In the south western part is where Kisoro district is situated right at the border of Uganda and Rwanda. It is with no doubt that this district is one of blessed districts endowed with real natural beauty. For anyone who has visited Kisoro before will definitely testify that this is the “Switzerland of Africa”.
Despite of this region being famous for mountain gorilla tours conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga national parks, it is also a scenic displayer of Uganda’s beautiful landscape hence Uganda’s nickname “the pearl of Africa”.
Kisoro region brings out the beauty of Uganda through the natural features like the endangered mountain gorillas, scenic Virunga volcanoes, second deepest like in the world i.e. Lake Bunyonyi, the spectacular crater lake of Mutanda, the incredible cultures and beautiful flora and fauna making Kisoro a safari destination with remarkable experience.The Kigezi hills make Kisoro more amazing with the outstanding spectacular views of Virunga Volcanoes and forests which are shared by Uganda, Rwanda and D. R Congo.
This region is known for experiences like gorilla safaris, golden monkeys, volcano climbing and Batwa trail. To create a new taste of the region, new travel experiences have been introduced to diversify the tourism experiences that travelers normally enjoy from the south western Uganda. With the support from Uganda tourism Board and the government, new travel experiences have been introduced at Mgahinga cultural and crafts center. This experience is aimed at adding value to the previous gorilla safaris which are the core experiences which is gained from the Kisoro region. The newly introduced activities include;
- Caldera expeditions
Caldera is a large crater lake which resulted after a vigorous explosion of a volcano mountain that collapsed to form a depression and later filled with water naturally. Kisoro in the previous years was hit by massive volcanic eruptions, resulting to formation of awesome caldera features like the volcanic mountains that possess Crater Lakes on the top.
Visitors will enjoy memorable experiences of nature walks / hikes to the caldera in order to appreciate nature.
- Mountain biking
Mountain bikers are being taken care of by the Kisoro tourism gem. This experience gives the traveler chance to tour the community on a bike. With the help of Ultimate cycling Uganda, three trails are marked for the experience of biking in the region. The beauty with these trails is that at least each leads to wonderful sites within Kisoro and the nearby communities.
The three trails include; the Mgahinga trail which stretches for 60 kilometers starting from the Mgahinga cultural centre. On this trail visitors ride through the gate of Mgahinga park heading to the Rwanda, D. R. Congo boarder and they return via Kisoro town and end the ride at Mgahinga cultural center.
For travelers in Kabale, their trail is for 80 kilometers starting from Lake Bunyonyi via Muko and the ending point of the ride is Churchill point. This trail is an awesome trail for exploring the gems of Kabale. The last trail is the Bwindi trail which is the longest of all the trails, starting from Kabale town via Bwindi forest and ends at Mgahinga gorilla national park.
This is an amazing activity because it helps visitors interact with local community while exploring the gems of Kisoro region.
- Caves expeditions
This is not all that a new experience because Garama cave used to receive visitors for the adventure of the 342 kilometer long cave which was open to travelers few years ago. Because of the high demand for the experience of the caves, Mgahinga cultural and crafts center has introduced some two caves for the experience of caving in Kisoro region.
The new caves are Sooko cave which is located at the bottom of mountain Mgahinga, and Ruhengo cave which is at the foothill of Mountain Sabinyo. This is a remarkable experience because the sites have well trained guides with all the necessities like torches, gumboots and hand gloves to comfort the incredible experience.
Get the secret behind the caves that are believed to have existed for over thousand years, right from the local guides.
- Churchill point
Hike to the point where Churchill made to, this point is on top of Kanaaba Mountain in the Echuya forest in Kisoro. It is on this point that Churchill appreciated the awesome beautiful scenery of Uganda hence calling it the pearl of Africa. This point gives travelers the amazing and spectacular views of the rolling hills of Kigezi which stretch to the horizons of Bunyonyi and some of the beauties of the region.
It is indeed exciting to diversify Uganda travel experience with some of the new gems when experiencing the majestic Mountain gorillas and the golden colours of the golden monkeys not forgetting climbing the Virunga volcanoes and the newly introduced experiences listed above, giving an exclusive Ugandan safari.
