Dubbed the ‘Pearl of Africa’ by Sir Winston Churchill, Uganda is one of Africa’s most beautiful and welcoming countries. This small landlocked nation possesses a staggering wealth of natural assets. However, compared to its neighbors in East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), Uganda remains pretty under the radar. So, to give you some insider tips, we have curated a bunch of cool, surprising, and curiosity-inducing facts about Uganda. They prove that Uganda is worthy of the spotlight, and maybe, just maybe, they will entice you to visit for yourself.
15 Cool And Surprising Facts About Uganda
- Uganda has one of the smallest churches in the world
- Rolex is a popular street food
- Pan-fried grasshoppers are a delicacy in Uganda
- Uganda got its name from a translation error
- Uganda is home to the legendary ‘Mountains of the Moon’
- Over 30 languages are spoken in Uganda
- It is the best English-speaking country in Africa
- The world’s second-largest freshwater lake is found here
- The source of the Nile is found in Uganda
- It has the world’s strongest waterfall
- Home to half of the world’s mountain gorilla population
- It’s the best country in the world to see wild chimpanzees
- It is the best birding destination in Africa
- Lions climb trees in Uganda
- The Equator Line Passes through Uganda
1. Uganda has one of the smallest churches in the world
Uganda is home to one of the smallest churches in the world. On top of Biku Hill in Nebbi Town in the Northwest of the country lies Bethel Church.
It is only 2.3 meters wide and 2.4 meters tall and was constructed in 1996. The tiny worshipping place accommodates three people including the priest.
2. Rolex is a popular street food
As Ugandans have been known to say: “We don’t wear Rolex, we eat them.” Rolex – the snack – is a shortening of “rolled eggs”. The popular dish, found at roadside stalls throughout the country, is made from a vegetable omelet with added tomatoes wrapped in chapati.
It is believed that the Rolex delicacy was first popularised by a food vendor who sold it to hungry students from Kampala’s famous Makerere University.
The dish then spread to other towns. Ugandans now regard the snack as a favorite fast food in a country where parking spaces and roadsides are routinely turned into food stalls in the evenings.
3. Pan-fried grasshoppers are A delicacy in Uganda
Eating insects as a snack is not a common practice in many countries and so some may find it weird. In Uganda, pan-fried grasshoppers (Nsenene) are the ultimate delicacy.
These eagerly awaited creatures emerge in large numbers during the rainy seasons, mainly in November and April. An interesting fact about grasshoppers is that they are a totem for those who belong to the Nsenene Clan in Buganda Kingdom.
Uganda is home to about 56 tribes with the Baganda being one of the tribes further divided into clans, each clan has a unique totem that they protect religiously. For example, those in the Nsenene clan cannot eat grasshoppers because it is considered taboo to eat one’s totem.
4. Uganda got its name from a translation error
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda Kingdom which encompasses a large part of the south of the country, including the capital Kampala.
The reason why the country came to be known by this abbreviated name is that most Europeans had their initial contact with Buganda through Swahili-speaking guides and translators.
In Swahili, the prefix u is equivalent to the Luganda bu -, the Swahili speakers would almost certainly have referred to the Kingdom of Buganda as Uganda.
5. The legendary ‘Mountains of the Moon’
Uganda is home to the majestic Rwenzori Mountains. Once thought to be the source of the Nile, these snow-white caps were coined the “Mountains of the Moon” by the ancient Greek astronomer and geographer Ptolemy. Rwenzori has 6 peaks, all above 5000m.
Located just 33 kilometers from the equator, the peaks are permanently covered with snow. The Margherita Peak on Mount Stanely stands at an altitude of 5109 meters.
It is the third-highest peak in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, but it is possibly the most difficult to summit due to the very rugged nature of the terrain there.
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6. Over 30 languages are spoken in Uganda
Uganda is a tapestry of linguistic diversity, where over 30 languages are spoken across its diverse landscape. While English and Swahili are the official languages, many people speak Luganda.
7. It is the best English speaking country in Africa
If you visit Uganda and speak English, you will get along fine.
English is the Official Language in Uganda, and its use has increased since the introduction of Universal Primary Education in the country.
