The Road to Kampala

Welcome to Uganda. The border procedures are as smooth as we could have hoped for. We don’t need to bribe anyone or lie or explain much to get shiny new stamps in our passports.

The road around Mount Elgon is only a few years old and incredibly smooth. We huff and puff up steep inclines (up to 11%) and whizz down the other side at break-neck speeds (60 km/h). The scenery is spectacular, us high on a plateau, with views of the surrounding plain 1000 meters below.

In Uganda we often feel like celebrities (or zoo animals, depending on the mood). In Kenya people were friendly and welcoming. Here, the kids go wild when they see us. They screech and run and shout “How are you?” at the top of their lungs. We’ve never been this interesting in all of our lives.

We quickly sort out SIM cards, mobile money and exchange all our Kenyan Shillings for Ugandan Shillings. The exchange rates differ a lot and we now have to carry big wads of cash. We discover that food is more expensive than in Kenya, but cold sodas only cost about 50 cents for half a liter. So, all is well.

In Sipi Falls we take our first full day off (staying in the same place twice) since Nanyuki. It must have been fate that we picked Rock Gardens guesthouse for this occasion. For the first time in forever we meet other travelers. We speak German with two lovely Italian ladies, who live in Germany and are here on a mission to build a school. We celebrate the birthday of a Dutch guy who’s been on the road for 9 and a half years. With Alex (the owner) we come up with ways to make his guesthouse famous (at least with Germans) by installing a beer tank on the roof.

On our day off we stroll to the waterfalls with a couple of Irish people and Eric, a guide from the guest house. He leads us through the backyard coffee, banana and matoke (another kind of banana) plantations. We have a lesson in chameleon spotting and watch two guys wash a boda boda in the river. Later on we take a shower under a waterfall downstream of said river.

The next day we say our wistful goodbyes to everyone. It’s hard to leave behind new friends when we come across other people so rarely. But we feel refreshed and ready for the descent into the valley. On the way down, the locals are treated to Lina’s rendition of “Ich liebe das Leben“ (by Vicky Leandros).

Sleep is hard to come by these days. If we’re not constantly woken up by rats scurrying across the roof or the rooster that decided to greet the new day at 3am, it’s because we’re celebrating Sweat Fest 2025. Who would have thought that the rainy season is so hot and humid. Thankfully the hot water at the guest houses usually doesn’t work so that we get a refreshing shower every day.

Rice fields, sugar cane and jackfruit trees join the banana plants along the road. Sadly for us and the bikes Ugandans are fans of rumble strips as well as Kenyans. They also love ice cream bodas with out-of-tune jingles blaring out their speakers and music in general. As in Kenya, every school has a motto. Our favorites so far: “From the ground we rise” and “Fear Allah and Excel”.

The closer we get to Kampala the busier the road becomes. The shoulder crumbles away more often and the trucks don’t seem to care much for the lives of two puny Europeans on bikes. We haven’t had an accident yet but we already saw a couple of overturned lorries. The daily dose of adrenaline is almost guaranteed.

We therefore welcome the opportunity to cycle down a 7km dirt track in the rain to have a respite with a view of the White Nile. Its source is Lake Victoria (of which we had only glimpses so far). We spend the night in a tent with a bed, surrounded by squawks and chirps. The monkeys peeing on the roof of the tent are a special highlight (it’s not our tent after all). The next day the dirt road has dried out somewhat and we get back to the main road without a mud bath.

To escape the downtown Kampala traffic we take a little detour down another dirt road to the lake. We heard there might be fishing boats that sometimes ferry people across to the city center. Going along this 20km stretch we wonder whether we’re really “dirt road people”. Jo’s chain (already weakened the other day by the previous dirt road) snaps about half way. Thankfully we carry spares. We have fun though, pushing the bikes through a little stream and passing Sunday church services. People here seem to have much more fun at church than in Europe.

On the last hill before the boat landing we meet a fellow cyclist who helps us secure the local price for the crossing (5 euros instead of 15). Jo and Olive are loaded up quickly and off we go with rain clouds following close behind. We have fish and chips for lunch before heading into a fancy Kampala suburb where we’ll be staying with Justus (another Warmshowers host). We look forward to sharing a meal and learning more about Uganda.