Kampala Serena Hotel Serena's Uganda flagship, the Kampala Serena Hotel is an inspirational blend of 5-star polish, pan-African panache, social style and business reliability. Ideally located at the very heart of Kampala, the hotel stands amidst 72 acres of landscaped grounds and water gardens. An oasis of cool and green, encircled by the seven hills of Kampala, this 152-room world-class hotel is the focal point of national, regional, business, political and social life.

Lake Victoria Serena Resort Nestled at the foot of the wooded slopes of Mount Meru, this unique hotel stands amid coffee plantations on the shores of tranquil Lake Duluti. Designed to echo the traditional style of the colonial coffee farm, which originally stood on this site, Mountain Village offers a range of tastefully presented cottage-styled rooms set amid extensive landscaped grounds.

Uganda
The Pearl of Africa

More recently emerged as a tourist destination than its neighbours, Kenya and Tanzania, Uganda has always been viewed as the ultimate African gem. It was to Uganda that the early explorers were attracted; and Uganda was the objective of one of the greatest engineering feats of history, the so-called ‘Lunatic Express', the railway, which in 1899 finally reached the shores of Lake Victoria, 1,000 kilometres from Mombasa on the Kenyan coast.

Blessed with one of the most delightful climates in the world, Uganda occupies a serene green plateau, which lies between the eastern and western branches of the Great Rift Valley. Thought by many to be Africa's finest birding destination, Uganda boasts over 1,000 species, which in relation to her relatively compact size (236,580 square kilometres) is a tribute not only to her fertility, but also to the diversity of her landscape.

The ‘Land of Lakes'
25 per cent of Uganda's entire surface is covered by a glittering skein of lakes and rivers, earning her the title ‘The Land of Lakes'. They include the mighty Nile, which rises in Jinja, and the world's second-largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria.

The Switzerland of Africa
As to scenery, Uganda has been dubbed ‘The Switzerland of Africa' thanks to its impressive mountain ranges, which include the legendary ‘Mountains of the Moon', the snow-capped Ruwenzoris, and the enormous and immeasurably ancient Mount Elgon which, at 4,324 metres is all that remains of a massive volcano, now extinct, which forms the boundary between Uganda and Kenya.

Moorland to rainforests, savannah to swamp
The meeting point of the East African savannah and the West African rainforest, Uganda's vegetation is immensely diverse stretching from snow-capped peaks and Afro-alpine moorlands to dense rainforests, golden savannah and semi-arid landscapes. Incredibly fertile, agriculture is the dominant sector of Uganda's economy, contributing more than 70 per cent of gross domestic product and providing a livelihood for 90 per cent of the population.

A diversity of wildlife
Although not as plentiful as that of its neighbours, Uganda's wildlife definitely has the edge on them in terms of diversity. Its pristine rainforests protect a wealth of wildlife including an astonishing number of primate species. Indeed, of the few thousand mountain gorillas that remain on earth, over half of them live in Uganda. Uganda is also one of the top places in the world to see chimpanzee, which are abundant in the Kibale Forest National Park, the Budongo Forest, and in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Murchison Falls National Park, meanwhile, is thought by many to be one of the most exciting wildlife experiences Africa has to offer and is THE place to see hippos and crocodiles.

A warm and welcoming people
Human presence in Uganda goes back over 500,000 years, and Uganda's cultural history is one of the richest in the world. Today, still ruled by the Buganda, the Ugandan King, who maintains his glittering royal court at Bulange, just outside Kampala, the Ugandan people are one of the most warmly welcoming and gently gracious in the world. Speaking over forty languages, they can broadly be divided into four major language groups, Bantu, Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic and Sudanic.

Lake Victoria
The 2nd largest lake in the world

Source of the Nile discovered
First settled by the Luo peoples some five centuries ago, Lake Victoria was ‘discovered' as a potential source of the Nile by the English explorer John Hanning Speke in 1858.

Rare birds, massive fish
As a result of its unique climate and unusual composition the lake features papyrus beds and marshlands that harbour birds found nowhere else in East Africa. It also offers vast fishing potential, the main commercial species being tilapia, which grow up to 2 kg in weight, and the massive Nile Perch which can weigh up to 227 kg and make up 85% of the catch.

