Mabamba Wetland famous for shoebill stork in Uganda

The wetland is a habitat for around 300 bird species recorded including the Pallid Harrier, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Warbler and the Blue Swallow. Other bird species at Mabamba include; Goliath Herons, Spur-winged White-winged Warbler, Gull-billed Terns, Whiskered Terns, Grey-headed Gulls, Papyrus Gonolek, yellow-backed weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, White-winged Black Terns, Pygmy Geese, Malachite kingfisher, Papyrus Canary, Northern Brown-throated weaver, Carruther’s Cisticola, Blue-headed Coucal among many others. While on a birding tour to Mabamba Bay area, you can also visit the woodland and savanna trail up to the sand mining quarry where other species of birds are likely to be found.

What is A Mountain Gorilla Sliver Back ?

Mountain gorillas differ from lowland gorillas (Western Gorillas). At first scientists thought there was no difference between these gorillas.  The sliver back  gorilla is  the  Mature male mountain gorillas of about 12 years that have grown a sliver grey hair on its back. A saddle of grey hair grows on its back after attaining sexually maturity age. Gorillas are very social animals and each group call it a family may have 5 up 30 or 40 members headed by 1 sliver back mountain gorilla.  A such group will have a sliver back or two of them heading the family. Other members of the group may contain females who are wives to the sliver back thus sliver back gorillas are polygamous in nature. Others are Juveniles and infants. The dominant sliver back gorilla commands the family and gives protection and other young sliver backs take orders from the head. Orders may include the directions to take while searching for food and if threatened who should fight first . A silver back enjoys the center of attraction at any time in the group or family.Bwindi National park is the home of mountain gorillas situated  western Uganda

Juvenile mountain Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla Sliver Back

BwindiNational Park isthe home of Mountain Gorillas. It is estimated to half of the world’s surviving population of mountain gorillas –400 live within these boundaries shared by Uganda, Rwanda and Congo part of the Virunga Massif. Mountain gorillas live in family groups like  Ruhija , Nkuringo, Buhoma  groups  

Mountain Gorilla sliverback  presence and guidance/care/dominance is important to his babies & adolescent gorilla children’s well being- because in absence of a dominant male silverback father figure - females will fight and baby/children gorillas can be bullied, injured or even emotionally damaged by others in the family group running lawlessly and without rules or order— since the dominant male silverback is the one who leads the family and maintains order and peace within the gorilla troupe.

Gorilla treking in Bwindi National Park Uganda

Gorilla trekking is and Incredible experience that one may not underestimate as many may think that it is just a walk. But gorilla trekking is carried out in an impenetrable forest of Bwindi forest that has existed for thousand years and is among the African tropical forests that are still intact and exist in south west Uganda as country. You will be trekking hills up and down as the topography  of the area is hilly and and with wide valleys . The day begins with briefing from Rangers post or park headquarters. The assembling will composed of rangers to guide you how gorilla trekking will be carried out into the forest., trackers and guides. Also strong Bakiga men who work as porters whom individual trackers will hire there services to  help them carry their back packs and even can support you to give you push if will get tired before getting out of the forest.   Will also need god walking shoes  and jacket call it rain coat as rain may not be ruled out on every day while still deep in the forest. At times in this real African rain forest because you may not miss rain almost on daily basis

mountain gorilla sliverback

Bwindi Forest

Mountain Gorilla

The time taken for trekking mountain gorillas vary .  Time may range from half and hour to 8 hours if not  the whole day. All depends on the movement of these gentle giants in the forest habitat . Rangers will lead you where the family of gorillas slept. Then from here will start walking into their foot steps until you encounter them. It is this process that trackers will be taking you through where will climb hills/mountains and come down into the valleys and repeat the same activity for different hills and valleys. Then your efforts will pay when you hear low grunting  sound followed by another grunt and your guide turns his head and tells you that keep quite and move forward slowly.

Remember you and are under  thick canopy of vegetation putting on a curtain and visibility is almost limited. Actually at one point when interacting with our clients of Travel Hemispheres she paused this question . Since it  is always dark, are  we going to carry torches to help us provide light? Well I laughed but told the client that during the day you do not have to carry a torch but the canopy above , allows limited sun light will mange to get through and seeing mountain gorillas will be fine.  So here will come time when see the family of gorillas you have been trekking. Will sit back and watch juveniles  - play rolling and shoving each other across the forest while the other members of the family chewing what they have eaten. Each family has head called Sliverback  mountain gorilla. This is can be seen easily because it the dominant  one with grey hair on its back . Usually the sliverback is usually reserved and will keep on watching you at distance. He may demonstrate  his ability and authority by pushing himself through the family moving forward and backwards his sheer size and stature casting a shadow of respect. He may pose momentarily , flick at one of the juveniles absently or crash to the forest floor but it realizes no body is questing his authority  yourself will feel a tingle going down your spine.

