Nalubale rafting is yet to launch a new rafting product this March 2010 by offering a whole 8-day trip down the Victoria Nile. The 300-kilometer run down the river and across Lake Kyoga will open new opportunities for rafting aficionados. gorilla trekking

The Grade 5 (and lesser) rapids, papyrus swamps, and stretches of the meandering river will make the 8 day adventure more interesting, as will the changing landscapes and different camp sites every night. rwanda travel guide

This fascinating package will be accessed through tour operators like African Secrets Limited. Through these companies you can easily book this new product and they can even throw in for you other products like wildlife, Gorillas, Chimps and many others according to your desire and time available.
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The package contains some do it yourself which makes the whole idea even more interesting. Among these is participating in the various chores, which includes rowing, cooking meals, setting up overnight camps, and washing dishes.gorilla permits

The trip starts from just below the Owen Falls dam in Jinja and ends above the Karuma Falls, from there you are returned to your hotel in Kampala or Jinja.
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The Hilton Hotel is located on Nakasero Hill Road , Nakasero, and its Kampala ’s most prestigious location. The building is being erected on a 14 acres (5.7 ha) site that was previously occupied by the state’s television stations. The elevation of the construction site is 1,240 metres (4,100 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest points in the city. In 2006 the Government gave the AYA Group a 15-acre land in Nakasero in Kampala to build a five-star hotel and its construction started immediately after President Museveni finished launching the project Following the launch, the developer had initially said the hotel would be ready for the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala . Hamid said the project delayed because Uganda is landlocked. gorilla tours

“This is not a simple project. Transportation of construction materials from Mombasa is also a problem because Uganda is a landlocked country,” he said. “Besides, the standard of this type of hotel requires one to take time,” he said. About 2,000 employees, 95% of whom will be locals, would be recruited when the hotel is completed and its Staff will be trained abroad to meet international standards, Hamid added.gorilla tours

However, the managing director of AYA Group of Companies said that the “$100m Hilton Hotel will be ready by September” the news that made both Ugandan locals, international visitors happy. The joy and celebration was a result of various positive impacts to the local people and the tourists to the country. This is evidenced by the future plans of the hotel. The hotel directors look at 2011 to be the year of full, sustainable recovery for the Tourism industry in Uganda depending on what they expect to put on the tourism market.houses sale uganda

Additionally, the president of Uganda also commented him self to fight greedy people who harass investors hence encouraging the private investors to go ahead and invest more in the country. “The NRM will also discuss how to deal with greedy groups such as lawyers who harass investors.” said the president. kenya travel guide and kenya hotels

He added, AYA’s work, he said, was good for Uganda . “They will employ over 2,000 Ugandans.” Therefore, Ugandans should be ready to get good new job opportunities from the Hotel. Though Ugandan’s will have new job opportunities, but the tourists will benefit more in terms of well facilitated accommodation and quality services which will always enable them fulfill there expectation to there hotel of resident. Since there is enough space in the accommodation tourism sector, one shouldn’t worry of what to eat, where to eat from, and where to sleep because Uganda has all great answers.
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Uganda has a republican government and is governed by an elected president together with an elected parliament. However, this does not rule out the fact that traditional kingdoms exist with in the country and so do traditional leaders.gorilla tours

The country formally had six recognized kingdoms namely, Buganda Kingdom, Busoga Kingdom, Ankole Kingdom, Tooro Kingdom, Bunyoro Kingdom and Acholi. However, now they are seven kingdoms with the newest being the “Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu” which can be translated as the Rwenzori Kingdom.
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This kingdom as the name suggests is found in the Rwenzori Mountain and it’s natives are called the Bakonzo. The Bakonzo used to be a part of the Tooro kingdom but in 1963 the Bakonzo broke away from Tooro kingdom and formed their own kingdom in the mountain.uganda kenya rwanda

