Rushozi Campground

You’ll probably want to spend all your time outdoors, and the first port of call may well be Lake Mburo National Park (55 minutes’ drive), where you can join game drives to see muddy hippos and stately giraffes, go sport fishing for tilapia and perch, or explore the bush and lakeshore on horseback. And birders keep your binoculars at the ready for sightings of storks, pelicans and crested cranes. Get the lie of the land with a climb up to the three-pillared Biharwe Eclipse Monument (15 minutes), a local landmark celebrating the eclipse of 1520 AD, for views across fertile fields to distant foothills. Head into Mbarara to pick up souvenirs at Safariland Park mall, or visit the Nkokonjeru Tombs (both 35 minutes), where leaders of the former Ankole Kingdom are buried. To learn more about the local area and its tradition of cattle herding, spend time at Igongo Cultural Center (15 minutes), where you can peek inside reconstructed traditional dwellings of the indigenous Ankole people and taste local dishes.