 Having watched for an hour viewing your forest hosts then your guide will  tap your shoulders signaling that time is over to start trekking back slowly back to your location of  stay. As you  move and walk back, you  will be exalted the life of these mountain gorillas in such cold environments and have existed here from time immemorial .

Mountain gorillas are trekked throughout the year and booking gorillas expedition will require you to purchase and secure gorilla permit in time before  visitation date. Travel hemispheres has been leading in gorilla safaris and securing mountain gorillas on behalf the clients since 2004  . We offer full packages of gorilla tours combining them with other wildlife  Uganda gorilla safaris. We scale out down budget gorilla safaris that will fit your pockets.

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Shoebil rescued treated and released to its Natural habitat at Mabamba bay

A Shoebil stork was rescued by fisherman at Mabamba bay after being chocked by fish it had swallowed . After the fisher man realised that that this great bird was motionless took more time and interest . after discovered that the bird was in sorry state. Then took time with his friends who brought off shore and alerted the Uganda Wildlife Education center doctors who immediately came and treated the bird and also took it for more treating. We give thank to the community for protecting the birds in their natural habitat. Uganda is good destination for #birding safaris. Uganda is home of 1000 bird species. Shoebill is among the rare birds to see. But when you visist #Mabamba at least over 90% you are sure od watching one. Thanks to the community living around this area.#Uganda safaris are not popular enough without watching our birds . https://web.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10216378300839058&set=pcb.10216378336239943&type=3

Nakayima Tree mubende

The tree, which gets its name, Nakayima from the princesses who resided there, is believed to be sacred. There are 18 rooms like the one above, where people pray for blessings. Tourists come here on their uganda safaris. One of the caretakers, Resty Nalubega (in background) sits next to the ebigali, the baskets, where people make their offerings. Photo by Edgar R. Batte   It will take you approximately three hours to get to Mubende town and another 15 minutes to ascend up to Mubende hill, allowing an eagle’s view of the town, all the way to the ancient tree locally known as Nakayima. The tree takes its name from a lineage of princesses from the royal family. At this tourism site I find a group of people seated at the tree’s buttress, which is so large that it can also pass for a cave. Visitors and caretakers sit at the opening of the roots, on grass and mats, smoking on pipes and freely exhaling clouds of smoke. You have to pay Shs500 as ‘site fee’,” one of the women tells me, to which I immediately oblige. Elderly Resty Nalubega sits close to the baskets locally known as ebigali, in which visitors make offerings to Nakayima. Mtucleh Kajura sits just a few inches besides her as he smokes a pipe. “Help me put more fire in it,” he hands his pipe to a middle aged woman. “Kale jajja (okay grandfather),” she says as she takes the pipe from the grey-haired Kajura, lights it with a matchbox and hands it back him. The story behind the tree The story behind the tree He crosses his legs. “So what do you want?” he asks me before taking me through games. Little do I know that he wants some money before he can divulge any information. I oblige and he immediately smiles sheepishly and begins the story. “Legend has it that this was Jajja Nakayima’s place,” he starts. “People come here and pray and get what they pray for,” he adds. “As residents, this is our historical place. We are her children and grandchildren,” he goes on. He goes silent. “Give more money if you want the deeper story,” half-drunk Kajura tells me. “But he has already given you the money,” the woman who lights his pipe every now and again tells him. She offers to tell me more. “Nakayima does not offer medicine and there are simple rules that govern this place. A woman is not allowed to come here during her periods,” she begins. “In fact Nakayima’s grave is a distance from here,” she adds. Kajura reconsiders and shares another bit, “In 1989, white researchers came here and took samples of the tree for testing. They told us that this tree is estimated to be about 650 years old.” After hearing this story, elderly Nalubega, of Engabi clan, reminds me that I had not performed one ritual, that of giving to the ebigali. As I put the money in the basket, she mumbles a prayer for me to have a healthy life, filled with wealth and freedom among other blessings. A place in the museum After this, she takes me around the tree and shows me 18 rooms, which are large crevices in the tree’s large roots. “Of these there are four rooms for #Ndahura, some for Nnalongo Jajja Mukasa, two for Jajja Musoke and Kilunda,” she explains. Besides the old tree, which history refers to as the witch tree, this tourism site is surrounded by a number of trees and just adjacent to the bigger buttress is a fire place which burns at all times. As a child, I visited the Uganda Museum, where I saw #Nakayima’s statue. So from #Mubende, I head to the museum, where Nakayima is kept in glass with some of the symbols of her kingdom, Buganda. Adorned in a ceremonial dress of bark cloth, the priestess of Mubende Hill is seated on her throne and at her feet lies leopard skin and spears, affixed in the ground. Story etched in history In Uganda Journal of 1966 in the paper Excavations at Mubende Hill, E.C Lanning writes that the legends of the Banyoro and Baganda tell of a ritual site having been on Mubende Hill since the earliest rulers of Bunyoro-Kitara, whilst excavations have revealed evidence of occupation over an area of twelve acres. “The role of this ritual centre on the hill has been an important one, and it was a settlement long before the foundation of the ancient dynasty of Bito rulers of Bunyoro-Kitara,” he writes. He adds, “According to local tradition, before the advent of the #Bachweezi ruling clan, the predecessors of the Bito line of kings, a Muhima sorceress called Kamawenge came from Butiti (now in Toro) to settle on Kisozi, as Mubende Hill was originally known. Subsequently, her two sons asserted themselves in turn as local leaders. As a result the hill-top settlement grew into a centre of some importance.” Later, the place became a focal point for the Bachweezi and the residence of their last and greatest leader, Ndaula, also called Ndahura

