Uganda Recommendations — Jordan Mafumbo

I'd recommend you make your way to Kabale, in Western Uganda, and immediately visit the Lake Bunyonyi region. Walk a lot on the mainland surrounding Lake Bunyonyi. Mainland roads are mainly currently covered in murram. Walk, walk, walk, and use the occasional cheap boda boda. Then make your way to any one of the 20-odd islands. Visit one or more of the islands, and preferably find lodging on one of the islands. However, if you're to find lodging on an island, make sure to carry plenty of food stuffs from the mainland since there are few to no shops on the islands.

The combination of the chirping birds, the numerous scattered hilly islands, the winding roads, the lush green, the mildly steep mainland, and the vast Lake Bunyonyi, contribute to this being one of the jawdroppingly-beautiful places in the country. Make room for sailing about the lake, but make sure to negotiate your way to a splendid price. Hike the mainland or any of the hilly islands of your choice, partake in some fly fishing, or go out for a swim — some of the islands have jetties, and swimming decks from which you can sneak in a light swim. You can then make some room for walking the tiny Kabale town — which is quite walkable. If there's one place you visit in Uganda, let it be the Lake Bunyonyi region.

Make your way to the incredible town of Mbale, in Eastern Uganda. The town is quite small and walkable in some places, and has a beautiful backdrop of the mountain Elgon. Walk it to obtain a glimpse into how some of the towns are being planned in the country. Then use the town as a locus for visiting the neighbouring Elgon and the neighbouring Sipi Falls. Both destinations are incredibly beautiful and worth a visit. I'd recommend hiking both the Sipi Falls and the Elgon.

Ensure to visit Gulu town, in Northern Uganda, and if you search thoroughly, you'll find restaurants with splendid food. Walk the town here as well, offering a glimpse into some of the urban planning initiatives being taken. For more on analysing urban planning urban planning approaches, visit Mbarara town in Western Uganda.

Make your way to Jinja town — which is currently also a small charming town — and walk both the old and the new parts. Use this town or the adjacent village settlements as a locus for visiting the Itanda falls, Bujagali dam, and the river Nile. There's plenty of falls along the Nile, and if you dig deep enough, you'll find more of them to visit.

Make your way to Kampala, the capital city, and if you aim to obtain a glimpse of the urban planning being deployed in this city, identify a Sunday — which is usually the day when few cars are to be found on the road — and walk as much as you're able to, along the walkable parts. Then consider using a boda boda along some parts of the city. On days other than Sunday, the city usually gets too chaotic. Kampala is arguably currently the place with the highest amount of food creativity — both street and non-street — in East and Central Africa.

I'd also recommend using Kampala as the locus for visiting any of the suburbs, especially those neighbouring Lake Victoria. While there, make sure to look for fresh fish and ask for it to be deep fried for you.

Omela — You'll find this restaurant somewhere along Kanjokya Street, in Kololo within Kampala. It's usually uncrowded, and you might even be the only client there if you visit on certain days. The customer service is usually splendid, the food is also often remarkable and fresh. Make sure to get some of their pasted beef stew, vegetable boo stew, along with all the sides offered.

A few meters away within Kololo, near the Acacia mall, you'll find a craft chocolate store called Latitude. This offers some splendid selections as well, and is quite cheap.

While in the same area, make your way to the neighbouring rolex shop called UgaRoll. This offers really splendid tasty regular rolexes and chicken rolexes, at a cheap price. I'd recommend those two options, but there's more on the menu.

There's another restaurant nearby, within a few meters from that rolex shop, called Mapenzi Grill. There, if you get their beans stew with all sides, or beef luwombo with all sides, you'll usually have a wonderful meal. The ambience during evening hours is usually uncrowded and quiet, the service is remarkable as well, and the prices are low.

There's a restaurant along Kanjokya road that once served me a mind-blowing meal, a combination of pork, potatoes, sauce, and salads. The restaurant is called The Aleph — named after the short story by Jorge Luis Borges. Last I visited the country and this specific location, I was met with a downgrade in the taste of this meal. But if it's still on offer ask if it's being made with fresh ingredients, and for a warranty incase it's awful.

Look out for the roadside maize, and ensure it's soft and tender. Ask if they're able to spice it up with some chilli powder addition. If not, relish it without.

If you're looking for street rolexes within Kampala, simply walk through Kamwochya or Wandegeya, and pick any stand of your choice. I'd recommend ensuring that the chapatis to be used for the rolex are still hot, and I'd recommend requesting for raw sliced tomatoes to be added to the rolex before it's finally rolled. The street rolexes are usually ways cheaper than the ones mentioned earlier.

Find your way to Munyonyo, a suburb surrounding Lake Victoria, and specifically locate the fish market called Mulungu Fish Market. Here, you'll find large fresh tilapia fish at low prices. You can opt to buy it fresh and ask them to deep fry it for you, or you can opt to carry it back with you for self preparation. I'd recommend the former.

And speaking of markets, a lot of the farm produce in Uganda is really tasty. Ensure to venture out into the food markets (or otherwise) looking for some fresh vegetables, or fruits, and more. I'd highly recommend searching for the fresh fruit from these markets. And if you're preparing meals, I'd also recommend using these food markets for the procurement of ingredients. The items here are also usually really cheap.

There's two restaurants that I'm going to lump together — one called Coffee At Last, and the second called CJ's. The former has splendid sandwich offerings, and the latter has remarkable chicken wings and masala fries. I'm unaware where they currently have outlets, but I'd recommend looking out for them.

