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Uganda
The Bradt Guide to Uganda, now more than 500-pages long, is the definitive travel handbook to this wonderful but oft-neglected destination, not only providing comprehensive background information to its varied national parks, towns and other cultural attractions, but also including detailed reviews of the ever-growing selection of world-class lodges and budget hotels that service them.
Uganda boasts the most varied - and arguably the most exciting - safari circuit in Africa. The lush montane forests of Bwindi protect the world's largest remaining population of mountain gorillas, many of which have become habituated to tourists and can be tracked to within a few metres on foot. Elsewhere, Queen Elizabeth National Park, set below the snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, is renowned for its tree-climbing lions and abundant buffaloes. Elephants abound in Murchison Falls National Park, coursed through by a dramatic stretch of the White Nile dense with hippos, crocodiles and waterfowl, while Kibale Forest offers superb chimpanzee tracking as well as the opportunity to see ten other monkey species in their natural jungle habitat. For birders, an astonishing checklist of more than 1,000 species - in a country similar in size to Great Britain or the state of Oregon ¬- includes dozens of Western rainforest specials difficult to see elsewhere, as well as the iconic great blue turaco and shoebill.
Philip Briggs is the world's foremost writer of guidebooks to Africa. He has been exploring the continent's highways, byways and backwaters for over 30 years.
Uganda boasts the most varied - and arguably the most exciting - safari circuit in Africa. The lush montane forests of Bwindi protect the world's largest remaining population of mountain gorillas, many of which have become habituated to tourists and can be tracked to within a few metres on foot. Elsewhere, Queen Elizabeth National Park, set below the snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, is renowned for its tree-climbing lions and abundant buffaloes. Elephants abound in Murchison Falls National Park, coursed through by a dramatic stretch of the White Nile dense with hippos, crocodiles and waterfowl, while Kibale Forest offers superb chimpanzee tracking as well as the opportunity to see ten other monkey species in their natural jungle habitat. For birders, an astonishing checklist of more than 1,000 species - in a country similar in size to Great Britain or the state of Oregon ¬- includes dozens of Western rainforest specials difficult to see elsewhere, as well as the iconic great blue turaco and shoebill.
Philip Briggs is the world's foremost writer of guidebooks to Africa. He has been exploring the continent's highways, byways and backwaters for over 30 years.
- GenresTravelAfricaNonfiction
1190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2012
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.
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.
February 15, 2010
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).
September 30, 2013
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.
September 17, 2014
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.
November 30, 2017
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.
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.
May 7, 2008
Bradt continues its reputation as being the best travel series for dusty African places.
November 18, 2008
Not bad, pretty current, somewhat useful...
April 7, 2009
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.
December 24, 2019
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.
September 6, 2009
Really good guide, just my bad luck to be in Uganda right before the new edition came out.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews