Activities

Nearby Attractions and Things to Do While Staying at Hotel Kontiki Hoima, Uganda

Top Attractions in Hoima Attraction

Hiking at Musaijja Mukulu hill 

This hill is Historic as it is where Ssekabaka Mwanga and Omukama Kabalega fought for land and power back in the days.

Community walks Tours

Here you will walk down to katasiha Fort where Omukama Kabalega’s cave is found and known as the magic hiding place where he could hide and the whites loose him during battle. The Kibiro Hot Springs and Salt Gardens are found 35km North of Hoima Town in Kibiro fishing village, Kigorobya Sub-county near the shores of Lake Albert. A high escarpment is about 100 meters east of the springs and Lake Albert is less than a kilometer away west of the springs.

The water from the spring is continuously boiling at 100 degrees as evidenced by the water bubbles. Fresh eggs, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cassava or bananas can boil in the hot spring within a short time.

The subterranean hot salty water from the springs forms a water stream which meanders until it pours in Lake Albert. Aquatic animals and salt processing is also seen in this area.

Visiting the Karuziika Royal palace.

The throne room includes the traditional nine legged throne swathed in leopard akin sans bark cloth, an array of spears, coins, royal headdresses and musical instruments are on display. The fee is $20 per person. The Mparo Tombs are located about 3 miles from Hoima town; Mparo is the burial place of the kings of Bunyoro Kitara and their immediate relatives.

Most notable is the tomb of the most famous kind of the kingdom, Kabalega, who staged several fierce battles with Buganda kingdom and rejected the British colonial rule for a long time.

The fee is $20 per person. Clients have a chance of participating in cooking the local African cuisine if they desire. Cultural dancing by the Bunyoro traditional dancers Interacting with the local community and talking to them about the Bunyoro culture. Visit to the Butiaba Port Tour

one of the urban areas along the shores of Lake Albert. The port is where the wreck of lake Steamer SS Corydon lies that sunk in the floods of 1962 during an era when the continent rift valley lakes where extensively used to transverse the continent.

The town is a transit point to tourists en route to Murchison Falls National Park, the Butiaba escarpment and Bugungu Wildlife Reserve.

Kibiro Hot Springs Tour

Kibiro hot spring is found approximately 35 km North West of Hoima town, within the Western Rift valley, at the shores of Lake Albert. The legendary salt works and mines of Bunyoro –Kitara Empire, Kibiro still prides itself as a salt mine. It also boasts of a hot spring, whose heath benefits continue to pull crowds of tourists.

Katasiha Fort Tour

The fort is located about 3 km from Hoima town on the Hoima Butiaba road. The main attraction of the site is the impressive defensive trenches and caves constructed for various purposes. Kyangwali Fort is located 80km west of Hoima town in Kyangwali Sub County. It was one of a series of fortifications built by Captain Frederick Lugard in his fight against Omukama Kabalega in the 1870’s.

Activities in Masindi town

Budongo Forest Reserve. It is the most extensive and ecologically diverse forest in East Africa with over 465 plant species recorded, is located about 40 km( 25 miles to the west of Masindi on the Masindi Butiaba road). Kaniyo Pabidi Eco Tourism Center is located about 25 km along the Masindi – Paraa road in Pakanyi Sub County, Kaniyo Pabidi Eco tourism center is of equal importance. In addition to forest/ nature and primate walks and bird watching, the area is famous for easy chimpanzee viewing.

Busingiro Tourism Center.

It is located in Bujenje County close to Budongo Forest reserve some 40km on the Masindi Butiaba road. Busingiro Tourism Center offers forest/ nature and primate walks and bird watching in Budongo Forest Reserve. The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is a road stretch constructed by one of the Bunyoro Kitara kings for leisure/ nature walk, is a key attraction for visitors to Budongo Forest near Nyabyeya Forestry College in Budongo Sub County.

