🖋️ Writers: owen_bright
Our Stories:
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Four Days of Trekking to Gorillas, Upgraded
Claudia and Ralf Bonmann, a lively German couple, dreamed of an authentic and active cultural experience in the southwest of Uganda — a hike that would nicely blend with tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Bonmanns talked to Shadows of Africa, a Tanzania-based tour operator, and they contracted the Gorilla Highlands team.…
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Kabale, the Almost-City That’s Ready for You!
Lying in the hills east of Lake Bunyonyi, Kabale is not officially a “city” yet … but the word is, it’s happening. In June 2025 Uganda’s Deputy Speaker let it slip that the government had approved the upgrade. He casually dropped that gem while launching the 8.4 km/5 mi Kabale-Bunyonyi road. And trust us, that’s…
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That Sweet Yellow Passion
Is there a better taste in the world than a glass of yellow juice freshly squeezed after a long hike? That first sip is life! This very tasty juice, which can be drank without sugar as it is often sweet enough already, originates from the passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). The common type found in the…
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Naughty Beer of the Volcano Gods
“It tastes like wine!” has been the funniest remark from our guests when we’ve introduced them to the famous beer of the Virungas. This very nutritious sorghum drink is called obushera/ubushera and has a rather peculiar, bittersweet taste. It does not resemble wine! Sorghum is a cereal crop widely grown around our volcanoes. The planting…
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The Coffee Pot Hotel: A Family’s Legacy
Kisoro’s Coffee Pot Café is an institution. Known all across the Ugandan slopes of the Virungas, this cozy place of mixed German and Bafumbira DNA opened its doors in 2010. After 15 years in the business, it’s currently reinventing itself. At the heart of this transformation is Joseph Ndagijimana who was a kid when his…
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The Virungas’ Most Intriguing Ethnic Group
Of all the cultures found around the Virungas, the Bafumbira are perhaps the most intriguing. Though they speak a dialect of Kinyarwanda, they live in Uganda’s southwestern corner, in Kisoro District. Their influence in Uganda far outweighs their numbers. They are a small minority, as there are only around 700,000 Bafumbira in their district while…
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Fertile Trails: Hiking Through the Rich Soils of the Virungas
When your hike takes you into the rich agricultural soil of the Virungas — like our three Slovenian trekkers doing the Volcano Quest route from Lake Bunyonyi to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park — take a moment to fully appreciate the fertile wonder beneath your feet! Here, nothing goes uncultivated, and one could easily get addicted…
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Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Successes & Failures
Our Batwa friends from Rwamahano happily received six months of accumulated funds this week. They got UGX 2,130,000 (USD 570) that we had saved from several Batwa Today experiences we did with them. Small contributions end up becoming substantial when brought together! Each time we collaborate we put half of Batwa fees aside and deliver…
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Trouble for Batwa “Pygmy” Communities: Lake Bunyonyi
We previously talked about Rwamahano, as an example of Batwa “Pygmy” groups we work with. These indigenous people originate from some of the oldest humans in Africa. They once lived in forests looking for fruits and honey, and hunted with bows and arrows, trained dogs by their side. Towards the end of the 20th century…
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