The sabiny culture day set

The Sabiny is among the diverse cultures of Uganda that accrue from the count of 65 tribal groups forming a ground for the lucrative cultural safaris in Uganda. Coming as the second of its kind, the Sabiny Culture Festival will run from 11th – 14th November 2015.
The Event’s Organizing Committee Chairperson Mr. Kalifani Chemutai acknowledges the occurrence of the event and notes that even the head state has been invited along with the Deputy President of Kenya William Ruto. The Sabiny Cultural Festival aims at showcasing the culture of the Sabiny people in the east of Uganda whose traditions are impressive to encounter on Uganda safaris.
The festival brings together the participants from local and international scene that joins each other to jubilate the Sabiny culture and along with cross cultural interaction which makes it relevant even for the visitors on safari in Uganda.
This follows the similar event which was the first of its kind among the Sabiny held on the 29th December 2014 which showcased the norms and general culture of the Sabiny people conducted at Kakwai Sabiny cultural center in the district of Kapchorwa.
The Sabiny Culture is unique and less explored with the greatest number of people knowing the Sabiny for their Female Genital Mutilation. The Sabiny people present a rich, impressive and remarkable cultural values and customs. They are remarkably re-known hunters and keen farmers who do various things to improve their lives.
The Sabiny people used to practice the female genital mutilation in the past but the practice is gradually phasing out as it was considered inhuman. Their marathon competency has earned them recognition not only at the national level but also at International scale. They feature considerable food types along with their preparation, the Sabiny regalia, the impressive traditional medicine and their unique way of life.
The Sabiny has presented people of national significance including the Stephen Kiprotich an International gold medalist, the Stephen Chebrot Transport Minister in the Uganda government among other notables.
The forthcoming Sabiny Cultural Day which will be the second of its kind is anticipated to bring the best of the Sabiny allowing the locals and the visitors including those on safaris to Uganda to explore the Sabiny culture in detail.

President Paul kagame honors the 11th gorilla naming ceremony

The current president of Rwanda His Excellence Paul Kagame is credited for honoring the eleventh gorilla naming event that was conducted in the Rwanda gorilla safari haven of Volcanoes National Park amidst his busy schedule.
Held on Sept 5th 2015 at the Kinigi park headquarters in the district of Musaze where gorilla trekking in Rwanda starts from and running under the theme of "Conserving now and for the future", this 11th version of Kwita Izina Ceremony saw the count of 24 baby gorillas getting new names in attendance of a range of conservationists, the Rwanda gorilla safari undertakers, the local people and the President Kagame himself.
President Kagame in his remarks at the event acknowledged the efforts of the local people along with the partners towards the gorilla conservation initiative that have resulted into enormous increase in the mountain gorilla populations. He noted that the conservation efforts have ascertained that the initial beneficiaries of environmental protection are the natives and that the Rwandans ought to be themselves leading the development and working towards poverty alleviation. He acknowledged the Kwita Izina day as being about the local communities consolidating the gains that have accumulated from the resources.
It can be noted that tourism is very important in poverty alleviation. The initiatives like the tourism revenue sharing among the communities that are adjacent the park and mining areas have done considerably well and that the Rwandan government is still committed to their continuity and excellence noted President Kagame at the event. The 5% of the tourist revenue is given to the communities in order to allow them gain direct benefit from the surrounding resources. This initiative has registered success. It can be noted that since 2005, a sum of US$ 1.83 Million has been given out to the communities under the revenue sharing arrangement. This is gathered from the travelers that undertake safaris in Rwanda including Rwanda gorilla safaris. From the initiative, a count of fifty seven (57) primary schools were put in thirteen (13) districts throughout the country utilized by over 13,700 students. The revenue scheme has also managed to help 360 community projects that range from health centers, bridges, roads, water and sanitation, bee keeping and support to Small and Medium Enterprises.
The President disagrees with the notion that resources are a curse. He acknowledges that Poverty is the most significant curse. Since the Rwandese have lived the poverty, they do not need to be taught what it is and neither do the need to be alerted that development is good for they know. The Rwandese have got the courage to be leaders of their development and get themselves out of poverty. The President went ahead to note that the residents of Musaze need to work hard and utilize the available resources to get rid of poverty since Rwandese were by no means created to be poor.
The Kwita Izina ceremony of this year gathered about 30,000 people that included about 500 foreign visitors representing twenty six (26) countries. Besides the naming, the event featured the Kwita Izina Awards, Conservation forum, Business Exhibition and the Bisate Public Library launch in Kinigi
It is recorded that Volcanoes National Park supports 302 mountain gorillas which are about 35% of the world’s mountain gorilla population. Ten groups have been habituated for encounter by travelers on gorilla safari in Rwanda