Despite being in existence for 46 year, this kingdom had never been recognized as an independent entity. It’s just recently on 19th Oct 2009, when the government recognized the Kingdom that the King Charles Wesley Mumbere was enthroned.african safari tours information

“It is a great moment to know that finally the central government has understood the demands of the Bakonzo people who have been seeking very hard for recognition of their identity,” Mumbere said in the whitewashed single-story building that serves as a palace.safari tours yovia

THE Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved the construction of the first airstrip in Kabale district. This is going to be in memory of the late Canon Dr. John Sedrack Batuma. And for this fact the Airstrip will be called Batuma Memorial Airstrip

According to Eng. Ivan Mbabazi Batuma, the airstrip would boost the business community by easing transport for tourism and trade if completed.

This will be a big advantage to the tourism industry especially for the Gorilla safaris in uganda . With an Airstrip in Kabale the tourists will be able to fly directly to Kabale and not Kisoro(Kayonza) like it has been in the past.

“It is an expensive project which will cost us millions of shillings but we have started levelling and clearing the ground as part of the construction works,” Mbabazi said. african tours blog

He said they had put aside a 1.5m land for the runway. The airstrip site is located in Rubanda county, about 5Km from Kabale town on the Kabale-Kisoro highway.
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Ecotourism seen as best bet against climate change.gorilla safari
Ecotourism has no clear, world widely accepted definition, but this one by International ecotourism society is most commonly used;
“Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”
The tourism sector is seeking sustainable ways of doing business in the face of growing concerns over environmental degradation.
For many of the world’s poorest countries, tourism is seen as a means of obtaining foreign exchange and of developing infrastructure. A country promoting low-impact, ecological tourism may be able to better avoid the adverse environmental effects of traditional tourism and from the sale of natural resources. Furthermore, since the sustainability of the ecotourism industry is dependent upon the preservation of environmental quality and biodiversity, it is felt that it can bolster conservation efforts. Ecotourism is appealing to tourists, environmentalists, businesses, and governments alike.
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Climate change is one of the major challenges the Tourism sector is facing and has to contend with in order to survive.
This has spurred industry players into looking at innovative ways as means to effectively respond to these concerns and priorities that have been the subjects of debate across the globe.
“We cannot continue how we use to, we need to adopt new measures for our businesses to meet the challenges we are facing,” said Ms Edith Alusa-Bosire, the chief executive of Ecotourism Kenya.
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Speaking during a three day conference hosted by the organization in Nairobi she noted that the sector has a lot to lose from pollution because it relies on the surrounding environment for its sustainability.
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The conference themed ‘Tourism Business in a Changing Climate’ has brought together players in the sector from the region to discuss the problems climate change is bringing to tourism management and what implications these are likely to have.
Destruction of the environment has had a major impact on the sector.
In Kenya, the destruction of the Mau forest water tower is posing a major threat to the Maasai Mara, one of the country’s major attraction.
“We need to clearly identify the effects of climate change on tourism. Get insights into the current status and what the future opportunities are,” said Adam Jillo, the acting chair of Kenya Tourism Federation.
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As part of the diversification plan, the country has been positioning itself as a major eco-tourism destination in a bid to attract tourists.
Ecotourism Kenya, which was founded in 1996, runs an eco-rating scheme that recognizes efforts by investors in sustainable tourism.
This year plans are underway to broaden the scheme to cover tour operators as previously it concentrated on facilities like hotels, lodges and camps among others.
The scheme is voluntary and enables these facilities to market themselves as authentically ecofriendly.
The scheme began in 2002 and has three progressive levels of certification – bronze, silver and gold.

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WHO can speak the heart of a black man? Who can act the pain, the desires, the loves and the hates of black experience?

