Ssese: A Jewel in the lake
Aug 03, 2006
Butoboka Bay in Ssese Islands is one of the most beautiful places in Uganda. Other than the cottages hidden among the tall trees on the beaches, most of the beauty has never been touched. It is nature at its best, un-adulterated.
By Joshua Kato
Butoboka Bay in Ssese Islands is one of the most beautiful places in Uganda. Other than the cottages hidden among the tall trees on the beaches, most of the beauty has never been touched. It is nature at its best, un-adulterated.
This is where couples, eager to get away from the buzz of Kampala, go for a quiet weekend. Tourists from all over the world visit the islands.
“The white sand beaches are rare in the world, but we are lucky to have them in Ssese,†says Barbara Kikomeko, the manager of Ssese Islands Beach Hotel.
From a distance, the sand looks like a snow ring splattered around the beaches of Lutoboka. Under the foot, the sand is very soft and tender.
The number of tourists to the islands has gone up in the last few months, thanks to the ongoing heat wave in Europe and an improvement in transport to the islands.
Since the early 90s, Kalangala has had several beach resorts. As the number of tourists increases, the resorts also improve. Ssese’s beauty, hidden for many years, is now opening up to the world.
“We have 21 fully-furnished and self-contained cottages, with DStv,†says Kikomeko.
Like all the other hotels, power at Ssese Islands Beach Hotel is provided by solar. As the sun sets, the lights come on, flickering through the leaves of the tall mahogany and musizi trees.
On the beach below the cottages, about 10 guests lie on the sand, watching the sun setting slowly over the waters, creating a beautiful reflection over the lake.
One of the tourists tries a hand at beach football, while two others engage in a two-man beach volleyball game as other tourists cheer.
There were also black couples mixing with the whites along the beaches. However, most of the blacks preferred enjoying their hide-away, off the balconies of their rooms and inside their cottages.
“We get all kinds of people including whites, blacks, singles and couples,†says Hellen Opoka, the marketing manager of Pearl Gardens Beach, Kalangala.
Pearl Gardens has about 51 rooms, almost half of which are cottages. They are well-furnished and self-contained. Charges range from sh8,000 per night if one wants to pitch his or her own tent, sh20,000 for a double furnished tent and sh30,000 for a single room. Double and single cottages cost sh60,000 and 40,000 respectively.
Ssese Palm Beach Resort is another of the hotels on the Lutoboka Beach, located to the left of the pier.
Other hotels include Andronicos Islands Club, Hornbill Camp and Panorama Camp.
What to enjoy
On top of sun bathing and walking bare foot along the beaches, bird watching is one of the main tourist attractions here. The beaches are regularly raided by the huge beaked horn bills, while hundreds of others birds, small and big, live within the thick forests.
“There are also monkeys in the forests, including the colubus monkey, white monkeys and other types,†says Opoka. Some of these monkeys mingle with guests in the various camps along the beach.
Because there are many creatures, there are also different animal noises. At dusk, tourists sleep to the beautiful noise of crickets and locusts and as dawn breaks, they wake to the endless ensemble of birds singing around the various beaches.
Butoboka Bay in Ssese Islands is one of the most beautiful places in Uganda. Other than the cottages hidden among the tall trees on the beaches, most of the beauty has never been touched. It is nature at its best, un-adulterated.
This is where couples, eager to get away from the buzz of Kampala, go for a quiet weekend. Tourists from all over the world visit the islands.
“The white sand beaches are rare in the world, but we are lucky to have them in Ssese,†says Barbara Kikomeko, the manager of Ssese Islands Beach Hotel.
From a distance, the sand looks like a snow ring splattered around the beaches of Lutoboka. Under the foot, the sand is very soft and tender.
The number of tourists to the islands has gone up in the last few months, thanks to the ongoing heat wave in Europe and an improvement in transport to the islands.
Since the early 90s, Kalangala has had several beach resorts. As the number of tourists increases, the resorts also improve. Ssese’s beauty, hidden for many years, is now opening up to the world.
“We have 21 fully-furnished and self-contained cottages, with DStv,†says Kikomeko.
Like all the other hotels, power at Ssese Islands Beach Hotel is provided by solar. As the sun sets, the lights come on, flickering through the leaves of the tall mahogany and musizi trees.
On the beach below the cottages, about 10 guests lie on the sand, watching the sun setting slowly over the waters, creating a beautiful reflection over the lake.
One of the tourists tries a hand at beach football, while two others engage in a two-man beach volleyball game as other tourists cheer.
There were also black couples mixing with the whites along the beaches. However, most of the blacks preferred enjoying their hide-away, off the balconies of their rooms and inside their cottages.
“We get all kinds of people including whites, blacks, singles and couples,†says Hellen Opoka, the marketing manager of Pearl Gardens Beach, Kalangala.
Pearl Gardens has about 51 rooms, almost half of which are cottages. They are well-furnished and self-contained. Charges range from sh8,000 per night if one wants to pitch his or her own tent, sh20,000 for a double furnished tent and sh30,000 for a single room. Double and single cottages cost sh60,000 and 40,000 respectively.
Ssese Palm Beach Resort is another of the hotels on the Lutoboka Beach, located to the left of the pier.
Other hotels include Andronicos Islands Club, Hornbill Camp and Panorama Camp.
What to enjoy
On top of sun bathing and walking bare foot along the beaches, bird watching is one of the main tourist attractions here. The beaches are regularly raided by the huge beaked horn bills, while hundreds of others birds, small and big, live within the thick forests.
“There are also monkeys in the forests, including the colubus monkey, white monkeys and other types,†says Opoka. Some of these monkeys mingle with guests in the various camps along the beach.
Because there are many creatures, there are also different animal noises. At dusk, tourists sleep to the beautiful noise of crickets and locusts and as dawn breaks, they wake to the endless ensemble of birds singing around the various beaches.