Visit Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale, southwestern Uganda to see for yourself, this lava dammed stunning stretch of water, with 29 little islands dispersed throughout. These are overlooked by volcanoes in the background, which makes the whole atmosphere stunning.
Lake Bunyonyi is one of the safest lakes in Africa for activities like swimming and canoeing. So, you can get on an amazing boat canoe, to look out for ‘akampene’ – the punishment island – where until 1940’s unmarried pregnant girls were dropped and left to die helplessly, starve to death or drown trying to swim ashore. This was because getting pregnant before marriage was against cultural norms. They were often saved by poor men who could not afford the bride price.
After your gorilla trekking safaris, you can spend an afternoon canoeing or bird watching, when you visit Lake Bunyonyi. Here, you can see lots of small little birds, because it is ‘a place of many little birds’, and that’s where the name ‘Bunyonyi’ is derived from.
Tourist activities around Lake Bunyonyi.
Cultural performances
In the evenings you can attend performances of fascinating traditional women’s groups, presenting their traditional songs and dances, to entertain you. The proceeds from these sessions are invested in the welfare of families surrounding the nearby Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Mountain bike rides to Buhoma area
Ride 4 A Woman is a community support group that offers mountain bike rentals for guided bike rides in and around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is mainly in the Buhoma area of the Park.
You can even do the Village Walk on a bike with a guide, take on birding bike rides, or simply ride into the forest on trails like the Ivy River Trail. The average bike ride is usually 3 hours or longer in length with much to see along the trail or road.
The guides are all well-trained, some specialize in birding, others in culture but all know Bwindi Impenetrable forest which they all love and want to conserve.