Kabaka’s lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in Uganda located 5km away from Kampala the capital city Ndeba Rubaga division between Nabunya road and ring road.

The Kabaka’s lake is among the top tourist attraction while on your Kampala city tour safari it should not miss on your package. Uganda’s largest manmade lake, Africa’s dugout lake constructed in a circular shape with an island inside is a jewel to the Buganda kingdom and cultural heritage of Buganda. The lake has no inlet river tributary to supply it water but rather has underground springs that supplies water to it and surprisingly whether in dry season or wet season the water levels remain constant.

The Kabaka’s lake was dug out in 1880 by the all 52 Buganda clans under the orders of Ssekabaka Mwanga II to act as an escape route for the king (kabaka) from the British armed conflicts. Ssekabaka Mwanga ii is  famously known for his aggressiveness, notorious and ruthless holistic killing of Uganda martyrs but like any other human being he has his positive achievements for example the geared the construction of Uganda’s largest man-made lake.

History behind the construction of Kabaka’s lake is very interesting one should visit the lake and explore history of its formation yourself as the guides will take you through. It’s located in the heart Of Ndeba town, and it’s a home to various bird species.

The Kabaka Mwanga ii wanted the lake to act as his escape route from the British armed conflicts so he had intention that whenever the situation get worse he would swim into it and runway.

The kabaka also had another plan of creating a channel to lake Victoria such that he can cruise from his palace to lake Victoria to do spot fishing it’s on record that Ssekabaka Mwanga liked swimming and fishing and he could find it had to walk to lake Victoria for fishing so he decide to come up with the plan to create the channel that can led him to the lake. But his plans were not successful because it was affected by religious wars that happened in Buganda kingdom in around 1880-1885 and he could not finish his plan.

Apart from the escape route, the Ssekabaka Mwanga also had plans to get easy access to his palace in Mulungu hills so close to Lake Victoria built by his father kabaka Mutesa before his death.

In 1880 when the kabaka ‘s lake was dug out, Buganda had a population of about 2 million people they all jointly combined to dig out the lake of their loved king . However the Royal people like princes, princesses, parish chiefs Saza Chiefs refused to join the common people and they were reported to the king .kabaka Mwanga reacted by taking up a task by himself to join the people who had obeyed to dig, in doing so the prince, chiefs and princesses got ashamed and as well joined the king and people to do the activity.

Currently, the lake covers an area of about 2 square kilometer with 200 ft. depth. It’s among the top attractions in Kampala and it can be visited while on your safari in Kampala city tour with Africa tours adventure, the jewel site heritage for Buganda kingdom.

The amazing side of this beautiful lake is that it’s a paradise for birders some of bird species that can be spotted include little egrets, marabou stock among others. The man-made has got an interesting picturesque view surrounded by fascinating environment.

In Buganda annual tourism expo than happens every year around August, the king (kabaka) takes the courtesy to officiate the watersport at the lake with his subjects. The kabaka is accompanied by his soldiers known as Abambowa dressed smartly in the traditional cultural attires well-armed with shields and spears, his prime minister known as katikiro, ministers as well as other dignitaries.

A visit to Kabaka’s will offer you a chance to see the Idi Amin’s torture chambers , the Kabaka’s palace as the wells the four gate ways to Kabaka’s palace with their meaning , the lake is just located adjacent to them . You will also observe people crossing the lake using traditional dugout canoes. There is an island where the king (the kabaka) goes for rituals occasionally. The Kabaka’s lake now is the resting place for local people who go there to get fresh air, listening to the sounds of the birds; there are plans to construct accommodation around the lake to boost tourism.

Uganda is endowed country with the top best attractions and destinations which include national parks, mountains, water bodies having primate’s gorilla trekking as the top most attraction, followed by wildlife viewing cultural tours among others.

However there are unpopular attractions and activities which less attractive but tourists likes to do  without national parks , water bodies , mountains , interesting culture , there are other less known attractions in Uganda that international tourists rarely do very interesting and amazing .

