Kampala

Overview

Kampala is built across a series of hills north of Lake Victoria and is the political, commercial and cultural centre of Uganda, a fast, noisy, green city of around four million people. Most safaris begin and end here, but it repays a day or two of its own. The Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are the burial ground of four Buganda kings and one of the finest examples of traditional architecture in the region, rebuilt after a fire in 2010. The Uganda Museum is the oldest in East Africa and holds an excellent ethnographic and musical instrument collection. The Gaddafi National Mosque offers the best view in the city from its minaret, and the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine draws millions of pilgrims every June. Owino market and the craft markets on Buganda Road are where the shopping is, and the nightlife around Kabalagala and Industrial Area is the most energetic in East Africa.