Entebbe Botanical Gardens

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Entebbe Botanical Gardens. Entebbe is a small city on Lake Victoria peninsula, better known for containing the international airport that links Uganda to the rest of the world. The town is about 40km from Kampala and a quick commute. In fact, since discovering how nice Entebbe was, I was convinced that any further visits to Kampala would be based in Entebbe as the hour commute was more than worth it to stay in a quiet, spacious and peaceful environment. The alternative is staying in a dirty, cramped and noisy guesthouse in downtown Kampala, so the choice was easy.

There aren't many "tourist sites" in Entebbe and the town gives me a colonial bourgeois vibe. I enjoy it because of its space, proximity to the lake (aka cool breeze) and nice selection of restaurants with great western food. I had recently read about the botanical gardens being a nice attraction. I love botanical gardens, though I had low expectations for the gardens in Entebbe. My low expectations were a result of being less than impressed with botanical gardens in other developing countries. However, I was blown away by the botanical gardens in Entebbe and am actually lamenting the fact that I didn't commit the whole day to the area.

Pulled from their website, Entebbe Botanical Gardens features:

• Entebbe Botanic Gardens has a total land area of 40 hectares.
• 1.5 km along lake Victoria shore line; all of which present a breathtaking scenery.
• A walk along the beach into the haunting forest.
• A rock garden in the Entebbe Botanic Gardens.
• A medicinal garden which sustains a big proportion of the Uganda rural peasant.
• The Gardens have a collection of 389 species of higher plants

The gardens are HUGE and contain several different distinct areas. What I especially liked was the lack of "paths", which meant you were pretty much free to roam wherever you wanted. Trees are labeled very well and a few troops of primates (vervet, black and white colobus, Ugandan colobus) make their home in the park. Most of the park is quite open, which is prime bird viewing terrain. As advertised, the park also has a nice piece of shoreline (though Lake Victoria is a no swim zone due to the presence and risk of shistosomiasis) which included a less-than rustic campsite, bar, and recreational area. 

Black and white colobus hangs out in a tree. A troop of them scared off a Ugandan colobus in a monkey battle, which is always great viewing.

Vervet monkey hanging out in the bushes.

My favorite part was the "haunting forest" which emulated a rainforest environment. Unfortunately, I went to the park at about 1PM and by the time 6PM rolled around I had spent most of the day in the open spaces and by the water. I only got to walk through the "haunting forest" on my way out and regretted not having enough time to enjoy the cool understory of the forest. I was also impressed by the variety of birds, especially considering that I came at the worst time for viewing birds (mid day) though I was constantly viewing different species (in total I saw 48 different species such as: black and white flycatcher, yellow white eye, Ross's turaco, African fish eagle, eastern African grey parrot, Angola swellow, blue cheeked bee eater, etc.).

A pied kingfisher (one of my favorite family of birds)

Ana bird watching, trying to identify some species of swallow.

Overall, the Entebbe Botanical Gardens are well worth the visit. The entrance fee was UGX 10,000 ($4) and there were guides available for the same price. Most travelers only use Entebbe as a stepping stone to get to Kampala but I highly recommend taking the day to relax at the park.

Me next to a gigantic termite mound. 

No, there is nothing wrong with my camera, rather it is a bunch of insects at dusk that literally clog the air. Pretty awesome if you are an insect eating species; pretty annoying if you are a human being trying to walk through the area.