Kampala

Why Kampala works

Kampala rises and falls across seven original hills (now closer to twenty as the city sprawled), each historically tied to a different institution -- Mengo Hill to the Buganda kingdom's palace, Namirembe and Rubaga to rival cathedrals, Old Kampala to the striking gold-domed Uganda National Mosque, whose minaret offers the city's best panoramic viewpoint for a small fee. The Buganda Kingdom, Uganda's largest traditional monarchy and still a living institution alongside the national government, centres on the Kabaka's Palace at Mengo and the nearby Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage site holding the burial grounds of four Buganda kings within a vast thatched royal enclosure. Kampala's energy is best felt at street level: boda-boda motorcycle taxis weave through markets like Owino, one of East Africa's largest secondhand-clothing and produce markets, while Nakasero Market piles fresh produce, spices and matoke (green banana) high each morning. The city's nightlife runs late and loud, particularly around Kabalagala and the lakeside Ggaba fish market for grilled tilapia at sunset over Lake Victoria. Most visitors treat Kampala as a one- or two-night stopover before or after gorilla trekking in Bwindi or chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, but the city rewards a proper look at Uganda's complicated, still-evolving relationship between traditional kingdoms and the modern state.

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