Wanderlust: Uganda, Africa

Wanderlust: Your Reading Guide to...

Uganda, Africa

If you have never been on an African safari before, start planning your trip now! First, flight deals to East Africa are popping up constantly and second, this is an amazing bucket list destination that you cannot miss out on. I recommend using a travel agent that specializes in African safaris, like Extraordinary Africa which is based in the UK but arranges travel for international clients as well. Alex was our travel agent and set us up for absolute success on our adventure.

Uganda is a large land locked country which hosts the source of the Nile, a must see on your journey. In many East Africa countries you may have one or two base camps from which you depart for daily safaris. Instead, in Uganda it is beneficial to take a tour around the entire country. We traveled to Murchison Falls, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi, and Lake Mburo during our whirlwind tour of Uganda. Elephants, giraffes, hippos (oh so many hippos!), crocodiles, rhinos, lions, so many unique birds you can't even imagine, and many more animals too numerous to list were all easily found throughout the various National Parks. The highlights in Uganda are the Gorilla Trek (pictured above) and Chimpanzee Trek which are points of national pride.

As with any good trip, it helps to set the mood for a magnificent voyage. For me, that means finding excellent books that set the stage by getting my mind into the beautiful location through culture and history. When planning our trip I found three books that brought me into the world I would be exploring in person.

Although I'm not huge on buying travel guides for most of my trips, this is one vacation that I think requires an exception. The Bradt Guide to Uganda was a fantastic collection of history and wildlife on top of the normal travel book lists of lodging, food, and transportation. I read and highlighted the places we would be experiencing and read ahead regarding culture, money, and other local information that would make the trip easier, but there was so much rich reading that I opted to take the book with us and read a bulk of it cover-to-cover on the trip itself. As we were traveling to a new location I got details about that region which really set up each part of the trip as a special moment.

Bradt specializes in country-by-country Africa guides, so no matter what your destination is you will likely find a guide to take with you. And it will be absolutely invaluable to you if you are daring enough to plan to trip yourself without a travel agent. The information it provided us was accurate and up to date, enough to feel like you could make independent plans on any budget.

As our trip planning was starting to come together I started seeing buzz about a book that was being hailed as the quintessential Ugandan novel. Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi was getting fantastic reviews and as we would be taking the long trek to Uganda later in the year it was apparent we had to get a copy of the novel for our journey. I opted to save reading the book for the trip itself.  At 442 pages it was plenty to keep me reading for the entire two week itinerary (mixed in with the Bradt guide, of course). 

The story follows the Kintu clan from the ancestors who bring a curse upon the family when tragedy strikes all the way to the modern day descendants who must face the consequences of those long ago decisions. It was a thrilling story and I was fascinated at how Makumbi was able to weave so many storylines seamlessly together. She brilliantly ties all the plots together into a beautiful ending that entranced me to the last page. And having Uganda as a background while reading the novel was the cherry on top.

Probably one of the most well known novels set in Africa is Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. Here is told a vastly different type of story from Kintu as this novel is presented from the perspective of Baptist missionaries in Belgian Congo. The tragic journey they take spans multiple decades as they discover the unexpected transformation of their lives in Africa.

I find the tragic nature of this book to be fitting of its setting in Congo, which has a dangerous reputation. While in Uganda we were able to see over the river onto Congo soil and heard stories of what befalls wildlife who wander beyond the border into unregulated territory. The tone of those stories very much matches the mood in The Poisonwood Bible which makes it a compelling glance into a treacherous country.

There are so many other titles which feature Uganda which would be worthy of your time. The culture is so rich and vibrant, which is very much reflected in the stories they tell and the myths of their ancestors. A quick Google search brings up a plentiful number of options to start building your travel reading list. And I'm always looking for more recommendations, so if you've read any great Uganda novels that I should make sure to read please comment below!