White Water Rafting in Uganda

River rafting is one of the few outdoor adventure sports that requires absolutely no expertise or experience on the part of the client - all you need is the guts and you can take on any rapid up to a Grade V (the most extreme that a commercial company is allowed to run) without ever having held a paddle before. Uganda provides for the best white water rafting environment in the world. Uganda is blessed with source of the longest River in the world – The Greta River Nile. The source of River Nile is at Jinja in Uganda and provides for the best rapids as the river is at high speed current that forms rapids. With help of trained guides anybody can carryout rafting.The only person who needs to know what they are doing is the guide, who steers the boat. Provided you do what they tell you, you will get down the run. If you are not a strong swimmer, you will be wearing a life-jacket, so if you fall out you will be picked up by one of the back-up safety canoes which accompany the boat. Assuming that you don't get stuck under a rock, that is. As you start rafting , your briefed what it entails. There are two types of rafting trips: where the guide does the paddling (with a giant set of oars, shouting at you to throw your weight left, right, back or front as needed), or where you do the paddling. There is no contest between the two types - in a boat where you do the paddling it is all action; do the wrong thing and the boat will flip or you will fall out. It is also more physically demanding. Generally you need to be fit to get involved in this exercise. You do not have to be in top shape, but rafting companies will not take anyone with epilepsy, bad hearts, dislocating joints, severe asthma, or other chronic medical problems. Be honest about this when filling in the application forms and liability disclaimers before going - it is very, very rough once you get down in the water. Just humble your self and will enjoy one of the best uganda safari expeditions of your life time. Cool down and listen to your guide instructions. It takes short time and you’re a master of yourself. The rest of the boat will respect you. If you are doing the Zambezi, eat under the thatched cover when you stop on the bank for lunch - the monkeys in the trees above have learned it is fun to pee on the people and food below . Downtime - being under water in a rapid. Grades I and II - easy; Grades III and IV - scary; Grade V - wow!. Grade VI is not open for commercial rafting. Grade VII is un-navigable. All rafting companies provide decent lunches for clients as part of day-trips. For longer runs (some routes are up to 20 days) you generally camp (cold countries) or sleep out on the sandbanks under mosquito nets (hot countries). Food is cooked by the guides, but you put up the tents (theirs) and provide your own sleeping bags. Rafting is a year-round activity, if you have the money to travel , will enjoy rafting in Uganda throughout the year. Uganda lies astride the equator. This gives al year around climate of hot and wet that favour rafting all year around.

UGANDA’S CULTURES

Uganda is one East Africa country that is greatly endowed by nature in terms of culture and history. While here, you will be surprised to see and take pictures of the most endangered group of people; the pygmies locally referred to as the Batwa in the rain forests of south western part of the country. These people have the most interesting behaviors and characters and you will love to spend time with them even a single second will leave a broad smile on your face. This group feeds on bush meat and fruits. This makes hunting and fruit gathering their main activities carried out to ensure their survival. It’s interesting to see and interact with a group of people that lives in forests and has to go hunting wild animals and collect fruits for food. This group of people is also talented when it comes to the local dances. They have organized traditional dances that are done in their language, they are very hospitable to an extent that they even fight to appear on the picture scene; they indeed love to interact with visitors. Uganda also has a diverse range of ethnic groups in addition to the pygmies / Batwa. These include the Baganda and several other tribes. In the north live the Lango and the Acholi, who speak Nilotic languages. To the east are the Iteso and Karamojong, who speak a Nilotic language. Lake Kyoga forms the northern boundary for the Bantu-speaking peoples, who dominate much of east, central and southern Africa.Lake Kyoga serves as a rough boundary between Bantu speakers in the south and Nilotic and Central Sudanic language speakers in the north. Despite the division between north and south in political affairs, this linguistic boundary actually runs roughly from northwest to southeast, near the course of the Nile. However, many Ugandans live among people who speak different languages, especially in rural areas. Some sources describe regional variation in terms of physical characteristics, clothing, bodily adornment, and mannerisms, but others claim that those differences are disappearing. Bantu speakers probably entered southern Uganda by the end of the first millennium. They had developed centralized kingdoms by the fifteenth or sixteenth century, and after independence from British rule in 1962, Bantu speakers constituted roughly two-thirds of the population. They are classified as either Eastern Lacustrine or Western Lacustrine Bantu. The Eastern Lacustrine Bantu speakers include the Baganda people whose language is Luganda, the Basoga, and many smaller societies in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The Western Lacustrine Bantu speakers include the Banyoro, the Batoro, the Banyankole, and several smaller populations in Uganda. Nilotic language speakers probably entered the area from the north beginning aboutC.E.1000. Thought to be the first cattle-herding people in the area, they also relied on crop cultivation. The largest Nilotic populations in Uganda are the Iteso and Karamojong ethnic groups, who speak Eastern Nilotic languages, and the Acholi, Langi, and Alur, who speak Western Nilotic languages. Central Sudanic languages, which arrived in Uganda from the north over a period of centuries, are spoken by the Lugbara, the Madi, and a few small groups in the northwestern part of the country. Linguistic Affiliation.Introduced by the British in the late nineteenth century, English was the language of colonial administration. After independence, it became the official language, used in government, commerce, and education. Official publications and most major newspapers appear in English, which often is spoken on radio and television. Most residents speak at least one African language. Swahili and Arabic also are widely spoken. History and Ethnic Relations After independence in 1962, ending a period of colonization that began in 1885, there was little indication that the country was headed for social and political upheaval. Instead, Uganda appeared to be a model of stability and progress. It had no white settler class attempting to monopolize the cash crop economy, and there was no legacy of conflict. It was the African producers who grew the cotton and coffee that brought a higher standard of living, financed education, and led to high expectations for the future. Independence arrived without a national struggle against the British, who devised a timetable for withdrawal before local groups had organized a nationalist movement. This near absence of nationalism among the country's ethnic groups led to a series of political compromises. National Identity.Ethnic and religious divisions as well as historical emnities and rivalries contributed to the country's disintegration in the 1970s. There was a wide gulf between Nilotic speakers in the north and Bantu speakers in the south and an economic division between pastoralists in the drier rangelands of the west and north, and agriculturists, in the better-watered highland and lakeside regions. There was also a historical division between the centralized and sometimes despotic rule of the ancient African kingdoms and the kinship-based politics elsewhere. The kingdoms were often at odds in regard to the control of land. During the colonial period, the south had railways, cash crops, a system of Christian mission education, and the seat of government, seemingly at the expense of other regions. There also were religious groups that had lost ground to rivals in the past, for example, the domination of Muslims at the end of the nineteenth century by Christians allied to British colonialism. All these divisions precluded the formation of a national culture. Ethnic Relations.After independence, there were conflicting local nationalisms. The Buganda's large population, extensive territory in the favored south, and self-proclaimed superiority created a backlash among other Ugandan peoples. Nubians shared little sense of identification with other groups. The closely related peoples of nearby Zaire and the Sudan soon became embroiled in civil wars in the 1960s and 1970s, drawing in ethnically related Ugandans. Today relations are relatively harmonious. However, suspicion remains with the president believing to favor certain groups from the west of the country over others. Major Industries. When the present government seized power in 1986, industrial production was negligible, consisting mostly of the processing of crops and the production of textiles, wood and paper products, cement, and chemicals. Industry was a small part of GDP in the late 1980s, operating