Not only that, but according to a study by the World Linguistic Society released in 2017, Ugandans speak the best English in all of Africa, followed by Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ghana, Botswana, Sudan, and Rwanda.
8. The world’s second largest freshwater lake
Although Uganda is landlocked, it is bordered by Lake Victoria. With a surface area of just under 70,000 km², Lake Victoria ranks as the largest tropical lake in the world and the second largest freshwater lake in the world after Lake Superior in North America.
Lake Victoria is estimated to be about 400,000 years old and was created by the same geological shifts that created the great African rift valleys.
Before her discovery by Europeans and long after that, Lake Victoria was known by several indigenous names. In Uganda, the Baganda whose kingdom surrounded the lake, called it Nalubaale which means the home of gods.
9. The source of the Nile is found in Uganda
The source of the Nile is one of the most iconic landmarks in Africa.
It is the place where the world’s longest river exit Lake Victoria to commence an epic 6700km journey north to the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt.
The source of river Nile is located in Jinja about 1,5 hour drive from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. We offer one-day Jinja trips for this excursion from the city.
Jinja is a hive of many other touristic activities for anyone interested in a weekend gateway from the bustle of the city including all-year white water rafting, Kayaking, tubing, bungee jumping to kiss the Nile, quad biking, horse riding by the shores of the Nile, etc.
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10. It has the world’s strongest waterfall
The Murchison Falls in Murchison Falls National Park is the world’s most powerful waterfalls. The falls are not very big or wide like some you might have seen before. But think of the world’s longest river which is about 50 meters wide squeezing through the tiny gap of about 8 meters in the Great Rift Valley escarpment before plunging 45 meters below.
The falls were named by Sir Samuel Baker during his exploration of Uganda in the 19th Century. Baker named the falls Murchison after the famous British geologist Sir Roderick Murchison, who incidentally believed Africa to be a geologically boring continent.
Notable visitors to Murchison Falls include Ernest Hemingway, President Theodore Roosevelt, and several British royals. Sir Winston Churchill also visited Murchison Falls which may have been what led him to declare Uganda the ‘Pearl of Africa’. The 1951 film The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart was filmed on Lake Albert and the Nile River here.
11. Home to half of the world’s mountain gorilla population
Around 50% of the world’s population of mountain gorillas reside in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda. That equates to about 500 mountain gorillas, according to the last official census in 2019, with 24 gorilla families currently habituated for tourism — more than in any other area of Africa. Other Uganda gorillas reside in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the Virunga Mountains.
12. the best country in the world to see chimpanzees
It’s not only the gorillas that attract animal lovers to Uganda. Uganda is the world’s best destination for seeing wild chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. We share 98.7% of our DNA with them. The current estimates for the total wild chimpanzee population range from 170,000 to 300,000, with Uganda having about 5,000. Kibale Forest in western Uganda is almost to almost 1500 chimps.
13. It is the best birding destination in Africa
Uganda is also the finest birding destination in Africa, with more than 1,090 species recorded in an area the size of Great Britain. The profusion of bird species, from shy rainforest rarities, including many Albertine Rift endemics, to the raptors and songbirds of the savannahs and the pageant of wetland water birds, is unrivaled.
Even Entebbe Botanical Gardens can produce an excellent day’s birding, including species such as Ross’s turaco and African grey parrot that are hard to find elsewhere in East Africa. Pride of place undoubtedly goes to the huge and bizarre shoebill – relatively easily seen both at Murchison Falls and on Mabamba Swamp beside Lake Victoria.
14. Lions climb trees in Uganda
Spotting a wild lion, the king of the Jungle, is always a treat. But can you imagine seeing the biggest, and possibly most clumsy, of the big cats perched high up in a tree?
In Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha Sector, large prides reliably spend their days in ancient fig trees. They look quite comfortable, too. That is until they want to come down. Let’s say, you won’t confuse any of them with a graceful leopard.
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15. The Equator Line Passes through Uganda
If you are travelling west, you will find the monument around 77 kilometres outside of Uganda’s capital, Kampala on the Kampala-Masaka road. At the Equator monument, you are able to stand with one of your feet in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere. This effectively lets you stand on both sides of the Earth at the same time. Mind. Blown.