Host to ancient creatures
Other creatures include the lungfish, a unique snake-like creature so-called because it can breathe air into its swim bladder, which then acts as a set of primitive lungs. An earth survivor for over 300 million years, the lungfish may represent one of the transitional phases between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates.

Realm of the cichlid
Until the 1960's the lake was also home to around 320 different species of brilliantly coloured tropical fish known as cichlids. Now only 8 species remain, their demise being due to the re-introduction to the lake in 1956 of the rapacious Nile Perch, which had been absent from its waters for millions of years.

Carpeted in water hyacinth
Today the lake suffers from an infestation of water hyacinth, which spreads like a floating green carpet across its waters. Originally a native of Brazil, the plant is thought to have been introduced to the lake from Rwanda.

Kampala
The city of seven hills

Other features of the city include the Ssezibwa Falls, the Ugandan National Theatre, St. Balikuddembe Market (formerly Owino Market) and Nakasero Market. Kampala is also known for its nightlife, which includes a casino. The main campus of Makerere University, one of East and Central Africa's premier institutes of higher learning, can be found in the Makerere Hill area of the City. Kampala is also home to the headquarters of the East African Development Bank.

Airport/lake port
Entebbe International Airport is located at Entebbe, 40 km (22 miles) away, while Port Bell on the shores of Lake Victoria is 10 km (7 miles) away.

History
Before the arrival of the British, Mutesa I the Kabaka (king) of Buganda had chosen the area that was to become Kampala as one of his favourite hunting grounds. The area was made up of numerous rolling hills and lush wetlands. It was an ideal breeding ground for various game, particularly a species of antelope, the Impala (Aepyceros melampus). The British called the area the hills of the Impala. Translated to Luganda it became "kasozi ka Impala". With time, local usage took to referring to the Kabaka's hunting expeditions as "Kabaka agenze e ka´empala ("The Kabaka has gone to Ka'mpala"). Eventually the hills became known as Kampala. The city grew as the capital of the Buganda kingdom, from which several buildings survive, including the Kasubi Tombs (built in 1881), the Buganda Parliament, the Buganda Court of Justice and the Naggalabi Buddo Coronation Site.

Ethnic make-up
Kampala has a diverse ethnic population, although the Baganda make up over 60% of the Greater Kampala region. Other large ethnic groups include; the Banyankole, Basoga, Bafumbira, Batoro, Bakiga, Alur, Banyoro, Iteso and Acholi.

Location and direction

By air: The international airport is served by a wide range of carriers and linked to the international hub of Nairobi.

By road: Landlocked Uganda can be reached on all sides by road, but visitors are advised to check conditions in Rwanda, Sudan and the DRC.

By bus: Shuttle bus services also link Kampala with Nairobi, Arusha and Dar es Salaam.

By boat: There are no passenger boat connections between Uganda and Kenya but it is possible to travel across Lake Victoria from Tanzania using the Port Bell ferry, which connects Mwanza to Port bell (Kampala) on its regular once weekly service.

By rail: Rail services link Kampala to Nairobi.

The history of Uganda

In the late 18th century, during a period of conflict, the governor of Buganda declared his independence, and the new kingdom quickly became the major lake state. Two smaller kingdoms, Ankole and Toro, also became independent of Bunyoro. Each of these, with variations, modelled its society and political system on the mother state. Buganda was ruled by a semi-divine king (kabaka) who was advised by a council of great nobles (lukiko), and the land was divided among the nobility and farmed by the peasants. Cattle were symbols of power and were owned by the nobility. The state was defended by a standing and conscript army obedient to the king's desires. Although powerful, Buganda never completely dominated the other kingdoms and scattered Bantu groups.

The first Europeans to visit Uganda were the British explorers John Hanning Speke and James Grant, when they were searching for the source of the River Nile in 1862. They were followed by Samuel White Baker and Charles George Gordon, commanding Egyptian troops. The explorer Henry Morton Stanley, welcomed by Kabaka Mutesa I (reigned 1852-1884), reported the king's eagerness to understand Christianity. Soon both Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries were working in Buganda.

Within a decade the factions they created caused a civil war. Once isolated, the region, had become by 1890 a major object of the European nations' scramble for African territory. Britain, after securing German recognition of its rights, moved to secure Buganda. Frederick Lugard, working for the British East Africa Company, ended the civil disturbances and his successors used the Bugandan army to help conquer the other kingdoms and peoples.

