EXPLORE THE MUSANZE CAVE.

Musanze cave.

Explore the Great Musanze Caves and discover the mysteries that lie within the mysterious cavernous depths of the Rwandan Earth. Located in Musanze district in the Notheren province of Rwanda, near Volcanoes national park, a home for mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Musanze cave formerly known as Nyamwasama was forged over centuries of volcanic eruption, and formed from lava basaltic layers from the Bisoke and Sabyinyo volcanoes.

 The lava flowed down, cooling and leaving large pockets and tubes in the earth, which became Rwanda’s magnificent caves.

The Musanze Caves development works were a joint project of the Ministry of Defense Reserve force started in January 2013 for tourism purposes. This home of a bat colony is 1.25 mile long.

So far, the inside of the dark cave depicts a picture of a house with several rooms and corridors. The floor is paved and there are some stairs to ease movement.

The cave is said to have been a result of volcanic eruption decades ago. A visit to the caves costs $50 for the foreign visitors.   Plan well and visit this cave its fun!

ARE YOU READY FOR VIRUNGA ADVENTURE?

Getting to Virunga National Park!

Airline Travel.

Most tourists fly into the Kigali international airport and take a 3-hour car ride to the border crossing at Gisenyi, Rwanda. International flights often arrive in the evening, so we recommend spending the night in Kigali and leaving for Virunga the next morning. Most Kigali hotels will arrange an airport pick up for a small additional charge.

Virunga is an open forest for tourism.We are pleased to announce that even expeditions to the Bwindi national park is available.

Mountain Gorilla Treks.

All treks are led by park rangers and depart from either Kakamero or Bukima. Tourists not staying at the lodge will likely depart from Kakamero, which is one hour from Goma by car. Treks from Kakamero usually require 2-3 hours of hiking in each direction, depending where the mountain gorillas spent the previous night. Tourists staying at the Mikeno lodge will likely begin their trek from Bukima, which is a one-hour drive from Rumangabo. Hiking time can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours in each direction. The duration of the hike and difficulty of the terrain will depend on where the mountain gorillas spent the previous night.

If you’re not worn out you proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and spend yet another day with gorillas in the mist. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda in East Africa. The park is part is situated along the Democratic Republic of Congo border next  to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. The park has half of the world's population of the critically endangered mountain gorillas. There are four habituated mountain gorilla groups open to tourism: Mubare; Habinyanja; Rushegura near Buhoma; and the Nkuringo group at Nkuringo.

Lodging around Virunga nationalpark.

Accommodation is being offered at a discounted rate for a limited time

The Mikeno Lodge.

The Lodge is a one and a half hour drive from Goma and offers large bungalows and a good restaurant. The lodge and restaurant are located within a forest and offer beautiful views of the rift valley and Nyiragongo and Mikeno volcanoes. Nature walks and visits to local places of interest can be arranged. There is an abundance of bird life, as well as resident blue monkeys, colobus monkeys, and baboons. Chimpanzees are also frequent visitors to the area.

MOUNTAIN GORILLAS AND THEIR HEALTH FACTS

Mountain Gorillas

 Mist Gorillas in East Africa.

The mountain gorilla is the largest of all the gorillas and is the most endangered. The world’s remaining 820 mountain gorillas live in three different countries in Central Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Mountain gorilla trekking is the most popular tourism activity in these countries and attracts thousands of visitors into these countries. Although this makes their range seem large, the mountain gorillas actually inhabit a small geographic area where the borders of these three countries meet. Over half of the world’s mountain gorillas can be found amidst the Virunga chain of volcanoes and the remaining populations live in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest some 75 km to the north.

Unlike their lowland counterparts, the mountain gorillas have long hair, which helps them handle the temperature extremes found at altitude. Mountain gorillas live in large family units led by a single dominant adult male, known as the “Silverback” — a name derived from the grey hair that develops on male’s back as it reaches adulthood. The Silverback is responsible for protecting the family from predators or other threats, including solitary Silverbacks intent on claiming females as their own. The dominant Silverback also takes on the role of mediator when disputes arise in the family. Some families contain more than one Silverback, but only one is dominant and that male alone is responsible for mating with the adult females of the group.

The sub-adult males of the family are known as “Blackbacks”. Adult females are generally half the size of the males and it is their responsibility to initiate mating with the dominant male, as well as care for the infants.

In general they are very peaceful creatures. Most days are spent foraging for food, playing, and grooming. The mountain gorilla’s fierceness has been seen protecting its young from illegal animal trafficker’s intent on capturing baby gorillas. For every mountain gorilla baby that is found in the marketplace, an entire family of gorillas has died trying to protect it.

Gorillas get sick.

Because mountain gorillas share approximately 97% of our DNA, they are susceptible to the same diseases as humans. Unlike humans, however, their resistance is much lower. Sicknesses that the average human can beat with bed rest and antibiotics can prove fatal to the mountain gorilla. More serious outbreaks, such as Ebola or virulent strains of influenza could take the few remaining mountain gorilla populations beyond the point of return.

