Perched on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Entebbe is located in the Wakiso District of Uganda.
Having served as the capital during British colonial rule (which ended in the 1920s), Entebbe is endowed with a generous share of leafy boulevards and old colonial buildings, which you can easily explore on foot. The city also boasts a generous number of white sand beaches beside Lake Victoria. These beaches are lined with hotels, restaurants and nightlife venues, and have become extremely popular with local and international tourists. It’s worth noting that the beaches are very crowded at weekends but they’re relatively empty during the week. However, you must resist the dive in, as the water isn’t suited to swimming.
Entebbe is also a great springboard to Lake Victoria’s many islands – most notably, the stunning Ssese Islands and Chimpanzee Island, which, as the name suggests, is a chimpanzee sanctuary.
You can fly to Entebbe when you’re visiting Kampala, Uganda’s capital city – it’s just 40km away. Both Entebbe and Kampala are verdant, vibrant destinations with friendly populations. You can use either as a launch pad to explore the rest of Uganda, or focus on experiencing the cities in their own right. For a historical lesson on Uganda, Kampala proves itself the perfect destination. Head straight for the Uganda Museum on Kololo Hill to learn about the country’s past.
The capital city was originally built on seven hills, but it’s undergone almost constant renovation, and it’s beyond the hills that you’ll find a hotel for your stay in Kampala. It’s safe to walk around any time of day or night, but if you really want to immerse yourself in Kampala’s local culture and don’t mind battling with the city’s traffic, get around on a boda-boda motorbike. Local taxis come in the form packed mini-buses called matatus.
Kampala’s urban centre is studded with important government and religious buildings, such as the monumental Uganda National Mosque which has a capacity of up to 15,000.
Kampala is alive with a strong arts and culture scene, particularly among the city’s predominantly young population. With burgeoning visual arts groups and ardent support from locals, you can find contemporary and underground galleries alike. Keen shoppers can peruse the city’s many vibrant markets for locally made clothes and jewellery.
Both Entebbe and Kampala have a significant population of residents from India, and as a result, the cities’ food culture takes a distinct Asian slant, although the rise in the number of international restaurants nods towards both Entebbe’s and Kampala’s increasing cosmopolitanism. In short, these close cities have it all: beaches, culture, stunning wildlife and great food.