"Once it was called the pearl of Africa" Uganda by kokoryko

During my stay in east Africa from 1986to 1988, in May 1987, I made a work related trip to Western Uganda, by road essentially; at the time the country ruled by Yoweri Museveni who overthrew Milton Obote, less than two years before; some areas in the country (mainly North) were still accessible with difficulty due to rampaging civil war.
This trip was not exactly touristy, neither is it a reportage on ravages due to years and years of civil war and political unrest; the pictures and descriptions here are side-products of a two weeks reconnaissance trip.
At the end of colonisation, Uganda was called the Pearl of Africa, it was a country "covered of fields, orchards and gardens with little colourful villages spotting the countryside" ; in the eighties together with civil war, Tanzanian troops occupation and AIDS the countryside Uganda became a land of desolation and martyrised population.
Museveni was on power since less than two years during my visit, the country was still very poor; today it seems to recover slowly from the civil war period, despite some unrest still in North and Northwest and even some touristic activity is resuming in the country. Resuming, because before independence, it was a favourite destination of British high society, for its exotism, good climate, luxury lodges in wildlife reserves like the Queen Elisabeth Lodge on the shores of Lake Edward. Due to poaching, by all sorts of armies and rebels, in 1987, very few wildlife could be watched at in Uganda, except in the South-Western plains, in some mountainous parts (Ruwenzori gorillas); only large quantities of hippos, for instance remained in the lake Edward area because, once killed they could not be hauled to shore for taking their meat, so they were not victims of poaching; most other big wildlife, predators or herbivores almost disappeared.
Things have changed since; with political stability, the economical activity is recovering, tourism is developing.
On "modern Uganda" there are pages from Uganda “specialists” for up to date information on this country I liked a lot during my stay there:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/423a5/ Suubi
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/8af94/ Neilhallidya
Great thanks to VT members who advised me for posting my "old stuffs".
And a special thanks to Mirembe, my Ugandan colleague and guide during this trip. Mirembe is a girl’s name and also means Peace!

Here below is some historical and geographical information compiled from several websites
http://www.enteruganda.com/about/history.php
http://www.iss.co.za/af/profiles/Uganda/Politics.html
and on tourism : http://traveluganda.co.ug/index.html

driving in elephant grass

The pictures here are scanned from the ones I took in 1987; my intention is not to make "touristical voyeurism" here, so no pictures of violence or violence results (like skull pyramids seen in the area east of Masindi town); all this not exactly tourist places, but the travellers go everywhere, and I share here some "old stuffs" which impressed me or enchanted me at that time.
Almost all is a bit outdated, but why not make tips for at least having a look at Lake Albert, or the villages at the feet of the Ruwenzori, learn about special salt mines, about the fate of the old steamboats which operated on the great lakes, and even oil exploration on the shores of Lake Albert.

Hills at feet of Ruwenzori

Little is known of pre-colonial history of Uganda; a number of kingdoms existed when Arabs and European arrived in the country end 18th and 19th century; at that t time the main kingdoms were: Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro, Toro and a large fiefdom of clans in Busoga. The largest of these kingdoms was Buganda, which exists as part of Uganda today. Islam and Christianity were introduced to these kingdoms.
Many European explorers visited the country in search of the sources of Nile and the Mountains of Moon, the most famous being Burton and Speke; nowadays, The Ruwenzori mountains, with the Peak Margherita is the Mountain of moon and the source of the Nile (the White Nile) is in fact a number of rivers flowing into the East African Great lakes, Like Lake Albert or lake Victoria which later unite their waters to form the Bahr al Ghazal, flowing in Soudan as an already fierce stream.
The area was placed under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, (Treaty of Berlin) and was ruled as a protectorate by the United Kingdom from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914.
By 1966, the first Prime Minister, Milton Obote, had overthrown the constitution and declared himself president, ushering in an era of coups and counter-coups which would last until the mid-1980s. 1971 saw Idi Amin take power, ruling the country with the military for the coming decade.
Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives, and he forcibly removed the entrepreneurial East Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after an invasion by Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles in 1979. The situation improved little with the return of Milton Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985.
The actual president, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power since 1986 and was viewed as being part of a new generation of African leaders. There is controversy, however, about the change to the constitution that allows him to run for a third term. Relative stability has been brought to the country with the exception of the North, which continues to struggle with a rebel insurgency. Museveni won the presidential elections in Feb. 2006.

Although landlocked, Uganda has access to several large water bodies, including Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and Lake Edward. The country is located on the East African plateau, averaging about 900 m above sea level. Although generally tropical in nature, the climate differs between parts of the country. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force, with coffee accounting for the bulk of export revenues.
Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence. The language with the largest number of native speakers is Luganda, spoken in the Buganda region which encompasses Kampala. The Ateso language follows, spoken by about 4.2 million people covering seven Districts in the Eastern part of the country. Kiswahili is widely used as a basic trade language.
Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups, none of whom form a majority of the population. Around forty different languages are currently in use in the country. English became the official language of Uganda after independence. The language with the largest number of native speakers is Luganda, spoken in the Buganda region which encompasses Kampala. The Ateso language follows, spoken by about 4.2 million people covering seven Districts in the Eastern part of the country. Kiswahili is widely used as a basic trade language.

• In a nutshell:it is recovering now