24 baby gorillas named at the kwita izina ceremony in Rwanda

On Saturday Sept 5th 2015, Rwanda undertook the naming of twenty four (24) baby gorillas on its famous Kwita Izina Ceremony that is conducted annually in the Volcanoes National Park the haven for gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda.
The event which is considered as one of the highlights of Rwanda’s efforts to ensure the endangered animal protection which pull crowds of the foreign visitors to undertake safaris to Rwanda and in particular the Volcano forests where they thrive.
The young gorillas that are identified by the researchers and trackers thrived in their nearby wild habitat and not at the gorilla naming event that was held at Kinigi close to the entry point of Rwanda’s Volcanoes Park where gorilla safaris in Rwanda are conducted. The President Paul Kagame of Rwanda was among the thousands of people that gathered at event to jubilate the populations of the critically endangered mountain gorillas whose image decorates the range of sculptures in the destination Rwanda and also the Rwanda’s currency.
The government of Rwanda believes that the gorilla naming ceremony which was initiated in the year 2005 featuring the similar Rwandan traditions will mark the significance of mountain gorilla protection along with Rwanda safaris which are apparently the leading foreign exchange earner for Rwanda. The names given to the gorillas are used by the researchers in the gorilla identification along with their families while carrying out various studies in the wild.
The names that were given the baby gorillas featured great words of Courage, Power and Conviviality in the Kinyarwanda dialect. These names do not only give gorillas greater value in the country but also allows the citizens to rethink of themselves and renew their commitment towards Conservation and national transformation.
The mountain gorillas in Rwanda thrives in the Virunga Massif which is protected on the Rwandan side by the Volcanoes National Park adjoining the conservation areas of the neighboring countries including the Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga National Park in Rwanda.
The mountain gorilla populations have been increasing overtime as a result of increased conservation efforts and the Virunga massif where the Volcanoes is located support a count of 480 mountain gorillas. It is from these, that Rwanda has habituated ten (10) gorilla families for the trekking encounter by the travelers on gorilla safari in Rwanda.

The black and white colobus monkey

The Black and White colobus monkey is noted to be belonging to Colobinae Sub family and features four (4) various Species which include the Angolan colobus (Colobus angolensis), guereza (Colobus guereza), satanic black colobus (Colobus satanas) and Guinea forest black colobus (Colobus polykomos) and is spread in the tropical forests of Africa including Uganda where it is always encountered on Uganda safaris and tours.
They derive the name colobus from a Greek word that means docked. This is because they do not possess the thumb but just a small stub standing in the position where the thumb would be. It is a form of adaptation that allows the colobus monkeys to walk quadripedally on tip of the tree branches easily as can be seen on safari in Uganda
Besides the absence of the thumb, the colobus feature impressive fur spread in form of long white mantle, bushy tails, whiskers and the beard around the face. The Eastern black-and-white feature a distinct is U-shaped cape of white hair that runs from the shoulders to the lower back while the Angolan Colobus feature white hairs that flare out at the shoulders only. The colobus monkeys are 15 – 30lb in weight and up to 30 inches in length can thrive up to twenty (20) years in captivity with a gestation period of about six (6) months.
The Black and white colobus monkeys are noted to be herbivores Species that consume leaves, flowers, fruits and the twigs. It can be noted that the Colobus Monkeys feature the capacity to consume toxic foliage. The colobus monkeys are dominant leaf eaters and would take a lot of their time in the top of the trees preferring to consume young tender leaves that thrive there. Interestingly, the Black and White Colobus Monkeys feature complex stomachs that allow them to consume toxic or mature foliage that the other Monkeys can hardly take. The stomachs of Colobus Monkeys are similar to those of cows with 3 or 4 digestive regions where the upper region is bigger and differentiated from the lower acid region. The upper region which is sacculated and bacterial micro flora allows the monkeys to digest considerable amount of leafy material.
The Colobus Monkey is noted to be most arboreal of all African monkeys. The Colobus also rarely steps on ground as it keeps on jumping from one branch to the other and can leap up to 50 feet where they leap up and then drop down ward spreading with outstretched legs and arms to get hold of the next branch. It can be noted that their mantle hair and the tail operate as parachute in these long leaps.
The Colobus Monkeys are noted to be living in groups of five (5) – ten (10) animals comprising of a dominant male, a range of females along with their young ones. The every group has its own territory that is restricted from other groups. However, despite of this territorial nature, fighting for the mates hardly takes place.
The infants are taken care of by all members of the group. It can be noted that the Colobus Monkeys feature no distinct season for breeding though the mating always takes place in the wet season. The female colobus gives birth after twenty (20) months on the average. The newly born colobus features a pink face and the body is covered by white fur. The infant starts to change color at one month of age and gains the black and white coloration at around three (3) months. The infant is carried on the abdomen of the mother clinging to its fur. It spends much time playing with the mother and less to other adults as it grows up. It is always handled about 3 – 5 times in one hour during the resting groups. It start playing with other Juveniles at seven (7) months and the games include body exercising along with wrestling matches and the mock displays.
Regarding the habitat, the Black and white colobus can thrive in a range of habitats that range from primary to secondary deciduous forests, lowland swamp, the montane forest, gallery forest, moist savannah and coastal forest. They are known to be thriving only on the African continent in the forests od sub-Sahara. In Uganda, the Black and White Colobus Monkeys are greatly spread in Kibale National Park which is also an ideal destination for Chimpanzee trekking safaris in Uganda.

