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Capital and largest city of Uganda · Central Region

Kampala

Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda.

Kampala
Kampala · Museruka Emmanuel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The place

Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,797,722 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, and Rubaga.

Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What is there

Worth seeing in and around Kampala

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

  1. 01
    Kasubi Tombs

    The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, is the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas and other members of the Baganda royal family. As a result, the site remains an important spiritual and political site for the Ganda people, as well as an important example of traditional architecture.

    3.5 km · Grass thatched round house containing the tombs and insignia of Mutesa I, and three northern subsequent rulers of Buganda · Wikipedia
  2. 02
    Makerere University

    Makerere University is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in 1970.

    2.8 km · public university in Kampala, Uganda · Wikipedia
  3. 03
    Mandela National Stadium

    Mandela National Stadium, also known as Namboole Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Uganda. It is named after the former South African President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela.

    9.4 km · multi-purpose stadium in Kampala, Uganda · Wikipedia
  4. 04
    Kampala Mosque

    The Uganda National Mosque, previously known as the Gaddafi National Mosque, is a mosque located at Kampala Hill in the Old Kampala area of Kampala, Uganda. It is the largest mosque in East Africa in a country where, as of 2014, 13.7% of the population was Muslim.

    6 km · mosque in Uganda · Wikipedia
  5. 05
    Nakivubo Stadium

    Hamz Stadium, Nakivubo War Memorial Grounds, formerly referred to as Nakivubo Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kampala, Uganda. The Hamz Stadium is used mostly for association football and also sometimes for basketball.

    900 m · stadium in Uganda · Wikipedia
  6. 06
    Kyambogo University

    Kyambogo University is a public university in Uganda. It is one of the largest universities in Uganda, and is among the eight public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country.

    6.8 km · public university in Uganda · Wikipedia
  7. 07
    Uganda Museum

    The Uganda Museum is located in Kampala, Uganda. It displays and exhibits ethnological, natural-historical and traditional life collections of Uganda's cultural heritage.

    2.5 km · museum in Kampala, Uganda · Wikipedia
  8. 08
    Lugogo Cricket Oval

    Lugogo Stadium, also known as Lugogo Cricket Oval, is a cricket ground in Kampala, Uganda. The first recorded match held on the ground came in 1957 when Kenya Asians played Sunder Cricket Club.

    2.9 km · cricket ground in Kampala, Uganda · Wikipedia
  9. 09
    National Library of Uganda

    The National Library of Uganda was established by an Act of Parliament in 2003, replacing the Public Libraries Board which was established in 1964. It is the legal deposit library for Uganda and was under the directorship of Gertrude Kayaga Mulindwa.

    1.2 km · national library · Wikipedia
  10. 10
    Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine

    The Munyonyo Martyrs’ Shrine is a Roman Catholic shrine and Minor Basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs.

    9.4 km · Roman Catholic shrine and minor basilica in Uganda · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

See

What Wikivoyage says to see

  1. 01
    National Theatre
  2. 02
    Nommo Gallery

    Victoria Ave (next to State Lodge, 400m north-northwest from Sheraton Hotel), culture@uncc.co.ug.

  3. 03
    Uganda Museum
  4. 04
    Uganda National Mosque
  5. 05
    Bahai Temple
  6. 06
    Kasubi

From Wikivoyage: Kampala, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Do

Things to do

Boda boda tour around town. Get a feel for the different parts of the city and see lots of stuff in little time: Like the docks, beaches and fish markets at Ggaba or Port Bell, all the wonderful hills providing great views and nice buildings on top, and the extreme contrasts between different neighbourhoods.

  1. 01
    Speke Resort Munyonyo
  2. 02
    Ndrere Centre

    Dinners and performances (tribal dance) by the Ndere Troupe.

  3. 03
    Ggaba Beach and KK Beach

    At KK Beach, live music, drinks, food, huts, sunset views, security.

  4. 04
    One Love Beach

    Maybe you'll be able to see Bulingugwe Island.

  5. 05
    Latembe Beach

    Beach and pool and boat rides out on the lake available.

From Wikivoyage: Kampala, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Eat

Where to eat

There are a number of dining options in Kampala ranging from the cheap and local to the very fancy (and very expensive). Everywhere you go you'll see signs for little hole-in-the-wall restaurants (including some called "pork joints"). Most of these places don't have menus, so you'll have to ask what's available. Common options include meat (usually beef), rice, beans, Matoke (steamed green bananas, served mashed).

From Wikivoyage: Kampala, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Go there

Getting to Kampala

Airports
Entebbe (EBB), 34 km · Kisumu (KIS), 243 km · Eldoret (EDL), 296 km
Stations
Kampala Airport, 1.9 km
  • Kisumu → Kampala
    247 km · quickest by road, 5h 28m · KSh1,550–2,070
    GuideToday
  • Eldoret → Kampala
    300 km · quickest by road, 6h 9m · KSh1,610–2,150
    GuideToday
  • Mwanza → Kampala
    317 km · quickest by air, 8h 2m · TSh212,510–327,670
    GuideToday
  • From anywhere
    The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
    Plan a trip

Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

Not yet researched

No local-transport research exists yet for Kampala

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Kampala. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

What Wikivoyage says about moving around
  • Get inBy Rideshare (Uber/Faras/ Bolt) - at least 80,000 UGX, depending on your accommodation By Boda-Boda/shared taxi (matatu) - around 7000 UGX.
  • Get inIn the city, take a Matatu to Kampala for around 3500.
  • Get aroundThere are three methods of public transport: boda-bodas, matatu and special hires.
  • Get aroundThe fastest and most dangerous method is the boda-boda.
  • Get aroundBoda-bodas are dangerous however, as the drivers will do whatever it takes to get you to your destination quickly.

From Wikivoyage: Kampala, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.

The nearest places where the work is done
  1. 01
    EntebbeUG

    9 ways of moving, 37 sources

    32 km
  2. 02
    Ssese IslandsUG

    11 ways of moving, 14 sources

    91 km
  3. 03
    Bwindi Impenetrable National ParkUG

    8 ways of moving, 27 sources

    353 km
  4. 04
    Diani BeachKE

    9 ways of moving, 13 sources

    932 km
  5. 05
    LamuKE

    9 ways of moving, 27 sources

    970 km

If you know how people move in Kampala – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.

Around it

Next door to Kampala

Kampala is 7 km from Bunamwaya, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.

The place page for KampalaAll the notesEvery note on Uganda