TOUR with Aida: What you must know About Tourism in Jinja

Starting with the usual hello reader would be common, so khodeyo reader ( greetings in lusoga) since we are here to talk about the beautiful bride of the busoga sub-region

Jinja is located 80 kilo meters east of Kampala Uganda’s capital. Jinja derives its name from the big stones located along the nile that were used as a bridge to cross from the neighbouring Buganda region. The town is the capital of the Busoga sub region.

Recently, Jinja municipal has been upgraded to a city status though jinja started out as a small fishing village that later became a great industrial area in east Africa around the early 1950’s with the construction of the Owen falls dam as a main power production unit. Currently Jinja’s glorious history of industrialisation lies in unknown future wavers due to many companies shifting their production plants near the capital of Kampala.

Regardless of her crumbling industrial might, jinja still stands tall as one of the major tourist destinations in Uganda and east Africa given her unique richness in the waters of lake Victoria and river Nile, her vast Indian history, and a couple of the great historical monuments of the colonial icons; john Speke the first European to sight the source of river Nile, Mahatma Ghandi the freedom icon whose wish was to sprinkle his ashes along the source of the Nile river after his death.

If you are wondering what you would love to do when you visit Uganda or jinja in particular, here we are; Apart from the gorilla tracking done in the thickets of Bwindi impenetrable forest and Kibale national parks, the second most exciting adventures you don’t want to miss out on is the white water rafting that is only done in jinja.

For fun lovers out there who wish to push their adventurous spirits out really hard, taking a voyage down the grade three and four rapids on the Nile at Itanda falls will give the most thrilling experience of your life, the flipping of the rubber boats sending you into the swirling waves of the Nile is a one intimidating experience that will have you telling that great tale caught between fear and excitement. Rafting might be an activity of the brave ,but anyone with a daring spirit should try it, no worries trained personnel’s in the kayaks are always out there to help you in case of the flip @ the Nile special(a special point at Itanda falls where the angry waves make it fun flipping the raft boat).

Well we are not about to go without mentioning the Source of the River Nile river. River Nile which is believed to be the longest river in the whole world about 6696kilo meters running from jinja through Egypt to the Mediterranean sea has its source located in this small town. The river Nile flows for about three months before reaching Egypt, the flow starts calmly before it increases its intensity as it wanders its way to the Mediterranean. The Nile river flows through nine countries though its main concentration is in the countries of Uganda, Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya,Tanzania, Congo Zaire and Ethiopia.

The nile has two courses that’s the white and blue nile which connect in khaourtum to form the cataract nile. By the banks of the nile, awaits you a fascinating beauty of these water birds arched in tree branches and shrubs awaiting an opportunity to dive in the water for prey like fish and snakes. like the giant king fisher, green backed heron,African open billed stork, fish eagles ,cattle egrets, white crested egret, great white pelican. By the banks of the nile, awaits you a fascinating beauty of these water birds arched in.

Other activities that one would consider doing on the nile river waters include kayaking, canoeing, tubing. Also by the banks of the river nile you would consider doing quad biking, horse riding, boat cruises, yoga,mount biking through farms and villages besides the nile.

Adjacent to the source of the Nile is the Speke monument, a great historical place to commemorate john speke the first man to sight the source of the nile river. The other monument found around the premises of the source of the nile are the CHOGAM drum to commemorate the 2007 visit by the queen of England her highness Queen Elizabeth ii. A few meters from the CHOGAM drum stands the mahatma Ghandi monument to commemorate the famous Indian freedom activist mahatma Ghandi whose wish was to sprinkle his ashes along the nile river after his death.

Jinja is blessed with a couple of falls found along the river nile and these only add not only a stunning beauty but also are a source of livelihood to the nearby villages, these include itanda falls, kyabirwa falls, rippon falls.

You cannot talk of jinja and forget to mention her rich indian history that is up to late evidenced through the architecture. Jinja was a home to many Asian/Indian traders in Uganda who greatly contributed to trade and the industrial development of Uganda and jinja in particular. Trade in jinja and Uganda became more efficient with the construction of the Uganda railway and the owen falls bridge around 1954 making transportation of goods and raw material between Uganda and mwanza a success. Jinja became a great industrial town with industries like the nyanza textile, kakira sugar works, steel rolling, fish factory, nile breweries and many more. Though many of these factories are no longer efficient like in the past, there is hope for revival of many of jinja’s industrial prowess.

The rippon landing site which up to date is a docking area for shipment of merchandise into and out of the country is one of the oldest historical places you would love visIting whilst in jinja.

Away from visiting touristic places, jinja is definitely the best place for holiday goers. If you are looking for a place far away from the chaos of busy towns and all the noises. A resting nest awaits you here, with a couple of affordable accommodation facilities , you will not regret staying in this calm town for your holiday that will make you wanting to return for the second time or forever.the people are friendly and the town so beautiful and for anyone looking for investment opportunities, jinja has a vast area for investment for more in the tourism sector.