By 1896 a British protectorate administration had extended its authority over most of the region and the name Uganda was adopted. Final details concerning the administration of Uganda were settled by a series of agreements in 1900, the most comprehensive of which guaranteed special status to Buganda, including the continuation of its social and political system.

Britain's almost 70 years of rule in Uganda took the form of a centralized European bureaucracy, which was superimposed on a federation of kingdoms and peoples. This worked relatively well until the independence movements of the 1950s when Buganda demanded separation from Uganda. Only after Kabaka Mutesa II was exiled for two years in 1953 was it possible to proceed with developing a united government.

After much experimentation, a federal constitution was promulgated in April 1962. The Uganda People's Congress won the elections and Milton Obote became prime minister. Independence was granted in October. Dissension continued, however, and in May 1966 Obote sent the army into Buganda and drove the kabaka into exile. He then proclaimed a new republican constitution, formally abolished the kingships, and became Uganda's first president of a unitary government.

Bugandan recalcitrance, a fall-off in the economy, and charges of corruption led to an army coup in January 1971. Power devolved upon the army commander Idi Amin, who began eight years of terror and misrule. He increased the size of the army, murdered his political opponents, and began a reign of terror directed at the people of Buganda, Obote's Lango people, and at their neighbours, the Acholi. It is estimated Amin ordered the killing of around 300,000 Ugandans. He also expelled more than 60,000 Asians, many of whom were entrepreneurs, from the country (1972).

By 1978 Uganda was bankrupt, in the grip of internecine warfare, and the government dependent on massive loans from Arab states friendly to Amin. After Uganda went to war with neighbouring Tanzania in late 1978, Tanzanian forces allied with Ugandan rebels drove Amin from the country. He was allowed to escape to and settle in Saudi Arabia.

Three provisional presidents served before elections were held in December 1980. Obote's party won amid widespread reports of electoral fraud, and he became the president once again. Uganda, however, had changed fundamentally. Once thriving, the nation had suffered prolonged economic disaster, with an inflation rate of more than 200 per cent, no consumer goods, few jobs, rampant crime, famine in the north, and no effective government in the countryside.

In 1982, after Tanzanian troops had been withdrawn, anti-government guerrillas became active, bloody internecine feuds (a legacy of the Amin period) flourished, and thousands of young men were arrested, suspected of being guerrillas. Thereafter, Obote's regime became as murderous and autocratic as Amin's. More than 100,000 Ugandans were killed or starved to death over the next three years.

In July 1985 a coup overthrew the government; Obote fled the country and settled in Zambia. The National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni, took over the country in January 1986. Among its first priorities was the re-building of a nation state from a country reduced after 15 years of misrule and violence into feuding factions. By involving all ethnic groups in the government, as well as most of the main political parties, the pragmatic Museveni largely succeeded in this. Peace was restored to almost all the country, except the northern border area near Sudan, where small rebel groups concentrated, and where arms were readily available from the civil war in Sudan. Uganda's relationship with Rwanda, which had been strained in the late 1980s, improved after the introduction of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in August 1992, which sought to improve border security.

With the assistance of large-scale foreign aid, efforts were made to rebuild the economy and infrastructure. Former Asian residents were invited to return, and a programme of economic liberalization introduced to bring the budget under control, encourage agricultural production, and attract foreign investors. During 1993 and 1994 debate began on a new constitution, as the first stage in a process of returning the country to a democratic government.

A new constitution came into force in 1995, which made provision for a referendum in 2000 on the introduction of a multi-party system. It also legalized political parties although still banned them from any activity. In the 1996 presidential election Museveni was returned to power, having won 74 per cent of the popular vote. In the 1990s Museveni grew in prestige as an African statesman.

In April 2001, Uganda announced that it would finally be withdrawing its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they had been deployed in backing the rebels against the government since 1998. Uganda's intervention in the conflict had received international condemnation, and had led to battles with Rwandan forces, also in the country. Troops were pulled out of the DRC in May 2001. Uganda and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in November 2001, brokered by British minister Claire Short.

In March 2004 the presidents of Uganda and the neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania signed a protocol for the introduction of a customs union between the three countries. A constitutional amendment was approved in 2005 that paved the way for President Museveni to stand for a third term. He duly won the election held in February 2006 by gaining 59 per cent of the vote.

Uganda at a glance