I’ve been visiting Uganda on-and-off for years. It’s the birthplace of my parents and has been home to my aunt, uncle and cousin since the 1980s when they returned after the Ugandan Asian expulsion. However, in recent years, I’ve spent far more time with Uganda’s nature and wildlife—going gorilla-, golden monkey- and chimp-tracking in Mghahinga, Bwindi, Kyambura Gorge and Kibale, and exploring Murchison and Queen Elizabeth National Parks—than with its people.
I’d like to spend more time in Kampala, the capital, to better understand the city and country that was my parent’s homeland and place of childhood, and to better appreciate Uganda’s history, creativity, community, and culture. Kampala is a city I love to poke and prowl around in, and there are excellent street and cultural tours, while nearby Entebbe (home to the international airport) and Lake Victoria remind me of my first trips here, and family stories of day trips, lazy Sundays and lakeside picnics. I’d now like to reconcile ‘rose-tinted glasses’ Kampala with the city of today.
Meera Dattani is executive editor at Adventure.com and a freelance travel journalist with an interest in food heritage, wildlife, conservation and culture stories. Read her stories on Adventure.com here