While on your tour in Uganda you should check on these less known attractions, they are interesting and they will give your trip package a memorable experience.

Less Known Tourists Attractions and Activities in Uganda;

Visiting local main markets

Uganda has a lot of local markets that can be visited while on your safari. Tourists prefer to visit local parks to shop fruits before continuing to their destinations local markets include Nakasero market, Busega market, and famous Owino market. Tourist visit markets to shop fruits and experience how Ugandans do business. Farmers transport there farm produces to Kampala markets because Kampala is the hub of social, economy and business in Uganda.  This has attracted a dense population in Kampala and available market for various products produce in the country.

Eating local food

Visiting new places comes with cost of eating their local dish. Uganda has more 60 tribes and each tribe has its local dish that they enjoy most. matooke , millet , posho , rice , Irish potatoes are major foods Ugandans enjoy most , sauce are fish , beans , meat , groundnuts vegetables and greens . The famous dish tourists and local people enjoy most is the Rolex. To extent that it even got a festival known as a Rolex festival a culinary exhibition aimed at promoting it as National meal identifier for Uganda.  Rolex is the combination of eggs rolled together with chapatti and made as flat bread mat. It tastes sweat when still hot. However hotels go further and prepare continental dishes upon visitors request but eating local dishes should also be in your mind while in Uganda. Fish is most enjoyed by visitors, chips and chicken among other foods.

Visiting Source of River Nile

The source of river Nile is located in the east park of the country in Jinja district. It’s so amazing that the source of the longest river in the world is in Uganda. It can be well seen while in Jinja about 80 km from Kampala city. It was discovered by first the explorer to come to Uganda John Huntington Speke in 1882. The way to jinja is very interesting because it has amazing features around it the largest forest cover Mabira forest, the beautiful and the longest bridge in the area, splashing waters of river Nile all to be seen on your way to Jinja.

 Visiting Royal Palaces

Uganda has 6 tribes with strong and leadership of kings, the Buganda has the kabaka, Bunyoro has the Omukama, Toro has Omukama, Busoga has the kyabazinga and other tribes have chiefdoms. visiting the royal places will give you the experience of exploring culture, history about the kingdom their origin, first rulers among others these kingdoms have their traditional guards but the government also provide security to these supreme leaders, the most visited palace is that of Buganda kingdom located in Mengo Kampala city because its unique history, the most amazing feature is the Ida Amin’s torture chambers.   

Visiting Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary  

The Ziwa rhino sanctuary was established to help in restoration of white and black rhinos in Uganda. By 1960 Uganda rhinos but due to 1970s wars they were all hunted and killed. In 2005 the efforts to restore rhinos started the rhino fund Uganda together with Uganda wildlife authority established Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to safely keep these rhinos and breed them then after introduce them in the national parks. The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is located in Nakasongola district 200 km from Kampala about 3-4 hour drive. There are activities like rhino foot trucking, birding, viewing wildlife among other activities.

Visiting cultural heritage sites

Kasubi toms are one of the Kampala’s prominent cultural attractions. It is a UNSCO world heritage site and the burial grounds for Buganda kings and royal family members. The site was built in 1882 by Mutesa 1 the king of Buganda as his palace but after his demise the place was turned into the burial grounds for Buganda kings. Other kings of Buganda like kabaka Mwanga, Mutesa ii and Ssekabaka Ssunna chose to be buried there. Sometimes the kabaka, royal family members do rituals around the place to appease the spirits’ and ask blessings. On the visit to Kasubi tombs you will be able to see artifact of local drums, bark clothes, shields and spears, and you will be able to know more about the history of the strong tribes of Africa. The kingdom also has other tombs where they burry the mothers of the kings called Namasole tombs and wamala tombs where the old kings were buried.

 All the attractions mentioned above can be accessed at any time during the day and can be reached by road within a reasonable time like 3-4 hour drive from Kampala and they have got beautiful and amazing accommodations around them.