Travel Guide Lac Bunyonyi

Lake Bunyonyi, remarkable for the irregularity of its contours, was created ten thousand years ago when a lava flow formed a natural dam on the Ndego River. It is surrounded by green cultivated hills, some of which offer a panoramic view of Muhavura (4,127 metres) in the background. The total area of the lake is 60 km², but it forms an ecosystem of wetlands and swamps three times as large. Located at an altitude of 1,960 meters, the nights are cool. The lake is said to be the deepest in Uganda and is one of the best sites in Africa for observing otters, especially the spotted neck otter. For obscure scientific reasons, few fish are found in its waters, despite attempts to introduce them in the 1930s. Apart from tilapia, the only species present today would be the African catfish locally called evale; but to the delight of gourmets, the lake also abounds in small crayfish. Birds are numerous with more than two hundred species represented and Bunyonyi means "the place of small birds", probably in reference to the many weaverbirds that nest on its shores. The lake, with its twenty-nine islands, offers a very pleasant stopover on the way to the parks and a peaceful resort for nature lovers. In recent years, campsites and resorts have developed around the village of Rutinda, many of them being invested in solidarity projects.