Kampala

Highlights

• The Kasubi Tombs, burial site of the Buganda kings and a UNESCO site of real cultural weight
• The Uganda Museum and the Baha'i Temple, the only one of its kind on the continent
• Owino and Nakasero markets, the latter easier for a first visit
• One of East Africa's strongest live music and nightlife scenes
• Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, which draws enormous pilgrimage crowds each June

Getting around

• Entebbe airport is roughly forty kilometres away - allow an hour or more with traffic.
• Ride-hailing apps cover cars and boda-bodas; app-hailed bodas are safer than flagging one down.
• Traffic is severe. Boda-bodas get through it, which is their appeal and their risk.
• Distances between hills are short but slow.

Good to know

• Two to four days, and use it as the gateway to Uganda's parks rather than a destination alone.
• If you ride a boda, insist on a helmet - app-based services provide them.
• Evenings are when the city comes alive; plan around that rather than fighting it.
• Rain is intense but brief. Wait it out rather than rearranging the day.

Boda-bodas are the main practical risk in Kampala - use app-based services with helmets rather than street riders. Ordinary care with valuables in crowded markets.