These are some of the haunting questions written on one wall of the Apartheid Museum, located on Gold Reef Road in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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The museum takes you to the infamous l970s and 80s when racial segregation was at its peak in this southern state. It’s easy to feel the anguish and bitterness that the blacks had to endure, let alone the innocent civilians who died at the hand of the white man.
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The museum leaves no stone unturned - from the entrance where you pass through a steel gate according to your race, to the shockingly brutal, yet honest photographs, videos and documents, the visit can be chilling. You don’t need a guide to walk you around; there are little inscriptions on every corner, explaining everything.
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It’s an emotional journey and once or twice you are likely to see a white tourist shaking his head contemptuously, as though he is guilty of what his counterparts did back then. But eventually — after about two hours through the maze — you reach a corner demonstrating the country’s steps to freedom, pictures of the democratic elections in 1994 and the famous freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.
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This extraordinarily powerful museum, certain to become one of Johannesburg’s most important tourist attractions, has become an obligatory stop for tourists and residents alike.
“Come and discover the secrets of Africa’

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Mountain Gorillas have returned to Mgahinga National Park set in the most stunning landscape which provides an incredible backdrop for a gorilla safari.
Seven gorillas that had crossed to Rwanda from Mgahinga National Park in south-western Uganda a year ago have returned from their long exile across the border in Rwanda’s Parc de Volcanoes. This is the longest time the group has spent in Rwanda.
According to Lillian Nsubuga, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) spokesperson, the Nyakagezi group left the country on 18th November 2008 and they have just returned.
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However, Nsubuga was not certain when the tracking of the group would recommence.
“We have started monitoring them.Travel guide info, So far, they have not charged at the trackers meaning that they are still habituated. This is an indication that tracking by tourists could begin soon,” she said.
Nyakagezi was the only habituated group in Mgahinga National Park. Habituation is a process through which gorillas become used to human beings without losing their wild character.
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The gorillas are in the border transcending ecosystem, nestled in the triangle between Congo DR, Rwanda and Uganda.
“Wildlife is migratory in nature, but the gorillas have a place they call home,” Nsubuga said.
Nsubuga was asked whether the gorillas are likely to go back to Rwanda, and Nsubuga said: “I cannot rule that out, but their home is in Mgahinga and they will always come back.”
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While the mountain gorillas were away, the park authorities were promoting the golden monkeys as a tourism attraction.
With the return of Nyakagezi and the recent launch of other groups in Bwindi, Nshongi and Nkuringo, Kisoro is likely to become a tourism hub

By Adrian Ssali For the Gorilla Safari Company (African Secrets)

The economic clunk is gradually catching up with Uganda’s and the entire East Africa’s Tourism industry. Deteriorating figures of tourists, few inquiries on national parks and immense cancellations of reservations and gorilla permits have become the order of the day in the tourism industry.

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It’s observed that “If things continue in the same direction over 30 per cent of the tour companies are likely to close business and hundreds of Ugandans are likely to become jobless,” reported by the dairy Monitor.

Uganda and many other developing countries depending on the tourism industry can not survive the effects of this economic depression because a big percentage of their clientele is based in Europe and the US. Unfortunately these are the region’s worst hit by the recession. Now, many Ugandan investors in the industry are worried they could be headed for closures.

Some tour companies have derived surviving measures like offensive marketing in all the places they go. Some have opened offices in various countries and others have decided to venture in more than one business so that they can survive inter dependently.

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There is hope that the US President’s Barrack Obama’s rescue budget of $800 billion will change the situation. However, if the situation remains the same Uganda is most likely to lose out on the revenue contribution from the tourism industry.

Uganda’s main attraction is the endangered mountain gorilla which is said to share 98.4% of its genes with human beings. Out of the estimated 720 mountain gorillas left in the world, 340 of them are found in the jungles of Bwindi Forest National Park which is also believed to have over 32 groups/families of gorillas.

A family of gorillas is usually made up of approximately 10 to 30 members which include one or two Silverbacks and several juveniles or black backs.

Of all the 32 groups, only four groups have so far been habituated for gorilla tracking in Uganda’s Mgahinga and Bwindi National Parks. However two other groups are likely to be open for tourism by the end of this year.

