characteristic adventurous spirit, approached me with a request. He wanted us to make a video documentary on how to transform Uganda’s education, from the…
-
Just One Boda Boda Horror Story
It would be rather irresponsible to run a Staying Safe and Healthy series and not address the issue of passenger motorcycles. They are available all over the Gorilla Highlands region, parked right at the cross section of affordability, practicality, traffic accidents and crime. The temptation to jump on one is huge both in traffic-jammed cities…
-
“What’s a Gay?” and Other Ugandan Sexuality Questions
Weirdly enough, I didn’t sleep at all on the night of 31 May. I felt anxious, but I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was happening, I guess. I felt all befuddled in the late morning, but a text from my friend Kelvin immediately woke me up. It said that 44 people got arrested…
-
Why Did Rwanda’s Fiercest Woman Die Teaching Black Magic in Kampala?
Muserekande, born c. 1870, was one of the wives of King Rwabugiri of Rwanda. On his death in 1895 there was a succession dispute led by the Beega clan who championed Musinga, a son aged 15. Muserekande escaped, changed her name to Muhumuza (“She who gives rest from tyranny”) and attempted to make her son,…
-
Kampala, Here I Come!
After my first month of exotic but basic living on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi I was ready for a deeper dive into Ugandan life. I’d occasionally visited the nearby town of Kabale for my supermarket needs or a change of environment, but I wanted to explore a bit. As someone who is used to…