For really remarkable views overlooking the city, I'd recommend visiting Millennium Terrace in Kololo, and for really remarkable views overlooking the lake, I'd recommend visiting Buziga, a suburb, and looking out for a place called Cassia Lodge where you have to situate yourself at their top-deck part of the restaurant.

For an upclose view of the lake, I'd recommend Speke Resort Munyonyo — which you can even opt to use as your accommodation. If looking for an uncrowded visit, I'd recommend visiting here on any day other than Sunday — which is when it usually gets too many visitors.

For pastries I would recommend visiting a place called Bread and Pastries in Munyonyo, or Bread House — which has various outlets. Keep in mind not all the pastries there are splendid, and I'm unable to recall which specifics are splendid, but I'd recommend visiting and identifying the nice ones. Bread and Pastries also makes other artisanal items such as pepper, honey. I'd recommend getting the pepper.

On any of your road trips across the country, I'd recommend partaking in some of the street food offerings that are brought to your car by the vendors. Also, keep an eye out for street food while walking your cities/towns of choice. There's a lot of creativity in this field in Uganda.

I'm going to lump a couple of artisans here. If you're looking for shoe fixes, visit the Shoe Care Center at Garden City Mall, or keep an eye out for street cobblers. The street cobblers usually offer cheaper services than the Shoe Care Center. Additionally, if you're looking for canvas bags, find your way to an enterprise called Aloo Bags situated at the mall located in Lugogo, and browse through their items for what you're keen on.

For your coffee fix, I'd recommend visiting any of the Endiro Coffee outlets, but I'd specifically recommend visiting the one along Kintu Road in Nakasero (Kampala) if you're looking for an uncrowded ambience. There's different outlets for this, including one in Kololo — which gets many more visitors — but browse through the options and make your choice.

For meat, I'd recommend visiting a butcher at the food market, or visiting a Quality Cuts outlet. The former is usually cheaper. However if you opt for the Quality Cuts outlet, I'd recommend visiting the one in Muyenga (Kampala).

For chicken tikka, naan, and all sorts of paneers, I'd recommend walking through Jinja town and looking for the place called Lalan Restaurant, or the one — located just a few meters away from the latter, along the same road — the name of which I've forgotten. In Kampala, I'd recommend visiting either Speke Resort Munyonyo, or Asian Fusion.

For splendid views in Jinja, there's a restaurant at a place called Home On The Nile, and for splendid views in Masaka, there's a resto-cafe called Plot 99.

There is a splendid craft beer called Banange, splendid wine called Bella Wine — which is largely fruit wines and red-grape wine, and there's many producers of white and red home-made, grape wine across the country. And incase you're looking for a foodcourt with a social feel and variety of offerings, I'd recommend a place called Platia in Kololo.

With transportation in Uganda, you currently have the options of renting a car, using small shared cars for inter-city rides, using coasters, taxis (shuttles), the big buses, or car-hailing platforms like Uber and Bolt, motorcycle-hailing platforms like SafeBoda and UberBoda, and the boda bodas. For intercity journeys, I'd recommend using the coasters, and I'd recommend using the big buses for cross-country travel. I'd recommend using Uber, Bolt, and SafeBoda applications during late night hours.

The boda bodas are incredibly convenient. I'd recommend using them safely while in the towns/cities.

You also have domestic flight services like Bar Aviation, Eagle Air, and Aero Link.

While in Jinja, I'd recommend using the River Bank Nile. It offers river-side views, ample privacy, and presents itself as a splendid destination for anyone looking for an Airbnb property that doesn't feel like an airbnb. You're able to prepare your meals at the property, or to purchase the items before arrival and ask the property for a chef to prepare your meals.

While in Kampala, and interested in lodging in one of the suburbs, I'd recommend checking out Hotel 911 along Buziga road. It offers lush green, splendid service, and an in-house restaurant and bar that offer cheap drinks and food.

If you're looking for a hostely setup in Jinja, I'd recommend Explorer's River Camp, but I'd recommend going for the tent option. Obtain a tent with remarkable balcony seats and views and you'll savour your stay.

While in Jinja, I'd recommend the Lemala Wild Waters Lodge. Pricey yes, it's however one of the places in Jinja with accommodation on the white waters of the Nile.

I'd also recommend Home On The Nile if you're keen on an accommodation that has access to remarkable sunsets and a really quiet neighbourhood while in Jinja.

In the Lake Bunyonyi area, I'd recommend opting for this one remote accommodation called Byoona Amagara. It's located on an island, so make sure to carry plenty of amenities to avoid back-and-forthing to the mainland.

And if you are in Kampala, I'd also recommend the Latitude Hotel, perched atop a hill in Makindye.

Also, for a hostel approach in Kampala, for the person also aiming to have shorter distances between accommodation and city center, I'd recommend browsing through the options and getting one within the Kololo region.

For danceable music in a bar setting, I'd recommend identifying a bar, that meets your desires, within the bar areas of Kololo or Bugolobi. There's a lot on offer.

If you search well enough, you'll find chamber music and chamber music events, on offer, within Kampala and the Kampala suburbs. I'll leave it at that.

Make a visit to the Nile Breweries Factory, and then to Uganda Breweries Limited. The doors are wide open, and you're able to obtain a look into the day to day operations at the factory. Then later have a taste of some of the beers. Be even keener on these two enterprises. I'll stop at that.

Make a visit to the tea farms in Jinja, or slightly outside Jinja. Ask for a tour of these farms, and for tea tastings — both loose and bagged. Make your way to Jesa Farm along Hoima Road, and ask for a tour of the farm. Additionally, search around for domestically-made small-batch grape wines, ghees, bongo, eshabwe, nsenene, and keep an eye on the various fruits on offer.