What Is The Largest Lake In Uganda? Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Uganda, which covers a total surface area of about 69,484 square kilometers. In addition, this lake is commonly referred to as Victoria Nyanza and it crosses over in other countries like; Tanzania and Kenya. John Hanning Speke named this lake after Queen Victoria and it is famously known to be the source of the Nile, which is the largest river in Uganda. more so, Lake Victoria is considered to be part of the Uganda adventure and a home to many wildlife species due to the fact it supports a plethora of wildlife hence being a home to many mammal species such as; the marsh mongoose, hippopotamus, the giant otter shrew and also reptile species like; the African helmed turtle, Nile crocodiles. More so, Lake Victoria is also a good place to fishing because it consists around 200 fish species and also a home to various invasive species such as; the notorious Nile perch however, it is noted that there is a huge decrease in the number of fish species because before this lake happened to have decomposed, and threatened by the water pollution, other activities like over fishing and water hyacinth invasion hence reducing the oxygen levels in the deep waters and this led to force large numbers of fish species to move into shallow sections of the lake.
Activities to do while at Lake Victoria.
Is it okay for people to Swim in Lake Victoria?
Most of the tourists most especially the water lovers and those who have some good swimming skills are always wondering whether it is safe to swim in Lake Victoria. It is noted that a population of around 5,000 people have died from Lake Victoria while swimming and the drowning scenes happen so often on a daily basis, which therefore makes it not be a safe place to swim from. More so, individuals swimming from this lake maybe at a high risk of contracting diseases like; bilharzia (schistosomiasis) which is known to be a tropical disease that can be caused by parasitic flatworms. Therefore, tourists should know that it is only safe for them to swim around the designated areas of Lake Victoria.
Visit the Ngamba Island.
Tourists exploring around Lake Victoria can opt to visit the Ngamba Island in their own free time. Ngamba Island is considered one of the most popular islands on this lake, which is, located about 27 kilometers from the southeast side of Entebbe. More so, this island is famously known to be a chimpanzee sanctuary and a home to over 50 orphaned chimpanzees that tourists can always see. This chimpanzee sanctuary is a being managed by the NGO, the chimpanzee trust who have a major role of protecting all the chimpanzees. Therefore, tourists can opt whether to spend half or full day trip around this sanctuary and later they can choose to have their stay at Ngamba Eco lodge where they can rest after a long day.
Visit the Mabamba Swamp.
Tourists can also take a tour through the Mabamba swamp, which is located in the northern shore of lake Victoria, and it is considered to be among the top wetlands in the country, which are ranked to be the best birding sites. Mabamba is a home to over 300 bird species therefore, tourists moving around this swam get a chance to see at many birds like; lesser jacana, orange weaver, papyrus gonolek, black crake, black egret, goliath heron, black-faced rufous warbler, the rare shoebills stork, and many others hence giving them the best birding experience. More so, while visiting at the Mabamba swamp, tourists can also get chances to climb on a traditional canoe whereby the tour guide leads them through different paths.
Apart from the above mentioned activities that tourists can do while exploring around Lake Victoria such as; visiting the Uganda wildlife Education centre and get to visit the Entebbe Zoo which serves as a wildlife sanctuary to those animals that are unable to survive in the wild such as; one will able to spot animals like lions as they are always moving around patrolling their territory, chimpanzees among others, touring around the Ssese islands that are located in the north west side of Lake Victoria and other islands like; Banda island, Bugala island and many others.
Where to stay at Lake Victoria.
For tourists who spend most time of their day touring around Lake Victoria can also choose to have their stay around the lake due to the fact that there are so many accommodation facilities around the area such as; Lake Victoria hotel, protea hotel, Victoria forest resort, Mabamba lodge, mirembe resort beach hotel and many others.
Contact our trusted tour operators in case of more information about lake Victoria as the largest 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.
