Things to do
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Entebbe Botanical Gardens
Laid out in 1898 on the lake shore, mature rainforest, palms and cut lawns run down to the water, with black and white colobus and vervet monkeys in the canopy. Birdlife is strong along the shoreline path. The gardens work well as a first or last stop near the airport, and guides wait at the gate.
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Gaddafi National Mosque
Completed with Libyan funding and now the seat of the Ugandan Muslim Supreme Council, this hilltop mosque opens to visitors with a guide and a climb up the minaret for the widest view over the city. Modest dress is required and wraps are lent at the door. Prayer times close the hall to tours.
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Kasubi Tombs
Four kabakas of Buganda lie under a vast thatched dome on Kasubi hill, a royal burial site and working shrine rebuilt after a fire in 2010. Reed screens, bark cloth and spear stands fill the interior. Shoes come off at the threshold and women are given a wrap, and a guide explains the clan structure.
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Ndere Cultural Centre
Troupes from across Uganda dance and drum through long evening programmes in a garden amphitheatre north of the centre, with pieces drawn from Buganda, Acholi and Karamojong traditions. Shows run on set evenings and dinner is served alongside. Performances last several hours, and a taxi back into town is worth arranging first.
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Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Orphaned chimpanzees live on a forested island in Lake Victoria, reached by boat from Entebbe, where visitors watch the feeding platforms from a raised walkway. Half day and full day trips run, with tents for those who stay over. Rescued animals cannot be touched, and the crossing takes about an hour by speedboat.
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Owino Market
Formally the St Balikuddembe market, a dense warren of stalls near the old taxi park sells secondhand clothing, produce, hardware and street food across narrow lanes. Navigation is difficult without a guide, and the lanes are packed by late morning. Phones and bags are best kept out of sight.
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Uganda Museum
Founded in 1908, the oldest museum in East Africa keeps ethnographic collections, archaeology and a courtyard of traditional instruments that visitors are allowed to play. Displays are dated in places, which is part of its character. An hour or so covers it, and the grounds hold reconstructions of homesteads from several regions.