Selling of gorilla permits since the early 1990s has been the solitary responsibility of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) as mandated by an act of parliament. However, recently Uganda Wildlife Authority decided to privatize one of the habituated groups, the Nkuringo family of gorillas. And decided that with effect from August, the buying of Nkuringo gorilla permits will be done through the Gorilla Safari Company which is owned by Jonathan Wright.

However this decision taken by UWA to privatise the Nkuringo habituated group has met critism from different tour operators and local communities. According to Dorothy, one of the Uganda’s tour operators, the privatisation of the Nkuringo group is the biggest injustice UWA has done to both tour operators and the residents/locals of Kisoro. This kind of concession was done in bad faith. It is well known that despite gorilla permits being the backbone of our tourism industry, they are also scarce and very competitive. Thus giving the domination of their sale to an individual tour operator is a subordinate we should fight as early as possible, said Dorothy.

At the stakeholders’ meeting convened by UWA at Hotel Equatorial at the end of last year, the Executive Director of UWA was asked to throw more light on this concession. He did not have a clear answer at the time though promised that stakeholders could be called at a later date for an explanation in regard to this move.

At the meeting most Ugandan tour operators established that it’s so absurd that to this day stakeholders have not got any explanation despite the fact that a concession agreement has already been signed between UWA/NCDF and the Uganda Safari Company. There is now a new scramble for our natural resources. There fore if Ugandan tour operators do not fight such tendencies, very soon the whole of Ugandan national parks might be privatized.

Owning a lodge should not be a reason for six of the eight permits to be sold by a single individual/ tour operator. These gorillas are a national resource and should therefore not be tagged to someone because he /she has put up a lodge somewhere.

The privatisation of the Nkuringo habituated group has not only faced criticism from the local tour operators but also different hotels and safari lodges owners have come up to oppose it. Many of the Ugandans have invested in the park and its outskirts. For example Kitandara Tented Camp, Buhoma Community Banda’s and African Pearl Safaris which own lodges in Bwindi currently run as Buhoma Lodge though under the management of G & C. For the last years, non of these investors has ever requested to have or own a family of gorillas. This type of special consideration, though it may have its positive side to UWA, may lead to other investors such as Mr. Amos Wekesa of the famous Primates Lodge Kibale to also request to have control over the sale of chimp permits since he owns a lodge in the Kibale forest national park.

It’s not being against some investors putting up competitive/ luxury / high end lodges. It is in fact a positive thing but they should not dictate over the tourism industry by giving terms such as requesting to monopolize the selling of permits and denying other potential investors from constructing lodges within particular areas.

A competitor in the tour industry can never be fair in selling these permits. The implication of this move is that other stakeholders in Kisoro town; such as Internet cafés, restaurants/hotels and craft sellers among others, will lose business.

This may endanger the gorillas in a way that the locals will not see any benefit in protecting them hence develop a hostile attitude to both the tourists and the gorillas. The industry also stands to lose as a result of this move. Putting into consideration that the tourism industry receives both high end and budget travellers. The budget travellers will stay at Nkuringo Eco Lodge with the high prices that they are due to charge.

The rates have also changed, they will be charging 450 dollars per person per night with a further condition that a minimum of two nights have to be booked. Meaning that a single client will spend 900 dollars on accommodation and an extra 500 dollars on the permit. This however, does not include transport, administrative costs and government tax. This is a thorn to Uganda’s tourism industry since budget clients should be given an opportunity to choose between the high end and budget tour.

This move has already forced tour operators to go in for Rwanda gorilla permits. I do not understand why the planners at UWA / Ministry of Tourism in Uganda do not foresee that such a move will kill gorilla tourism in Uganda as tour operators will have opted to cross the border hence promoting Rwanda tourism over their own.

Tour operators should have a say in how they/ locals of Kisoro/ Kanungu and the surrounding areas can benefit from them!