Uganda tour operators to be given bonus gorilla permits

The Tour operators in Uganda who are noted to be playing a significant role in arranging packages for travelers to undertake safaris in Uganda are in the joyous mood after securing a deal with the Uganda Wildlife Authority that will see them have bonus Uganda gorilla trekking permits.
In the bid to stimulate the gorilla permit sales, a memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Association of Uganda Tour Operators headed by Dr. Andrew Seguya and Barbra Adoso respectively. This MOU is aimed at stimulating the sales of the permits used to trek gorillas on Uganda gorilla safaris for the nonresident foreign travelers for a period of three (3) years.
By realizing that Uganda requires adequate market for its Uganda safari products on the international scene, the UWA Chief Andrew thought it wise to bring on board the private sector. Therefore the memorandum of Association is targeting the enhancement of cooperation that will see the gorilla tourism developed by engaging in well-defined strategies and activities jointly including marketing gorilla tourism product as the best experience and the national parks where mountain gorillas thrive as the best destinations both at region and international level that will in turn enhance the gorilla safaris in Uganda
The Member of Association of Uganda Tour Operators will do the product marketing as usual where they buy the gorilla permits from Uganda Wildlife Authority and then resell them to the clients from various places of the world at the existing rates. And in return, the signed memorandum of Understanding enables any tour operator that would have accumulated to 30 gorilla permits purchase to be rewarded with a free gorilla permit as a bonus.
However, the tour operators are required just to pay the taxes and meet the local community contribution from the revenue that they would have made from the sale of the complimentary gorilla permit as UWA has been doing.
Considering the fact that Uganda contains close to a half of mountain gorilla populations that are currently thriving in the world, the new initiative if the agents buy into it, will enhance the tourism revenue that Uganda earns from gorilla tourism
Apparently, the gorilla permit in Uganda stands at $600 for the non-resident foreigners and with twelve (12) habituated gorilla permits in Bwindi and one (1) in Mgahinga, Uganda features 104 gorilla permits on a single day.

