The Eastern Front of Uganda

Uganda borders Kenya to the east, and all goods imported by sea enter Uganda by train or car through the east. The major cities in the east, such as Jinja and Tororo, are basically manufacturing industries.

Less than 10km from Kampala is the large-scale industrial park built by the Ugandan government. It not only brings together Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Toyota, but also some Chinese companies. Currently, nearly 100. After all the settled companies are completed and put into operation, it will be a big improvement to local industrial development and tax revenue.

Continuing out of the city about 30 kilometers east in Mukono District, an industrial park dominated by Chinese companies was built on the right side of the main road, covering industries such as steel casting, mattresses, and plastic products. This is the largest private enterprise in Uganda. It has been involved in manufacturing, hotels, catering, travel agencies and other industries for many years. It occupies a pivotal position among Chinese-funded enterprises.

Jinja, the capital of the ancient Busoga Kingdom (one of the four kingdoms restored in the 1990s) is about 90 kilometers away from Kampala. It is the largest and most important industrial city in Uganda, home to dozens of sugar manufacturing companies. Enterprises, steel, beer and other factories. Passing through the small town of Lugazi, you will see acres of tea gardens. Neat tea gardens are planted on the hills of large and small. Whether it is the dry season or the rainy season, it is always green and pleasing to the eye. The tea gardens here are still planted on a small scale, and Fort Poralt pales in comparison. Continuing forward through a forest, another scene appears in front of us. Large sugar cane plantations are distributed on the hills of various sizes. In some plots, the sugarcane has just been harvested, with a small amount of dead sugarcane leaves scattered on the ground; in some plots, the land has just been plowed, and the red soil makes people feel friendly; in some plots, new seedlings are just half a foot high, A piece of fresh green; some rod-shaped green leaves are in the vigorous growth period, as shiny as a green blanket; some are mature, with a few white flowers sprouting from time to time...

Jinja and the nearby Kamuli District are The largest sugarcane growing area in Uganda, tens of thousands of hectares of planting area belongs to dozens of large and small sugar manufacturing companies, but most of the sugar manufacturing companies are basically owned by Indians. Every year, the cane sugar produced in Uganda is not only supplied to the domestic market, but also exported to neighboring Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, etc. The local people consume a lot of sucrose. Most people's sugar intake exceeds the standard. They usually have a cup of black tea for breakfast. Two spoons of sugar is relatively small. The most I have seen in a cup of tea is 3 or 4 spoons of sugar. . Since large export volumes will also impact the market of domestic companies in the importing country, the Kenyan government introduced relevant policies in 2015 to strictly control the price war among Ugandan sugar companies.

Jinja is not only an industrial city, but also rich in tourism resources. The most famous ones are the source of the Nile River and rafting at the source of the Nile River. Lake Victoria has a water area of ??more than 60,000 square kilometers. It only has an outlet in Jinjia. The river flowing out of Jinjia is called the White Nile. When it joins the Blue Nile that originated in Ethiopia in Sudan, it is collectively called the Nile. It flows through 7 country, and finally flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. With a total length of 6853 kilometers, it is the longest river in the world.

Passing the dam (the Ugandan government built a dam here to block the water of Lake Victoria, and built a power station here, but it is smaller in scale. There is a large hydropower station in Karuma downstream, built by China Hydropower Under intensive construction), turn right at the first roundabout in the direction of entering the city, turn onto a trail on the right and walk 2-3 kilometers forward to reach the geographical indication scenic spot at the source of the Nile River. The entry fee for a car is 17,000 shillings. Next to the parking lot is a small golf course. No matter where in Uganda, as long as the venue is large enough, there is a place where you can play golf. The lawn is like a carpet, the green plants are like a cover, the scenery is very beautiful, plus a few stubborn animals. During the monkey jumping, a beautiful picture of man and nature coexisting in harmony emerges. Especially the beauty of the Lake Victoria area is so pure and clean that there is no trace of Africa at all. The clear water on the lake is rippling, palms are swaying on the shore, children are playing on the grass, and adults are lying or sitting, enjoying God's blessings. It is very comfortable!

It is said to be a source attraction, but it is actually a small one. It consists of a few souvenir shops, two or three restaurants, plus a few small fishing boats and small yachts. Spend 100,000 to 200,000 shillings to rent a small boat and cruise around the lake for half to an hour. You can watch various water birds, monkeys and lizards along the lake, including green kingfishers and wild ducks. Cormorant-like water birds, these birds are the most and least afraid of people. Some are cruising on the water to hunt for food, some are drying their wings on the branches, some are playing in twos and threes among the trees, and some are dragging their long tails. Sliding across the water, ripples swept by its tail rippled across the water. If you are lucky enough, you can also see the king of water birds - the osprey, with a black back and white belly. It occupies a high position on the branches. When hunting, it dives at high speed and rarely returns empty-handed. The fish it catches are also larger than other water birds.

On the lake, you can also see fishermen in twos and threes lowering their nets or fishing. They sit motionless for a long time with a solitary boat and a thread, which is also a sight to behold.

At the confluence of the lakes there is a sign marking the source of the Nile. Boats can stop here and walk onto the small trestle to take photos. This small trestle should have been built in early 2016. Before, when I went to take pictures at the end of 2015, I had to take off my shoes and socks and wade into the lake. Those who were timid did not dare to do so.

Nile River rafting is known as the best rafting in the world. It has long mileage and high safety. It is the best rafting business in Jinjia. The most popular ones among tourists are NileRiver Explorers Rafting and Nalubale Rafting. We chose It's the latter. The boss is a young British guy who has been in business for 6 or 7 years. No matter which one you choose, the price is basically the same. 120 US dollars per person includes a light meal at noon, and beer is available for drinking. If you raft in the afternoon, barbecue beer will be provided in the evening. During the rafting period, a professional videographer will follow you throughout the rafting process. There is an additional fee of US$10 for photos, and the photos can be sent via email.

