Day Trips around Kisoro

trying the local beer, originally uploaded by circusgirl327.

Kisoro sits at the foot of Maghahinga National Park, famous for its family of mountain gorillas and beautiful volcanoes that make the border between Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. Every morning on our walk to the hospital, we marvel at the three volcanic peaks that define the Kisoro skyline. On our first day off after two weeks in the hospital, we ventured into the national park. The family of gorillas had already crossed into Rwanda so the Uganda portion of the park was no longer offering gorilla trekking. We decided to defer climbing the tallest peak until we could adjust further to the altitude and tackled the smallest of the three. It was a great hike through bamboo forests and lush green forest with opportunities for bird watching and monkey spotting – neither of which were successful. But it was a great day overall.

Our next field trip was a trip to Lake Matonda, a beautiful lake about an hour walk from the hospital. We hired a local guide who took us through quaint villages to an exquisite lake. From there we boarded canoes to a little island in the middle, home to the most magnificent storks. These birds are indigenous to Uganda and are famous for their monogamous nature – Uganda uses them in their campaign for HIV prevention to encourage people to be faithful! We had a nice picnic on the lake and them headed home, first visiting a very local bar and trying the local brew – banana beer.