The Myths that surround Lake Bunyonyi

The Myths that surround Lake Bunyonyi

The Myths that surround Lake Bunyonyi

After tracking gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable Park in south western Uganda, head to Lake Bunyonyi for a chance to relax in this peaceful environment and learn about the intriguing mythical truths about this lake. With legendary undulating hills that seem to go on forever and the abundance of green tiny islands, Lake Bunyonyi offers some of the most unique scenes in Africa.

The lake covers an area of 61sq/km and was created by a volcanic eruption that blocked a river exit some 10,000 years ago. Lake Bunyonyi is believed to be the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake Tanganyika, going down as far as 900m. It sits at about 1950m in the shadow of Virunga Volcanoes Muhavura and Sabinyo, and it's slightly cooler than the rest of the country providing a welcome refuge in Uganda, a country that never experiences winter.

The lake has 29 islands although the most popular include: Punishment Island (Akampene), Bushara Island, Kyahugye Island, Bucuranuka (Upside Down) island, and Sharp's Island (Bwama and Njuyeera). The Punishment Island is where the Bakiga used to leave unmarried pregnant girls to die of hunger or while swimming to the mainland. This was to educate the rest, to avoid doing the same.

Bushara Island is the home to an organisation called Lake Bunyonyi Development Company which has strong links to Church of Uganda. They use tourism to generate funds for several development projects around Bunyonyi. Kyahugye Island is 30ha in size and is only a 5minute boat ride to the mainland.

Sharp's Island (Bwama and Njuyeera) is where an English missionary called Dr Leonard Sharp established a leprosy treatment centre on the then uninhabited Bwama island while he lived on Njuyeera Island. The buildings of the hospital are now used by a boarding secondary school which attracts students from the entire region. There is also a primary school but no village on the island.

Bucuranuka Island (Upside Down) is believed to have turned upside down after the villagers occupying it denied an old woman local beer and told her to get lost. She asked for somebody to take her to the mainland and when she reached the shore, the island turned upside down leaving all dead, only a chicken flew away and survived.

Lake Bunyonyi is a popular Uganda safari destination for watersports and is known for the surrounding terraced hillsides. It is popular with both foreign and domestic tourists and there are a wide variety of tourist accommodations that offer various activities for your trip.

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