Tembea:Island paradise

Situated in the northwest of Lake Victoria, the Ssese Islands form is one of Uganda’s best tourist destinations. The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the Lake Victoria, in the nation’s Kalangala District. About forty-three of the islands are inhabited. The islands vary in size from less than 10,000 square metres, to over 40 kilometers in length for the largest island, Bugala Island. Some of the islands are large and densely inhabited others small and deserted, but lushly forested thanks to an annual average rainfall. The more established tourist destination is Buggala, the largest, most accessible and most developed Island, which is privately owned and the site of a popular budget resort. Other Islands that can be visited with varying degrees of ease are Bubeke, Bukasa and Bufumira According the Uganda travel guide, The Velvet monkey is the most common large mammal on Buggala. Bushbucks and Black and white colobus monkeys also are present but rarely seen. Over the 12000 years that the Island has been separate from the mainland, one endemic creek rat and three endemic butterfly species have evolved. Water and Forest birds are prolific. Expect to see a variety of hornbills, barbets, turacos, robin-chats, flycatchers and weavers from the roads around Kalangala. Particularly common are the Jewel-like pygmy kingfisher, the brown-throated wattle-eye and a stunning morph of the paradise flycatcher intermediate to the orange and white phases illustrated in most East African field guides. African fish eagles and Palm nut vultures are often seen near the lake, while immense breeding colonies of little egret and great cormorant occur on Lutuboka and other bays. Located at Lutoboka point on Bugala Island in the Ssese Archipelago, the Ssese Palm Beach Resort is a small, scenic family resort in a unique quiet environment. The resort is made up of professionally grass thatched self-contained bandas with hot water, all sandwiched between a lengthy and very clean white sand on the south and west and a rich forest to its north and east. Forest and nature walks, monkey, bird and lady bird watching, swimming, sunbathing and beach volleyball are some of the activities that a guest at the Ssese Palm Beach Resort can enjoy. The Kalangala Ship departs for Bugala Island from Entebbe everyday at exactly 2PM. The three hour journey on Lake Victoria aboard MV Kalangala is the fastest way to get to the resort. You can access the island paradise by sea or by water. A ferry connects the Islands from Bukakata, while small wooden boats run from Kasenyi. There is also an asymmetrical air service to the Islands which uses a small sea plane. Ends

Lifestyle

Tembea:Island paradise