Kampala

Kampala is the capital of Buganda, the largest of Uganda's traditional kingdoms, and its royal sites are the city's cultural bedrock. The Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are the burial ground of the Buganda kabakas (kings) — a vast thatched palace of remarkable craftsmanship, sacred to the Baganda and rebuilt with care after a fire, visited respectfully with a guide. The Lubiri, the kabaka's walled palace compound at Mengo, and the Bulange, the kingdom's parliament building opposite it, are linked by a ceremonial road and speak to a monarchy that endures alongside the republic. Nearby, the Kabaka's Lake — reputedly the largest hand-dug lake in Africa — completes a half-day that roots a visit in the living history of the Baganda people.

Kampala's hills each carry a landmark, and several are crowned by the great houses of the city's faiths — a skyline that tells the story of its religious plurality. Namirembe (Anglican) and Rubaga (Catholic) cathedrals face each other from neighbouring heights, while Kibuli Mosque holds a third. The most rewarding to visit is the Uganda National Mosque on Old Kampala hill, whose minaret can be climbed for the finest panorama of the whole city spread across its hills — a highlight and the best way to grasp the city's layout. The serene Bahá'í House of Worship, one of only a handful of continental temples, sits in gardens on Kikaaya hill north of the centre, a tranquil counterpoint to the downtown bustle.

The street-level city is where Kampala's energy really lives. The sprawling Owino Market (St Balikuddembe) is one of East Africa's largest, a labyrinth of second-hand clothing, produce and goods where the crowds and the bargaining are an experience in themselves, while Nakasero Market handles the city's fresh food. Craft markets sell Ugandan basketry, barkcloth and beadwork for those after souvenirs. Above the trade, the newer Kampala — the cafés of Kololo and Bugolobi, the rooftop bars, and a live-music and nightlife scene running from Afrobeat to jazz — gives the capital a fast-rising creative culture, and it is the best place in the country to sample Uganda's own coffee and its contemporary food.

For a broader cultural window, the Ndere Cultural Centre stages superb evening performances of traditional music and dance from across Uganda's many ethnic groups — an entertaining primer before or after the parks — and the Uganda Museum, the country's oldest, holds ethnographic and natural-history collections worth an hour. Kampala's practical role is inseparable from Entebbe, the lakeside town about an hour away that holds the international airport, the excellent Botanical Gardens and the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre on the shore of Lake Victoria — a natural first or last stop. The logistics of that transfer and of getting around the city are covered in the getting-around guide.