Enjoy a Cultural African Village Stay during your Safari in Uganda
Experience African Life and Cultural Traditions in an African Village in Uganda
An African Village Stay is a Cultural Experience like no other. It immerses you in African life and Ugandan Culture, and it does not happen on a typical Primate Wildlife Safari, dipping your toes into traditional African culture.
Stay in an authentic African Village with no Electricity. No running water. Participate in daily village activities such as going to the garden for vegetables and fruits with your host. Assist in the preparation of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You are experiencing Village life by being with Africans in a Ugandan Village.
You will find life quite different in an African Village from life back home. Experience Life in an African Village that is based on relationships rather than tasks. The Swahili word Harambee describes it best. Harambee is a community pulling together for the common good of all.
Africans are born into communities, not nuclear families, so the concept of Harambee is natural. Harambee will come alive as you visit and stay in an African Village in Uganda.
Authenticity: That is something to be decided by you. Staged Village Events have become the norm throughout Africa, including Uganda. We know the difference and let you know, and you can then decide.
You can visit Africa but never visit Africans. You can visit Uganda but never meet Africans besides those working in Tourism. You will not be staying in a Four- or Five-Star Safari Lodge but a typical village. A village stay mean going without things you are used to. Electricity is often not available, and Internet Access depends on a transmission tower being in the area.
On an African Village Stay, a traditional dwelling will be your home, and oil Lamp or solar lamps will illuminate the night. A standard village toilet will be available, and you will have hot water brought to you in a basin to bathe.
You will most likely assist in harvesting what will be served today, and you will also help cook the meal. The meal may include chicken, beef, goat, or fish. Matooke, a type of plantain banana, posho, made from corn, will be served. Beans, cassava, greens, and all the things that you pick or dig up will be part of the meal.
For most, the village stay is a transformational experience, and it will give you an understanding of how most Ugandans live. If you are on Safari with children or teens, this will be one of the highlights of your Safari.
Experience the Real Africa with an African Village Stay in Uganda
Boomu Village Stay near Murchison Falls Park-Uganda:
It is part of the Boomu Women’s Self-Help Group, and here you experience life in an African Village.
Stay in traditional African huts, outside toilet, hot water is brought to you for bathing, and lighting is done with Oil-Lamps.
You do not just eat here for meals, but you gather from the garden and help in the meal Preparations, which is a bonding time with those with whom you are staying. Quite different than going to the supermarket to get supplies for lunch or dinner.
There is no electricity, no running water, no WiFi unless you have a smartphone with MTN.
Learn how to make crafts, gather flowers for dye-making, a weaving of blankets, visit a school, meet a village elder, and observe life in an African Village.
Ruboni Village in the Rwenzori Mountain Foothill – Uganda:
The village of Ruboni is home to the Bakonzo People, the keepers of the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon. The place to stay is either the Ruboni Community Camp, which is right in the Village, or the upmarket Snow at the Equator Lodge. You experience what village life is like for Uganda’s Mountain People from either accommodation.
You can even take dancing and drumming lessons here, walk through the Village and meet the traditional healer, a blacksmith making tools like in the days of old. Food preparation for today’s meal. At dinner, see the cultural dancers and drummers perform at sunset. You can take Drumming and Dancing Lessons at a minimal cost.
Be taken to the forest where you learn how to fish with your hands while you see primates, birds, and the three-horned Chameleons that are found here. Ruboni is located near Fort Portal, Kibale Forest, and Queen Elizabeth Park.
Ruboni is an off-the-beaten-tourist track unless you plan to climb the Rwenzori Mountains. It is a working Village – Visitors come here, but not in droves. It is an off the beaten tourist path location.
Nshenyi Cultural Village – on the Border with Tanzania-Rwanda in Uganda:
Nshenyi cultural Village is 3-hours from Mbarara – which is on the main road leading to the parks in Western Uganda, such as Queen Elizabeth Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and Mgahinga National Park.
It is a part of Uganda where the Ankole cow reigns supreme. It is an Ankole Cultural Village where the day starts early with milking and watching Ghee being made. Take a walk to the Rwandan or Tanzanian border, learn the traditional ways, stay in a traditional hut, and eat the area’s local food.
Most visitors have a delightful stay here in this African Village where you can visit a school, watch traditional dances, and see an abundance of birdlife.
Please, the Cultural Village was created to give Tourists an understanding of the Ankole Cattle Culture. If you are looking for comfort and all the things you look for in a hotel, then this is not the place, rustic African style would be better to describe. Reviews on TripAdvisor are you, and they focus on comfort and not on the Cultural Experience. Authentic? Yes, but created for Tourism to show Ankole Traditions and Culture.
Ik People Visit on Mount Morungole:
The Ik People are one of the indigenous ethnic groups in Uganda. They live in the remote northeast Karamoja region of Uganda. To visit them, you must hike up to Mount Morungole. There, on the ridges and valleys, live the Ik People.
Your mobile phone will not work here. There are no communication towers or masts, and you must communicate in person through an interpreter.
Most find the visit to Ik people one of the most extraordinary encounters of their Lifetime. Today there are between 11 to 13,000 remaining Ik people. They live in isolated hamlets on the Mountain. They herd goats, and the bride’s price in their community are beehives.
This is a one-of-a-kind kind Village in all of East Africa.
Visit Karamojong Manyatta:
In the remote Karamoja Region, there you find the Karamojong People. They are proud Warrior-Herder People related to the Masai, Turkana, and Toposa Tribes. Cattle is their God-given right. In the past, cattle-raiding was the most common pastime in the area.
The Karamojong live in Manyattas like the Masai in Kenya, and the largest Manyatta in East Africa is in the Karamoja region of Uganda. You can visit a Manyatta while you on Safari in Kidepo National Park.
There are about 300,000 plus Karamojong in the region. Internationally they are recognized as indigenous and straightforward, and in Uganda, they have not been given that recognition by the government. Hopefully, that will soon change in Uganda.
It is another amazing cultural encounter that you can have while you are visiting Uganda.
A visit with the Batwa People:
You can spend a day with the Batwa, the first people of Forest in Southwest Uganda. The Batwa are conservation refugees that were evicted from the Gorilla Parks in Uganda.
Today some of the Batwa are allowed to take you into their beloved forest, and you will see how they lived for thousands of years. It would be nice if the ethnic group became part of Gorilla Trekking in Uganda, and they have the potential to be great rangers guiding visitors into their forest.
They built no villages. They had no fields or gardens, and the forest was their source for everything they needed.
The Batwa people can teach us about living in harmony with nature. They left a low ecological footprint in their beloved forest.
A Visit with the Batwa is one of those must-do things in Uganda.
Incorporating African Village Stays or Visits into your Safari:
We know Uganda, and we live and work here. You let us know what you would like to see and experience on your Safari and ask to incorporate some village stays along the way.
It is an enriching experience for you, it may not always meet Western Comfort expectations, but it is made up of cultural backgrounds and new friendships.
Family Safaris with Children will also love it. We have Village Stays with various comfort levels that will meet your needs.
We will be adding more village Stays, and we have dropped others. The temptation for Africans wanting to benefit from Cultural Tourism is to stage it, and they do not realize that in the 21st Century, Tourists are looking for authenticity. For hands-on experiences like teaching for a day, working in a village clinic, planting trees, and digging wells, call it cultural Tourism with a purpose.
Discover Authentic Africa with a Village. Stay in its heart, Uganda.
