Which Is The Swampy Lake In Uganda? Lake Kyoga is considered the Swampy Lake located within the Northern part of Lake Victoria in the central of Uganda and it covers a total surface area of about 1,720 square kilometers and stands at an elevated area of about 1,033meters above the sea level. More so, Lake Kyoga is about 5.7 meters deep whereby most parts of it are less than about 4 meters deep and it is being watered by the Victoria Nile, which Lake Victoria acts as its main source of water starting from Jinja heading northwards to Lake Kyoga.
Lake Kyoga is a tourist lake which has very many extensions around it which form finger-like seasonal lakes and some of these include; Lake Opeta, Lake Bisina, Lake Quania and it is noted that some of these connect to the lake by rivers such as; Lake Opeta which is observed that it is a separate lake that remains even when the other dry up. More so, the areas around lake Kyoga is surrounded by water lilies and also has an another extensive swampy shoreline which has water hyacinth and papyrus which are so many to the extent that they form islands round the lake and also always block the Victoria Nile from its way to access into Lake Albert. Lake Kyoga is also considered to be the best birding destination however fishing is one of the main economic activities that are best done on this lake due to the fact that it is a home to over 46 fish species such as; mud fish, tilapia fish, silverfish, Nile perch however after when this type of fish species was introduced in this lake it led to the extinction of many fish species such as; Haplochromis macrodon, Tilapia esculents, barbus kiogae, tilapia variabilis, mormyrus kanumme, Claris mossambicus and many others. More so, there are other aquatic animals that can be spotted within this lake such as; the Nile crocodiles, which act to be the main tourist attractions in the lake.
Things to do around Lake Kyoga.
While exploring around Lake kyoga tourists can opt to engage and participate in so many interesting activities where they create good memories and gain new experience such as; bird watching where they spot birds like; the rare fox’s weaver and fishing which are considered to be one of the main activities done around the lake, game viewing where they see animals like; crocodiles among others. tourists can also opt to visit the Nyero rock paintings which are situated about 12 kilometers away from Lake Kyoga and they are famously known as the ancient geometric painting and as one of the most important art sites in the country. More so, the Nyero rock paintings were officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 and it managed by the Uganda wildlife Authority that is a government agency programme that has a major role of protecting and conserving national parks and other areas in Uganda.
Tourists can also go for guided nature walks, community visits and cultural encounters where they are able to interact with many people of different tribes such as the Baruuli people who are known to be farmers, fishermen and herdsmen who feed on foods like; sweet potatoes and matooke as their stable food and they also grow other plants like; millet, vegetables, sorghum, cassava, cotton, ground nuts, yams, maize among others. Tourists can also meet other tribes around this area like; the Baguugu people, the Acholi people who migrated to this area with their main aim of practicing fishing activities, the Basoga. In addition, all the above-mentioned tribes are seen to be carrying out trading in things like; fish, food, charcoal in order to earn a living and because this lake is shallow, people usually get the papyrus reeds, which they use to make craft works and make in craft materials, which they sell and get money. In addition, people can visit through Buruuli sub-county, which is found in deep village in Nakasongola district.
More so, Lake Kyoga being considered as the best landing site for fishing activities, it is then surrounded with one of the busiest landing sites where tourists can visit while on their safari and some of these include; Nmasale landing site, kikoyiro landing site, Kikaranganya landing site, Lwampanga landing site, Kisonye landing site, Namasale landing site and Moone landing site and many others where tourists always get chances to watch the process on how the fish is always being offloaded from the boats and how the sun drying is done before the fish is being ready to be packed to the markets. In addition, this sun drying fish process has a local name, which is “Babaala”, and the fish is considered the stable food for the congoleese people.
How to access Lake Kyoga.
For tourists planning to visit Lake Kyoga can opt to use road transport means where and travel from Kampala via Lale road or they can opt to water means where they use a boat from Nakasongola to Namasale.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information about Lake Kyoga a swampy lake in the country and book with our tours and travel companies such as; Achieve Global safaris who offer the best tour packages while on your safari in Uganda.
