Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes and the second largest fresh water lake by surface following North America’s Lake Superior in Canada. It is also the largest tropical lake in the world and covers a surface area of approximately 59,947 km². This lake is considered a shallow lake because of its large geographic area with a maximum depth of roughly 80-81metres with the deepest part of the lake near Kenya.

Lake Victoria obtains 80% of its water from direct rainfall and the rest from rivers such as river Kagera, which is the largest flowing river into this lake and other small streams. Despite having many tributaries, Lake Victoria has only one distributary, River Nile which exists the lake at Jinja, Uganda making Lake Victoria the source of the great Nile River.

Where is lake Victoria found

Lake Victoria is shared between 3 countries that is; Tanzania taking up 49%, Uganda taking up 45% and Kenya taking up 6%. It is home to more than 200 fish species such as the cichlids, Nile perch, among others.

Other than aquatic life, more than 30 million people in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya rely on Lake Victoria’s natural resources through activities such as fishing. These people also benefit from it through the Lamadi water scheme, a project that provides safe drinking water and improved sanitation for about one million people living around the lake. The out flow of Lake Victoria, the Nile River in Uganda has the Kiira Hydroelectric power station which distributes hydroelectricity to all the East African countries.

This lake though having multiple local language names such as Nyanza in Kinyarwanda and Nnalubaale in Luganda was named Victoria after Queen Victoria by a British explorer, John Hanning Speke in 1852.

This awe-inspiring body continues to attract travelers from all over the world all year round to enjoy its beautiful beaches, and the different islands on the lake which are perfect places for those interested in beach life.

Formation of Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria was formed as a result of down warping. This is the large-scale deformation of the surface of the earth which involves a combination of down warping and drainage reversal. The effects of tectonic movements in Uganda reversed rivers formerly flowing in a certain direction such as river Katonga and river Kagera to flow in the opposite direction by uplifting the eastern shoulders of the west rift valley hence its water flowed back filling up the down warped basin.

Other lakes formed by this process include Lake Kyoga, Lake Mburo, Lake Kachira, Lake Kijanebalola, and Lake Nakivale among others.

Activities to do around Lake Victoria

There are a variety of activities travelers can take part in on their visit to Lake Victoria such as;

Boat Cruise

This is one of the activities a traveler must not miss on their visit to Lake Victoria. This boat cruise takes place at any time of the day and during this trip you will enjoy the beautiful breeze from the water, the magnificent view of the landscape and islands. You will also spot numerous aquatic animals and birds.

Shoebill stork visit

On your visit to Lake Victoria on the Uganda side, take a boat ride to the Mabamba swamp located 12km away from the shores of Lake Victoria west of Entebbe. This swamp is home to over 300 bird species making it one of the best birding sites in Uganda especially for Africa’s most sought-after bird, the rare shoebill stork.

Visit to the Ngamba Island

Ngamba Island located 23 kilometers south-east of Entebbe is an island on Lake Victoria dedicated for caring for orphaned eastern chimpanzees rescued from all over East Africa. Ngamba Island is open for visits by travelers throughout the year for both viewing as well as feeding the chimpanzees.

Equator visit on Lake Victoria

Take an hour boat ride from Entebbe, Nakiwogo landing site to Lwaji Island in the middle of Lake Victoria where you will come across the Equator crossing point on Lake Victoria. This is one of the three equator crossing points in Uganda with the other two being Kayabwe in Masaka and Queen Elizabeth national park. During this boat ride to the Equator rock, a variety of bird species such as the kingfisher, pelican, grey headed gull and yellow bill among others can be spotted. Mammals such as otter and monitor lizards can also be seen.

Exploring the different islands on Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria has a number of islands that can be accessed by boat. These include Uganda’s Ssese islands. These are a total of 84 islands with the largest ones being Bugala, Banda and Bukasa islands. These islands are renowned for having beautiful beaches, resorts and lush vegetation. Tourists visit these islands for relaxation, wildlife encounters, fishing and water sports. Other islands on Lake Victoria include Kenya’s Rusinga Island which is renowned for its scenic beauty, archaeological significance and cultural heritage and Tanzania’s Rubondo Island which is the largest and most biologically diverse island in Tanzania. This island is also a national park harboring a variety of bird species, elephants, hippos and chimpanzees.

Visit to Uganda Wildlife Education Centre

Located at the shores of Lake Victoria is a rehabilitation center for wildlife rescued from the different parts of Uganda such as the national parks. This place is mostly for education purposes since animals here are not in their natural habitat though can be visited by travelers throughout the year. Here you will see a variety of wildlife such as zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and crocodiles, birds such as crested cranes, peacocks and primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, baboons, and chimpanzees among others.

Visit to the Entebbe Botanical Gardens

Entebbe botanical gardens is an agricultural research Centre located on the shores of Lake Victoria covering an area of about 1.5km. These gardens were established for the purpose of receiving and assembling economically important agricultural products such as coffee, cotton, tea, among others. Since it is home to over 500 plants species both exotic and indigenous, expect to come across numerous plants species as well as some primates such as the black and white colobus monkeys and many butterfly species on a visit to these gardens.

Best time to visit Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria in Uganda can be visited throughout the year for all the different activities however the best time to visit Lake Victoria is during the dry season. This is because during these months the weather is pleasant and the skies are clear. This dry season runs from the month of June to August and December to February.

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