Before rafting, the coach will communicate with tourists participating in rafting and inform them of relevant precautions. If you suffer from related diseases that prevent you from participating in exciting sports or have taken some contraindicated drugs before the trip, you will be advised not to participate in rafting. Quite professional. In the morning of rafting, the camp is also provided with tea, coffee, fruit and bread. After eating, a truck will take the raft and the lifeboat to the launching destination.

Water rafting is divided into six levels. Level one represents a drop of one meter in the water, and level six represents a drop of six meters. Level six is ??the most thrilling height in the current rafting industry. The Nile River in Uganda has slopes ranging from grade one to grade six. The entire rafting course is about 22 kilometers, with five large rapids, big enough to easily overturn an eight-person rubber boat. Take off your shoes and socks on the shore. If you go rafting, it is best to wear shorts and long sleeves. According to experience, no matter how thick the sunscreen you apply, if you are exposed to the equatorial sun for 4-5 hours, no matter how resistant you are to the sun, your nakedness will Parts will become shrimp-beige. After three to five days, you will shed a layer of skin like a snake. When you take a shower, you will always feel that there are noodles on your body that you cannot wipe clean. After entering the water, the instructor will teach you some basic movements and commands during rafting, including when to paddle hard, when to squat, and when to abandon the paddle. And everyone needs to throw themselves into the river once, and practice what to do when the raft is overturned and trapped in it, how to save themselves, how to work together to right the raft and how to get back onto the raft from the water, etc. For those who are timid, Already scared and exhausted during practice. This is also the attitude of Westerners in doing things, seriousness and concentration.

After officially starting rafting, we arrived at the first dangerous shoal less than 500 meters away. The drop was not big, so there was no danger. There are always five such dangerous shoals during the rafting process, and before rafting, tourists can choose between capsizing and not capsizing, but if you don’t capsize during Nile rafting, think about how you can afford the 120 US dollars. Itanda Falls, the highest level, is a dangerous shoal that most tourists would not choose to float down. The largest drop is 3-4 meters. Basically, they choose to walk through this waterfall before continuing on. Some tourists will choose to float down, and the instructor will choose to go down on the side of the trees with a smaller drop. If you choose to raft in the prepared place, the chance of capsizing is basically more than 80%. It may take a few sips of water, but it may break your legs. Sassafras the skin.

While rafting, you can enjoy different beautiful scenery on the gentle surface of the water. Various waterbirds are hunting or playing on the lake or in the trees. The islands in the center of the lake are lush with trees and surrounded by green radish. When you go up to the clear water and blue sky, a beautiful picture will appear in front of you. The island is basically occupied by animals and birds. The trees are the world of birds, and the ground is the kingdom of reptiles. Occasionally you will see various mineral water bottles on the water surface. You may not know what they are when you first see them. They neither move nor float away with the water. These are actually a surprisingly lazy way of fishing among the locals. They wanted to catch delicious food but didn't want to wait for the fish to take the bait, so they tied silk threads and fish hooks on empty mineral water bottles, put fish bait on them, and then went back after a while to see if any fish had taken the bait. It was quite a bit. The feeling of Jiang Taigong fishing.

Itanda Falls, if you have time after rafting, you can drive to see this waterfall. This is the largest waterfall currently developed at the source of the Nile that tourists can visit. It is more than 40 kilometers away from Jinjia City, and it takes nearly an hour to drive. The entrance fee is 50,000 shillings per person. Only after seeing this do you realize how large the water flow of the Nile River is. It is worthy of being the longest river in the world.

Some netizens concluded: To go to Africa, you have to go to Uganda. To go to Uganda, you have to go to the Nile River. To go to the Nile River, you must raft. To go rafting, you have to go to Jinja - the connection between Lake Victoria and the Nile River. The water quality here is good, the water surface is wide, the water temperature is high, the water is deep and fast, and there are no stones. Drifting here will make you live up to the word rafting!

Mbale, about 230 kilometers away from the capital Kampala, is also a major city with a larger scale in the east. The national park closer to the city is Elgon National Park. This park is unique to Kenya. It is mainly populated by Western tourists and is rarely visited by Chinese tourists. Near the city, the industrial park developed by Paradise Group, a Chinese-funded enterprise, was in full swing when I left. Three years later, the industrial park should have begun to attract investment.

Tororo is a border city with Kenya and a relatively important industrial city. It has the largest inland port in Ukraine. All goods imported and exported by ship enter customs here through cars. It has the advantage of being located on the border and its development is slightly better than other inland areas. There is the largest cement factory in Ukraine and the largest border port on land.

Other relatively large cities include: Soroti, Lira, etc.

The tourist attractions in the east are: Kldepo Valley National Park in the northeast, which is an African savanna. The animals are mainly large animals such as lions and zebras, but there are also small animals such as antelopes and warthogs. There are fewer tourists than Murchison and Elizabeth.

If you are used to seeing over-development and over-commercialization of domestic tourist attractions, large and small, you will feel a little uncomfortable at any tourist attraction in Uganda. There are surprisingly few organizers and managers, and what you see are basic Most of the scenic spots are primitive and undeveloped. They only provide road access and ensure basic food and accommodation conditions, without excessive construction and packaging. Every place is original, clean and pure. During the visit, tourists should always maintain the mentality that human beings are only visitors to the natural environment and wild animal world, so that people should respect nature and not disturb the normal order of nature because of human visits.