Areas of interest

AREAS OF INTEREST FROM LAKE BUNYONYI, UGANDA

The lakeshore near Rutinda

Rutinda itself, though rather small and humdrum, is considerably enlivened on Mondays and Fridays, when dozens of canoes arrive in the early morning from all around the lake, carrying local farmers and their product to a colourful market on the main jetty. A pleasant short stroll from Rutinda leads North along the lakeshore, following the Kabale Road for roughly 1km before it begins the steep ascent to the summit above the lake.

A prominent local landmark, situated on a small peninsula alongside the Kabale road 700m North of Rutinda, is a colonial-style hotel building restored now called Birdnest Resort @ Bunyonyi - Luxury Lakeside Resort, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda. Beyond Birdnest Resort @ Bunyonyi the road skirts a patch of papyrus swamp where various colourful bishop- and widow-birds breed and a few pairs of the peculiar weaver construct their distinctive neat nests. From here, more energetic travellers could ascend to the top of the steep hills, via a series of switchbacks, to the five-way junction at the summit. Turn right here, and after about 2km you’ll reach Arcadia Cottages, with its stunning view over the lake and islands. Using local footpaths, it’s possible to descend directly from here to Bufuka, on the lakeshore about 1km South of Rutinda, but the paths are very steep and probably best avoided after rain.

The Islands

Several of the 20-plus islands on Bunyonyi are worth a visit, with the most accessible being the half-dozen or so situated in the central part of the lake close to Rutinda. Aside from Bushara Island, which uses its own motorboat for transfers, the best way to reach most of the islands is by dug-out canoe, easily arranged with local fishermen at Rutinda jetty.

Bwama Island is the largest on Lake Bunyonyi and the site of a well-known mission, school and handicraft centre for the disabled. Most of the buildings on Bwama date to 1929, when Leonard Sharp, a British doctor with several years' medical experience in South-West Uganda, established a leper colony on the island. Leprosy was a serious problem in Kigezi at that time, and for longer than three decades the island provided refuge to up to 100 victims of the disease. Leprosy was eradicated from Kigezi in the !960s and the colony ceased operating in 1969. The island remains of interest for its scenery, architecture and handicraft shop, and it’s possible to camp or rent a room at Byoona Amagara on neighbouring Itambira Island. The trip from Rutinda takes about 30 minutes in a local canoe.

Immediately North of Bwama, Bushara Island is well developed for tourism, and although the accommodation is highly recommended, day trips are also encouraged. The ideal would be to go to the island for a lingering lunch, then either arrange to take a dugout canoe around its circumference or else to walk the self-guided trail along the shore. Day visits can be arranged through Responsible tourism company.

Shaded by a solitary tree, the tiny Akampene Island — Island of Punishment is visible both from the North shore of Bwama and the cast shore of Bushara. Like Kisizi Falls, this island is traditionally associated with the Bakiga taboo against pre-marital sex. In times gone by, unmarried girls who became pregnant would be exiled to Akampene, where they faced one of two possible fates. Any man who did not own sufficient cows to pay for an untainted bride was permitted to fetch the disgraced girl from the island and make her his wife. Failing that, the girl would usually starve to death. A somewhat more fanciful legend is attached to the nearby island of Akabucuranuka, the name of which literally means 'upside down'. Many years ago, it is said, a group of male revellers on Akabucuranuka refused to share their abundant stock of beer with an old lady who had disembarked from her canoe to join them. Unfortunately for the drinking party, the woman was a sorceress. She returned to her canoe, paddled a safe distance away, and then used her magical powers to overturn the island — drowning everybody in the party, then flip it back the right way up as if nothing had happened.

Muko Forest Reserve and Ruvuma Swamp

The small trading centre of Muko, on the Northern tip of Bunyonyi, is the site of the vast papyrus expanses of Ruvuma Swamp, formed as the Ndego River flows out of the lake. Prior to the 1940s, the area around Muko was densely forested, and harboured a large population of elephants and other wildlife, but much of the indigenous vegetation was cleared in 1941 to make way for plantations of cypress and other conifers, and the large animals are long gone too. The neat plantations, which still dominate the scenery today, are of limited interest. Not so Ruvuma Swamp, which is one of the best places in Uganda to see a good variety of birds endemic to this habitat, including papyrus gonolek, papyrus canary and papyrus yellow warbler.

Muko lies along the main 80km road between Kabale and Kisoro, roughly equidistant from either town, and one elevated stretch of road affords good views over the swamps. A slightly rougher but shorter back road, roughly 20km long, runs North from the five-way junction on the hills above Rutinda to connect with the Kabale—Kisoro road at Muko, offering some fantastic views over the Northern part of the lake. There is a fair amount of public transport along the main Kabale—Kisoro road, but little or none along the back route. It is also possible to visit Muko from Rutinda by boat.

Batwa Pygmies

In the pre-colonial era, Kigezi and in particular the present-day Echuya Forest Reserve and Bwindi National Park supported a significant population of Batwa hunter-gatherers, an ancient pygmoid people who traditionally foraged mainly within the interior of forests. The lifestyle of Kigezi's Batwa has subsequently been compromised by several factors, ranging from forest clearance to intermarriage with neighbouring tribes to misplaced missionary zeal. Most significant, perhaps, was the forced resettlement of Batwa living in forest reserves and national parks, coupled with tight restrictions on their utilisation of traditional resources within these protected areas, which occurred during the colonial and post-independence eras. Today, an estimated 1,700 Batwa eke out a peripheral existence in Kigezi, many of them living in artificial villages outside their preferred forest home.

Visits to the Batwa communities can be arranged through Responsible Tourism Company.