However it is advisable that tourists only visit gorillas when healthy and keep a minimum distance of 25 feet (7 meters) away to protect them from getting affected by diseases.

Actually Understanding the nature of mountain gorillas, and the threats they face, is the first step in assuring their preservation.

The Gorilla Doctors healthcare program includes:

·         Monitoring the health of mountain gorilla groups to ensure the early detection of disease and injury.

·         Staging medical interventions to dart sick animals with antibiotics or anesthetize and treat gorillas suffering from human-induced or life-threatening trauma.

·         Rescuing and providing veterinary care to gorillas orphaned by poachers.

·         Documenting and studying health trends to better predict disease outbreaks.

·         Conducting post mortem examinations on dead gorillas to learn all that we can about the health problems that contributed to their deaths.

·         Preserving tissue and fluid samples to be used by researchers investigating primate health issues.

·         Providing preventive healthcare to the dedicated park personnel who protect the gorillas, and to the people and their animals that live near gorilla habitat, in order to reduce the risk of inter-species disease transmission.

LAKE KATWE SALT TOUR

Katwe Salt Lake Tour just near Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Lake Katwe is set up in south western part of Uganda within kasese district bordered by Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is one of about 52 explosion crater lakes found in Queen Elizabeth national park. 

This unusual lake is far too salty to support any wildlife – though since the 16th Century it has ensured the survival of the Katwe villagers, who spend their days under the equatorial sun, harvesting salt from its milky waters.

Unique networks of paths and huts have been built across the lake to support hundreds of workers, as selling the rock and table salt to traders from across Uganda, and as far as Congo and Rwanda, is the main source of income for the community.

This tour gives visitors a unique insight into the fascinating yet tough process of salt mining, as well as providing an alternative income for Katwe. During the tour of the lake you will see community members at work, cross the mud walkways and enter one of the traditional grass huts, used to shelter and store tools. You will also pass the nearby bird sanctuary lake, home to thousands of birds, including flamingos from October to May.

Salt mining in Katwe is one of Africa’s oldest industries still surviving. It has played an important political and economic role in the history of the western part of Uganda

The water within this lake is actually 60 percent salty.

The women crumb the bottom of the salt garden to hollow out the salt. Actually they make use of their feet to smash the salt to smaller and fine crystals, after which they wash these crystals to form edible salt (also called the washed salt or sodium chloride).

Fate of the female miners

Women are not safe either. However, most of them are shy to share the negative health effects of engaging in salt mining. It is said that when the ammonia gas from the water gets into a woman’s reproductive organs, it causes uterus irritation and abdominal pains. The women therefore, heavily pad themselves before entering the salt pans.

Besides salt mining, the lake is a big tourist destination. Its visitors include students, tourists and researchers. The peak months are June to August and mid October to December. Visitors can only access the lake with the help of a tour guide.

Accommodation

Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Sandton Hotel, Executive Inn and Silver Springs Hotel in Kasese town. There are no hotels in Katwe though. But, there are a few fair restaurants and guest houses.

UGANDAN CULTURE.

Ugandan Heritage.

Nakayima Tree on Mubende Hill

A four hundred year old tree, near the Kampala-Fort Portal road, is thought to contain the spirit of Ndahura, a medieval Bachwezi king.

The Munsa Earthworks, the remains of an elaborate fortification and Ntusi, a large settlement from the 15th century are other Bachwezi sites deeper in the interior.

Nakayima Shrine.

The shrine is found in Mubende. This is ancient witch tree, the base of which has a large buttress roots, it is sited on top of Mubende hills about 4km out of the town. This is a 2.13m hill with a flat table top where the ancient palace once stood provides an excellent view of Mubende town and the surrounding area. The tree is estimated about 400-500 years and it serves as a shrine of the spirits of Nakayima the first wife of the Bachwezi King Ndahura. The shrine is visited by people playing homage to Nakayima or Bachwezi a dynasty said to have supernatural powers. Â The tree is believed to be the spiritual home for the Bachwezi goddess respected by both the Baganda and the Banyoro.

Met Owobusobozi Bisaka:  The self-styled god in Bunyoro region.

A few hours’ drive from Kibaale town, on top of Kapyemi Hill stands a white and orange storey building. As one approaches it, the visitor is met by a wooden gate that opens to a lash green compound. To the right are two rows of classroom blocks and to the left a ranch and banana plantation.

The smell from the ranch pierces your nostrils but is quickly overcome by the sweet scent from the freshly pruned flowers as one approaches the house. A group of people, in tens, seek refuge from the burning sun; some on the verandah and tree shades.

Welcome to the residence of one of Kibaale’s most powerful and influential characters, Ow’obusobozi Bisaka, a self-professed god. Bisaka does not only run a secondary school at his home but hosts hundreds of visitors daily, who come to seek prophecy, healings and bring various prayer request.