Entebbe

Overview

Introduction

The original colonial capital of Uganda, Entebbe is best known for its airport, where a hijacked Air France flight landed in 1976 before being liberated by the Israeli army. The airport is still the international gateway to the country, and some travelers spend a day or a night in town at the beginning or end of their stay in Uganda. It's not a bad place to recuperate (from either your flight or your time in Uganda): Set along the shore of Lake Victoria, Entebbe has several fine hotels, a golf course and splendid colonial-era houses on tree-lined streets. Visit the 70-acre/29-hectare botanical gardens, home to monkeys, birds and a wealth of native flora. The Entebbe Wildlife Centre is a ramshackle zoo created in the 1920s for orphaned animals rescued after being illegally taken from the wild. There's also a chimpanzee orphanage on Ngamba Island (14 mi/23 km from Entebbe), where you can watch chimpanzees feed. The animals there have been rescued from circuses and zoos, and some even from the cooking pot. The nearby fishing village of Kasenyi has a colorful market worth exploring. 25 mi/40 km southwest of Kampala.

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