Lake Victoria in Africa

Lake Superior which is found in North America, the next freshwater body is Lake Victoria in Africa. It covering an of 68,800 At first, it was known as Lake Nalubaale and named after Queen Victoria by explorer John Hanning Speke. Lake Victoria is the one of largest lakes on earth and found in three countries Uganda with the biggest portion, Tanzania, and Kenya. Lake Victoria is also a source of the River Nile. Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were the first explorers to see where the River Nile finds its way out of Lake Victoria while on their Uganda safari adventure in the 1850s. A visit in East Africa is incomplete without visiting the largest fresh water body. It has islands with different wildlife, attractive landscapes around the lake, and several accommodation facilities where one can spend and night while enjoying the cool breeze from the freshwater lake. It has beautiful beaches for swimming and relaxation, also expect to do a boat cruise and enjoy a memorable experience.

Lake Victoria is the source of the River Nile which is known as the longest river in the whole world. It flows northwards through Lake Kyoga to the Upper part of Lake Albert and then continues through the Albert Nile through the countries like Sudan, South Sudan to Egypt and creates a large delta as it pours in the Mediterranean Sea. River Nile also creates several exciting waterfalls and these include Murchison falls in Uganda which is known as the most powerful waterfalls on earth plus Rippon falls, Karuma falls and Owen falls. Another outlet on Lake Victoria is River Katonga.

Wildlife to see in and outside Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria in Africa is home to a variety of semi-aquatic and aquatic wildlife and its islands protect many primates, mammals, birds plus other species. There are even helmeted turtles, mud turtles, Nile crocodiles, freshwater crabs, loach catfish, hippos as well as many fish species which include lungfish, Spiny Eel, Haplochromis, African tetra, Climbing Gourami, and many more.  Various bird species, mammals like Sitatunga and Bohor reedbuck were also sighted on the islands.

Activities to do while on Lake Victoria in Uganda.

There are a lot of tourist attractions one can engage in on his/her safari on Lake Victoria as below;

Ssese islands.

Ssese Islands are among the beautiful places where one can relax after visiting mountain gorillas of Uganda, wildlife safari, or hiking mountains. Ssese islands has attractive beaches and spectacular sites which are good for relaxation. Activities to do while at Ssese islands are forest walks, sport fishing, visiting Kihumuro cave, visiting the island club, and others. There are several safari lodges where to stay are Victoria Forest resort, Ssese islands beach resort, Ssese habitat lodge, the Philo leisure gardens, and so on.

Mabamba swamps.

Mabamba swamps are found in Uganda on Lake Victoria is known as the best place for birding. Mostly for the endangered shoebill stork.  other natural habitats for the rare shoebill are found in Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, and Zambia. They are large in size and a female shoebill stork weighs 5kgs while the male has about 4kgs on average. These birds are shy in nature and elusive. The shoebill stork feed on fish, insects, and frogs so this is the reason why they prefer to stay around the wetland areas. These birds are endangered, as they feed on fish which is the best dish by the fishermen. Although shoebills are disturbed, they never migrate away from a specific swamp. They usually live alone but, in most cases, they are seen in pairs during mating time.

You can go Ngamba Island Chimpanzee sanctuary.

Ngamba is one of the islands of Lake Victoria, on this island is where Ngamba island chimp sanctuary is found. This place was constructed so that to protect the rescued chimps from poachers by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Ngamba islands sanctuary covers an area of 100 acres. This is among the best areas where one can see chimpanzees in Uganda apart from forest destinations. At Ngamba island sanctuary, there are team researchers and caretakers who are responsible for the safety of chimps. While visiting Ngamba island chimp sanctuary, you will have a great opportunity to spend more time with these unique chimps and also engage in daily activities like feeding the chimps.  Apart from chimps, other wildlife to see on the island are lizards, otters as well as various bird species.

Fishing trip on Lake Victoria in Africa.

Lake Victoria is also a good idea for sport fishing for those who are interested since it is the source of fish and the most common catches are Nile perch and tilapia. On your vacation in Uganda, try as much as possible to do fishing mostly the anglers where you will enjoy an unforgettable experience in your lifetime.

When to visit Lake Victoria in Africa

The best months to visit Lake Victoria is between October and March but it can be visited all year round at any time. There are several ways to visit islands on Lake Victoria which include a spend boat with double engines which is the most advisable to use by travelers and the boats with a professional local guide who helps while on the touring different islands.

Entebbe is among the areas near Lake Victoria so before returning back to your homeland, you can also visit another amazing area around Entebbe like the Entebbe Botanical Garden and relax at the beautiful beaches around the Lake or visit the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre and get a great chance to see a variety of animals like chimpanzees, Rhinos, elephants, lions plus a lot of bird species.

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A visit to lake Victoria in Uganda Africa can be extended to other wild places such as Bwindi national park for gorilla trekking tours, Kibale forest for chimpanzee tracking and several savannah national parks like Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park, Murchison falls national park and Kidepo valley national park for wildlife sighting.