at approximately one-third of the level of the early 1970s. Under Museveni, there has been some industrial rejuvenation, although this has amounted to not much more than the repair of damage done during the civil war to the industrial infrastructure. The sugar industry was rehabilitated through joint ventures involving the private sector and the government. By the 1990s there was a refining capacity of at least 140,000 tons of sugar annually. Other rehabilitated industries include beer brewing, tobacco, cotton, and cement. About 4 percent of adults worked in industry by the 1990s. During the 1990s, industrial growth was 13.2 percent. Tourism industry: Tourism in Uganda is focused on Uganda's landscape and wildlife. Uganda has a very diverse culture, landscape, flora, and fauna. In the late 1960s, Uganda had a prosperous tourist industry with 100,000 visitors each year. Tourism was the country's fourth largest earner of foreign exchange. The tourist industry ended in the early 1970s because of political instability. By the late 1980s, Uganda's political climate had stabilised and conditions were suitable for reinvestment in Uganda's tourist industry. However, the loss of charismatic wildlife in previously popular safari parks such as Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park prevented these parks from competing with similar tourist attractions in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda's tourist industry instead promoted its tropical forests. The keystone of the new industry became Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With more than 300 Mountain Gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has approximately half of the world's population of Mountain Gorillas. Tourist attractions in Uganda Uganda is one of only three countries where it is possible to visit mountain gorillas . The others are Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas are Uganda's prime tourist attraction. The vast majority of these are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with a few others in Mgahinga National Park both in southwestern Uganda. In Bwindi, visitors have been allowed to view the mountain gorillas since April 1993. The development of gorilla tourism and the habituation of gorillas to humans is proceeding very carefully because of the dangers to gorillas, such as contracting human diseases. Geography:The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the east by Kenya, in the north by Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest byRwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also bordered by Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is mostly a plateau, a compact country occupying an area of 236,580 square kilometers, roughly the size of Great Britain or the state of Oregon in the United States. It lies astride the Equator and has a fine mild climate with copious rainfall that is experienced three times a year and sunny months. Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform as the altitude modifies the climate. Southern Uganda is wetter with rain generally spread throughout the year. At Entebbe on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, most rain falls from March to June and the November/December period. Further to the north a dry season gradually emerges; at Gulu about 120 km from the Sudanese border, November to February is much drier than the rest of the year. The northeastern Karamoja region has the driest climate and is prone to droughts in some years. Rwenzori in the southwest on the border with Congo (DRC) receives heavy rain all year round. The south of the country is heavily influenced by one of the world's biggest lakes, Lake Victoria, which contains many islands. It prevents temperatures from varying significantly and increases cloudiness and rainfall. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe. Although landlocked, Uganda contains many large lakes, besides Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga, there are Lake Albert, Lake Edward and the smaller Lake George. Trade.In 1998, the country exported products worth $575 million. The main export commodities were coffee (54 percent of the total value), gold, fish and fish products, cotton, tea, and corn. The countries receiving most of these products were Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Italy. The main imports include chemicals, basic manufactured goods, machinery, and transport equipment. Religion Religious Beliefs.One-third of the population is Roman Catholic, one-third is Protestant, and 16 percent is Muslim; 18 percent believe in local religions, including various millenarian religions. World religions and local religions have coexisted for more than a century, and many people have established a set of beliefs about the nature of the universe by combining elements of both types. There is a proliferation of religious discourses centering on spirits, spirit possession, and witchcraft. Religious Practitioners.Religious identity has economic and political implications: church membership has influenced opportunities for education, employment, and social advancement. Religious practitioners thus are expected to provide a range of benefits for their followers. Leaders of indigenous religions reinforce group solidarity by providing elements necessary for societal survival: remembrance of ancestors, means of settling disputes, and recognition of individual achievement. Another social function of religious practitioners is helping people cope with pain, suffering, and defeat by providing an explanation of their causes. Religious beliefs and practices serve political aims by bolstering the authority of temporal rulers and allowing new leaders to mobilize political power and implement political change. Rituals and Holy Places.In Bantu-speaking societies, many local religions include a belief in a creator God. Most local religions involve beliefs in ancestral and other spirits, and people offer prayers and sacrifices to symbolize respect for the dead and maintain proper relationships among the living. Mbandwa mediators act on behalf of other believers, using trance or hypnosis and offering sacrifice and prayer to beseech the spirit world on behalf of the living. Uganda has followers of Christianity, Islam, and African traditional religions. Ugandan Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca when they can. Followers of African religions tend to establish shrines to various local gods and spirits in a variety of locations.