Eastern Uganda is widely known as the adventurous region of not only Uganda but East Africa at large. When you think of water rafting, zip-lining, horse riding, quad biking or bungee jumping, think of the Eastern part of the Pearl of Africa.
The Basoga whose society is also rooted in kingly rule, occupy much of the region. But further east and north east, the Bagisu and Itesot are predominant. Other smaller ethnic people are interspaced in the region. But while Basoga and Bagisu are mostly farmers, the rest have a strong affinity to cattle rearing.
The region takes up the wide plain that gently slopes down from the Elgon Mountain in the far east down to the surroundings of Kampala. It was the main trade route from the East African coast since the colonial era, consequently, the industrial region at that time.
The demand for animal curios, especially ivory, decimated much of the wildlife in the region while herds retreated to safer areas, like the slopes of Mountain Elgon, smaller animals sought the protection of the forests. These included monkeys and baboons.
Along the highway to Kenya, it’s common to see baboons scavenging for food. Like the Central region, the East is not bountiful in terms of wildlife. However, attractions like the source of the Nile, the Sipi falls, the Sigulu Rocks, the Nyero Rocks, the Elgon area and of course the attractions along famous River Nile are not unique to this part of Uganda.
It’s also from this region where Uganda boasts of legendary sportsmen and sportswomen including Stephen Kiprotich who is a Gold medalist in both London Summer Olympics (London 2012) and World Championships (Russia 2013) Men’s’ Marathon.