VISITING THE ANKOLE LONGHORNED COWS Get up close and personal with the magnificent long-horned Ankole cows. Immerse yourself in the wonder of these unique animals. This is an incredible opportunity to witness the long horns and graceful presence of the Ankole cows

SUNSET & SUNRISE VIEWING Catch the sunrise and sunset in Hoima. The are offers you a perfect spot and an opportunity of witnessing the beauty of nature's daily spectacular views of the sunrise and sunset

BOAT SAFARI In Murchison Falls National Park The boat safari offers a unique and exhilarating way to explore wildlife and experience nature from a different perspective. As you glide through the waters of Lake Albert, you will have the opportunity to witness the beauty of majestic animals in their natural habitat up close and personal. From elephants bathing in the river to Hippos and Antelops

CYCLING SAFARI Pedal through the wilderness of Kabwoya Wildlife Park and the near by villages, this is filled opportunities of adventure and community engagement

HORSEBACK RIDING This exhilarating experience allows you to immerse yourself in the stunning landscapes of the park while getting up close and personal with its incredible wildlife. As you gallop through the park

GUIDED WALKING SAFARIS Embark on a thrilling adventure of a guided walking safari in the breathtaking Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve. Immerse yourself in the stunning wilderness and get up close to the diverse wildlife and captivating ecosystem that this park has to offer.

The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara History

The Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitarais the remainder of a once powerful empire of Kitara. At the height of its glory, the empire included present day Masindi, Hoima, Kibaale, Kabarole and Kasese districts; also parts of present day Western Kenya, Northern Tanzania and Eastern Congo. That Bunyoro-Kitara is only a skeleton of what it used to be is an absolute truth to which History can testify.

One may ask how a mighty empire, like Kitara, became whittled away to the present underpopulated and underdeveloped kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. This is the result of many years of orchestrated, intentional and malicious marginalization, dating back to the early colonial days. The people of Bunyoro, under the reign of the Mighty King Cwa II Kabalega, resisted colonial domination. Kabalega, and his well trained army of “Abarusuura” (soldiers), put his own life on the line by mounting a fierce, bloody resistance against the powers of colonialization. On April 9th, 1899, Kabalega was captured by the invading colonial forces and was sent into exile on the Seychelles Island.

With the capture of Kabalega, the Banyoro were left in a weakened military, social and economic state, from which they have never fully recovered. Colonial persecution of the Banyoro did not stop at Kabalega’s ignominious capture and exile. Acts of systematic genocide continued to be carried out against the Banyoro, by the colonialists and other foreign invaders.

Colonial efforts to reduce Bunyoro to a non entity were numerous, and continued over a long period of time. They included invasions where masses were massacred; depopulating large tracts of fertile land and setting them aside as game reserves; enforcing the growing of crops like tobacco and cotton at the expense of food crops; sanctioning looting and pilaging of villages by invading forces, importation killer diseases like syphilis that grew to epidemic proportions; and the list goes on.

Details of the horrific, genocidal acts against the Banyoro are well documented in “Breaking Chains of Poverty”, published by the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Advocacy Publications; authored by the Hon. Yolamu Ndoleriire Nsamba, Principal Private Secretary to H.M Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I, Omukama of Bunyoro-Kitara. This book is a “must read” for anyone interested in the History and welfare of Bunyoro-Kitara. It enumerates Historical events, plus practices, past and present, that made Bunyoro-Kitara “a kingdom bonded in chains of poverty”.

Airports Nearby Hotel Kontiki Hoima, Uganda Hoima Cultural Lodge Hoima

Hoima Cultural Lodge Hoima

Hoima Cultural Lodge Hoima

Hoima Cultural Lodge Hoima

Kajjansi Airstrip 215

Masindi airfield, Masindi

Bugungu Airstrip, Kibambura (110 km) via Masundi-Kyenjojo

Railway stations

• Kampala Railway Station

Most popular cities Nearby Hotel Kontiki Hoima, Uganda

• Hoima City
• Kigorobya
• Biseruka.
• Bugambe.