Uganda is an amazing place.

It is of the most densely populated countries in Africa with a population of 50 million. It is also one of the fastest growing countries in Africa with the world’s youngest population. The average age in Uganda is 16.2 years.  It is a fertile land with volcanic soil and many lakes and rivers. The country is mostly located on a plateau and there are high mountains in the eastern and western regions of the country. 

As one of the poorest countries in the world, most people live from farming or work in the agricultural sector, about 70% of the land is used for agriculture. 

The country is known as a paradise for bird-watching. More than one thousand bird species have ben recorded in Uganda. The African jacana and orange weaver bird are among the most common birds.

Rob and I headed there in March 2026 and an epic adventure unfolded!

We stayed a couple of nights near Entebbe airport before heading West to follow a section of the Trans-Uganda cycling trail that we had found here https://bikepacking.com/routes/trans-uganda.

After a long bumpy bus journey to Fort Portal we started the trail the next day, awesome, sooo good to be back on bikes, carrying as little as possible!

We were quickly immersed in the vibrancy of the place: the warmth, sounds of bird song, constant greetings and curiosity from local people,There is always something to see when you are cycling in Uganda! I also loved when we passed through forest areas and the smell of eucalyptus was so strong, wow! it was utterly fascinating and felt like such a priviledge to see rural village life close up day after day on the trail. There were always many people working so hard in the heat in the fields, often women doing very physical labour, usually with infants at their feet free to roam around the soil.

It was a sheer joy to interact with hundreds of children as we cycled. There would be shrieks of delight as we were spotted cycling, invariably they would then come and greet us and often run with us. It was so welcome (by me!) on steep hills that some would instinctively help push our bikes, amazing!!! Sometimes we would be asked to give them sweets, momey - "gimme money!".

it was hilarious to see what gets transported on a motorbike in Uganda - we learnt not to be surprised to see a motorbike with chickens hanging off it, hundreds of bananas, a family of 5, furniture, just brilliant.

It was slightly alarming on the road though at times when we would look up to see a motorbike with an extremely wide load coming towards us on a very narrow road!! We were grateful we experienced safety throughout our trip and no accidents!

As we were moving slowly through rural places we saw evidence of some of the tougher edges to village life, In a few places we stopped there was evidently alcohol issues with a few drunk people stumbling towards us to interact during the day and local bars spotted selling spirits to really young people. We could see the rigour of day to day life in many of the places we were in, the incredibly hardworking people, the basic way of life for many - we saw many people walking wiithout shoes (normal for them, unfathomable for us in the West .

We loved the simple rhythm of trail days - lingering in the word over breakfast, hopping onto bikes and pedaling until lunch time. Lunch was always a Rolex (egg rolled in chapati) - yummy!!!

In the afternoon we would often start to feel the pinch with the many many hills and the hot weather. The constant greetings of people was easy to respond to in the morning, as tiredness set in later in the day I often resorted to more of the thumbs up kind of greeting rather than having any energy left to speak! There were many welcome surprises: at the top of one steep hot climb an older gentleman appeared with jack fruit for us to have, wow that was delicious and so welcome!

Our slow pace with many steep hills and rocky roads meant for many many moments of meaningful daily encounters which was amazing and made it be the most wonderful bikepacking experience. The basic accommodation we stayed in felt like a peaceful oasis morning and night , a chance to let all the scenes of the day soak in and permeate us. Rob and I kept saying - I never want to forget this. I think it was a I never want to forget yes the brightness and beauty of this amazing country, the landscape and animals and yet probably more to do with the amazing people we encountered - it was a desire never to lose connection with the parts of ourselves that had been so prominent in Uganda - a kindness which came from how we were welcomed/greeted everywhere and a gut punching recognition of contrasting material wealth and provision that we experience in the Scotland.

In Scotland we always have clean water, never needing to walk to a well for it in our bare feet and carry it back on our heads; we have free health care and education; we have food in abundance and such a choice of nutritious food. Most of us have families that have provided for us, nurtured us and cheered us on. We have a social security system that offers a safety net for the most vulnerable in our society. Are our lives easier then in the West, different we concluded just so different re the type of challenges, but we definitely do not live in survival mode re food and water, in fact we probably will never experience that and nor a worry of how will our children be clothed and educated..

What a joyful aliveness that built in us as we journeyed through this beautiful land and it is hard to articulate but there is something so rich that Ugandan people offered to us, they truly gave to us so generously of themselves which filled us up to the brim and we are truly grateful for and indeed don't want to forget.

The most memorable places we stayed at were Noah's camp and Hindura Community Lodge. We stayed a night at Noah's lodge accommodation, then as we got chatting to him and his wife Unity we discovered that they are the most incredible family taking care of their village in so many ways, amazingly they have a partnership with some Belgian people and together they are supporting many families with medical care and so much of their basic needs. Rob made a website for Noah when we got back home: https://hindurauganda.org/ Then we happened on Hindura lodge looking for a further night's accommodation on google maps. The adventure with them was so special, turning into us staying two days, spending time in the local school (the joyous singing we will never forget!) and being shown around all the beautiful area by Precious and being welcomed by the committee of the lodge (alot of comedy value but just the best!). Rob has kept his word and made them a website on his return and now liaises with them lots to help them with bookings that come in on booking.com. We love these people they are just so awesome, its truly humbling to be friends with them..

We quickly learnt in Uganda you are never far from a tragic situation and people like Noah, Unity, Bernard, Precious, Cylia are responding to the needs of their community in many different ways. We really hope that more and more people can stay at their places which ongoing will be lifegiving for the villages that they are part of, enabling more children to be fed , educated and lifted out of poverty along with adequate medical care for the local a community; a little to us goes such a long way to them.

The warm sun accompanied us throughout our last day on the trail as we wove our way to lake Buyongani , we enjoyed a strong Ugandan coffee and some freshly made chips before cyling along a beatufiul bpath by following the lake , before a steep up to where the lush greenery of the outskirts of Kabale awaited, then down to the town to find accommodation for our last evening before hopping on bus back to Entebbe. What a journey, yes, the best, one I didn't want to end, I really hope it is the beginning of a long relationship with this incredible country and people.