Uganda

by Philip Briggs

Somebody once said that if you planted a walking stick overnight in the soil of Uganda, it would take root before morning dawned. Of all Africa's safari destinations, this is the most fertile. It's also the best destination in Africa for seeing a variety of primate species - visitors can spot more than ten types of monkey including mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. And if primate enthusiasts are found wandering round with imbecile grins, Uganda's birds have ornithologists doing cartwheels: more than 1,000 bird species have been recorded here making Uganda, in practical terms, the finest birdwatching destination in Africa. Moreover, in Uganda's premier savanna reserves, one can be almost certain of encountering lions, elephants and buffaloes.

Whether visitors want to climb to the snows of the fabled Mountains of the Moon, raft the headwaters of the mighty Nile, or marvel at the legendary tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, this seventh edition of Philip Briggs' much-praised guide is the most comprehensive resource available.

Genres: Travel, Africa, Nonfiction

560 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2009

Reviews

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel very prepared for my upcoming vacation now :-D

Too bad almost that our trip is all pre-planned by an agency because I would feel comfortable planning it with this guide by myself.
The order the author chose is (by chance?) the same that our tour will go, so I simply went through the book page by page and did not have to jump forwards or backwards to follow my own itinerary.

Apart from seeming complete and extensive (I found descriptions for every spot that is planned for our tour, every hint we have heard from our agency and elsewhere was mentioned in the book, etc), it was also simply fun to read and follow.
I very much appreciated the very humorous style the author uses sometimes to point out traditions, behaviours or situations that would seem hard to understand for a non-African/ non-local.

I cannot wait to go now and look forward even more to discover the "Pearl of Africa" with its gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, etc etc.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I didn't actually read this per se. It's a guidebook and I read the parts that were relevant to whatever I was doing at the moment when I was there. It's the most comprehensive guide that I've seen for Uganda. If you're going there, this is the one to get (Lonely Planet only has a small chapter in a much larger book).

[Lindsey Wallis · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this for our trip in June and it was extremely helpful. One thing that is incorrect is the assertion that traveller's cheques can be cashed anywhere. We had a very hard time and ended up having to cash them all in the main Crane branch in Kampala. Otherwise it is very up-to-date and prices are generally pretty bang-on still.

[Ferhat Akgün · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide is very comprehensive. A lot of useful details. The only negative point is that there are many typos in the latest edition. This is really annoying when the typo is inside a city name.

[heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travel guides for Uganda are hard to find. This one is the most comprehensive of the few publications I've come across since arriving five weeks.

Unsurprisingly, I haven't read this book page to page. I'm only using this 2010 edition that's available at my backpackers accommodation to plan my travels around. Some information are outdated, such as security / travel warning, but that's the kind of information we're supposed to get from official channels anyway. The writing is good—occasionally I even come across similar phrases online on Ugandan tourism websites, as if the words were copied from this book.

This book is best for getting the most out of a long trip. When I'm wondering, ok what next? I flip the pages and there's usually some interesting attraction that catches my fancy, the ones I don't see on the travel websites for Uganda.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradt continues its reputation as being the best travel series for dusty African places.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, pretty current, somewhat useful...

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best guidebook I found that covers Uganda (there aren't a lot). Unfortunately my trip had to be canceled at the last minute but I hope to need this book again in the future.

[BrandyLee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 8th edition is published as of October 2016. Use that edition for the most up-to-date information on Uganda and follow Philip Briggs on Twitter or Facebook for ongoing updates.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good guide, just my bad luck to be in Uganda right before the new edition came out.