The lake victoria serena resort

On the shores of the world’s second largest fresh water lake - Lake Victoria, there lies a gem that is far beyond the ordinary settling the aspirations of affluent travelers including those on safaris in Uganda.
Belonging to the International chain of Serena Hotels, the Lake Victoria Serena Resort is the recent addition to the East Africa establishments opening its doors in the month of October, the year 2009 with the future plans of adding a luxury residential complex, marina and golf course.
Towering over the white-terraced rose gardens descending passed the fountains and water cascades on the shores of the gigantic lake, the resort presents a tranquil environment close to Entebbe and acts as an extension of the top notch Kampala Serena Hotel thus taking into account of various travelers that prefer varying accommodation setting while on Uganda safaris.
The Lake Victoria Serena Resort features gracious terracotta along with a cream palace while the central citadel is surrounded by cocktail terraces and broad café where relaxation is guaranteed in cushioned sofas. There above the reception, there is beautiful Roman fountain while the white arched galleries tower to a clear glass atrium in which light shafts illuminate the below fountain courtyard leaving the first time guests in moments of wonder which adds to the overall Uganda safari experience.
Behind the main restaurants mosaic frescoes, a clock tower towers above a pool deck where white arch colonnades present an impressive frame for the Lake’s hazy blue and the surrounding green hills of Lweza. Amidst the remarkable gardens there lie spacious villas that present a range of rooms and the suites all featuring the panoramic view of the lake.
Lake Victoria Serena Resort offers accommodation in 124 rooms which include; 114 standard rooms, 8 executive Suites and 2 Presidential Suites. The Standard rooms feature elegant queen sized or two twin beds, work station, dressing table, marble bathroom, balcony and seating area and are located in the Tuscan Villa.
The executive Suites feature a living area with enough space along with flat Screen Television, second balcony and office space where as the Presidential Suites are positioned in the pent house floor of the main Citadel and present with them a lush bathroom, king sized bed, impressive reception area, furnished terrace, dining room featuring a private Kitchen. The Presidential floor also has a private conference space.
The rooms at Lake Victoria Serena Resort features air conditioning, the provision for 24 hour service, Wi-Fi and modem hook up internet, direct dial telephone, flat screen satellite TV, mini bar, voice mail, private safe, hair driers, facilities for making tea and coffee, concierge/ porter, 24 hour call on doctor, access to Maisha Health Spa, Business Center and provision for airport taxi, shuttle or limousine service.
The families travelling together on safaris to Uganda have got their stay well planned at Lake Victoria Serena Hotel. The resort offers accommodation free of charge to the children below 3 years of age while from 3 – 7 years, they are charged 50% and then 7 – 18 years are offered at 75%. The arrangement for the extra beds, menus and dining for children, interconnecting family rooms, children’s paddling pool and baby-sitting not forgetting the secure and extensive gardens make the place ideal for families.
In general, Lake Vitoria Serena Resort features a range of facilities including the Kigo cock tail bar, Lake View pool terrace café and bar, Health club, raised terraces for private events and cocktails, VIP entrance, dedicated car park, helipad and full security, Business Center and conference center with the capacity to accommodate 300 people
Lake Victoria Serena Hotel can be accesses in Kigo area between Entebbe and Kampala 30km form Entebbe International Airport and 15km from Kampala. It id locates off Entebbe road.

Jovago opens up officially in Uganda

Jovago which is apparently the number one on line hotel booking website in Africa enabling the world travelers including those that undertake safaris to Uganda to secure the best prices for over 25,000 hotels on the continent of Africa is officially opening its offices in Kampala Uganda.
Jovago is motivated by the desire to avail all the accommodation units on line to enable clients access and book them with ease. The efforts to avail this service to the African continent continue to generate fruits. The booming population of Uganda coupled with her fast growing economy and impressive natural sites present a rich ground for Uganda safaris.
It can be noted that Uganda is remarkably outstanding inhabited by the world’s hospitable people and amazing landscapes. As a result a couple of investors tends to visit the country exploring its great potential for business growth not only for Jovago but also other players like tourism sector and the business industry. The Country Manager of Jovago Louis Badea notes that Kampala being a close point to the most of their customers and suppliers makes the opening on an official office ideal.
The Jovago’s expansion to Uganda indicates the value that Jovago attaches to stretching to all its potential clients and the desire to extend beyond borders. This follows the similar efforts of establishing a range of five (5) new offices in Africa including Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique.
The Chief Executive Officer Jovago Mr. Paul Midy extends his happiness over the company’s expansion to Uganda. He notes that considering their passion to serve the travellers needs and the interest to bring along with them innovation and creativity, their official opening in Kampala will be of benefit to the clientele including those that wish to do Uganda safaris.
Jovago is noted to have opened up in 2013 and its first office in East Africa was in Nairobi. The initiative has been growing steadily reaching to over 25,000 hotels in more than forty (40) countries of Africa. And it is from the past success experience that the interest to accelerate its innovative nature of selling hospitality on line on the African continent is being enhanced.