It is one place that will not disappoint anyone with a day or two of leisure time. This is Entebbe City, which sits on the northern part of Lake Victoria. It is also home to Entebbe International Airport, which is the gateway to Uganda by air. For many birding enthusiasts, Entebbe is a birding paradise. It is also Uganda’s first capital city. In short, Entebbe City is blessed with natural beauty, wildlife encounters, a rich history, and friendly locals. It is where modernity dances with the ancient.
UWEC or Entebbe Zoo
On the wild side of Entebbe, snarls welcome you to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC), or Entebbe Zoo. Over the years, wild animals rescued from suspected smugglers get a second life at the centre. Also, the centre is home to endangered species such as rhinos, which were introduced into the country to promote conservation education ahead of their reintroduction into the wilderness. The northern white rhino became extinct in Uganda in the mid-1980s. The centre sits on the longest beach in Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria. It started as an animal sanctuary reception centre in 1952 and later turned into Entebbe Zoo in 1960, now the wildlife education centre.
Entebbe Botanical Gardens
A stone’s throw away from UWEC is the 100-acre Entebbe Botanical Garden, which is more than 100 years old. Entebbe Botanical Garden is gifted with old trees, plants, flowers, birds, roaming monkeys, and butterflies. It is home to 309 species of plants, of which 199 are indigenous to Uganda, some of which are medicinal. This is a priceless gift that is also popular for picnic lunches.
The Entebbe Botanical Gardens is popular with the black and white monkeys, popularly known as “Engeye.” The gardens provide an opportunity for birding enthusiasts to spot the Palm Nut Vulture and African Grey Parrot, which are resident.
The world has come to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens. Entebbe Botanical Gardens have been the backdrop for movies of global repute. “You will be overwhelmed to discover the spot used in the scenes from the Johny Weismuller “Tarzan films shot in the 1990s,” states the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. UWEC currently manages Entebbe Botanical Gardens.
Ngamba island
What? Chimps on Ngamba Island in Lake Victoria. Ordinarily, Ngamba is an unlikely place for anyone to encounter chimpanzees or chimps. The chimps live in the western arm of the rift valley, also known as the Albertine rift.
By default, Ngamba has turned out to be home to 50 chimpanzees, most of whom have been rescued from suspected traffickers over the years. The chimps live in families, and poachers have to exterminate their mothers and fathers as well as their sisters before they land in their hands. So, the orphan chimps have to be rehabilitated and hand-raised before they are integrated into families on either Ngamba Island or Entebbe’s Wildlife Education Centre.
It takes about an hour by speed boat from the main island to Mukono’s Ngamba Island. This is enthralling as patrons move across Africa’s largest lake and the second largest freshwater in the world to meet their wild relatives, the chimps.
Mugula cultural site
Entebbe has its own fair share of history. The name Entebbe is a local word for chair. It’s a name that is also attached to a legend. It is said that Mugula from the Mamba (lung fish) clan used to preside over cases on a seat curved out of a rock. This is near the present-day Entebbe International Airport. However, the seat was submerged by Lake Victoria. Why do some people keep going there? Do they have cases for Mugula to adjudicate? I did not see Mugula on my last visit, but there were calabashes and pots with multiple necks as well as cowrie shells in a cave.
The Uganda Equator island in Entebbe
Does the Equator go through Entebbe? While most people are more familiar with the Equator at Kayabwe along the Kampala-Masaka Highway, Entebbe International Airport is described as the airport at the Equator. This is because it is located at latitude 00.20 North and longitude 320 East, for which reason it is referred to as “Airport on the Equator. The imaginary line that bisects the earth into two also crosses an island in Entebbe, referred to as Equator Island.
Old Airport
What is the big deal with the old airport at Entebbe International Airport? This was constructed in the colonial era by the British colonial authorities in 1928. The new Entebbe International Airport was constructed in 1951.
The old airport was also a scene in the fight between Israel’s commandos in 1976 and Idi Amin’s soldiers, the then President of Uganda. Israelites rescued all the hostages except for one who had been hospitalised before they stormed the airport.
Whose gun is this?
Lost and found. Was this heavy gun in Muzinga Square Park abandoned by Idi Amin Dada’s troops or Tanzanian soldiers? There is widespread talk that one of the two parties in the 1979 war, which led to Amin’s government’s downfall, left the gun.
In 1917, British troops captured the gun at Muzinga Square, also known as Canon Park, on the outskirts of State House in Entebbe. Soldiers, represented by two statues looking through binoculars, man the gun. They aim the gun towards Lake Victoria. This is one of Entebbe’s landmarks.
Kigungu
It is one of the few places in Uganda that has blessed statues or monuments. The white men on their knees are French missionaries Reverend Simeon Lourdel and brother Amansi at the Kigungu landing site. They arrived at Kigungu on February 17, 1879, to spread Catholicism, following their predecessors, the protestants who had arrived earlier. The location where they landed is now home to Kigungu Cathedral. Between the cathedral and the monuments is where the monuments were erected. Catholics commemorate their arrival annually.
Beaches
The beaches have no crime, but revellers will punish the sandy beaches every time it is sunny over the weekends. Revellers camp at the beaches in Entebbe and take advantage of what they have to offer. They swim, eat, and wine by the shores of Lake Victoria. They listen and whisper to their friends.
Handcrafts
Like most areas around Lake Victoria, Entebbe is a melting pot of cultures. Baganda, Basoga, and Banyankore are the main ethnic groups. The tribes have not come unaccompanied. Cultural performances during weddings and ceremonies
Also, some of the handcrafts and artefacts on display in Entebbe’s curio shops, or the stopovers between Kampala and Entebbe, have been influenced by the different cultures. The shops also have souvenirs reflecting Uganda’s rich heritage.
Lutembe Bay, Mabamba, and Makanaga Swamp
Lutembe Bay is an Important Bird Area, which supports globally threatened species of birds and over 100 butterfly species, including three rare species. It supports more than half of the global population of the White-winged Black Terns, which migrate from Europe to areas around Lake Victoria during winter.
Mabamba is one of the best places to see the shoebills near Kampala. The two sites are close to Entebbe International Airport. Kasanje in Wakiso provide access to them.
Ssese islands
There are 84 islands in Ssese or Kalangala districts, offering a hideaway from the prying eyes of Entebbe or Kampala. Kalangala is famous for its white-sand beaches, fish, and birdlife.
Ferries from Kigungu in Entebbe or Bukakata in Masaka provide access to the island. There are also exclusive boats that ply between Entebbe and Kalangala.
Fact file
- Entebbe City is sitting about 36 kilometres from Kampala; Entebbe International Airport is 40 kilometres from Kampala.
- In 1893, Sir Gerald Portal founded Entebbe as a military post and the principal port of Uganda. It was Uganda’s first capital city, called Port Alice.
- Port Bell replaced Entebbe as Uganda’s main port, and Entebbe operated a jetty, which is now a marine base.
How do I get there?
Entebbe Expressway taxis; get them at the railway station or railway grounds in Kampala. In Entebbe, get them at Entebbe Park, near Total Petrol Station. There are also taxis plying Kampala to Entebbe that are available at the taxi parks in Entebbe (Kitooro) and Kampala, with many stopovers.
There are also special hire taxis, Uber, airport taxis, and tour and travel companies in Entebbe and Kampala.
