Things to Do in Kampala in December

A day trip to Jinja puts you at the Nile's first gasp. You stand on grass where the river, milky-tea brown, slips out of Lake Victoria and starts the 6 650 km haul north. The two-hour drive east rolls past sugarcane, red villages, and the scent of woodsmoke.

This private safari hauls you into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, altitude 1 500 m, mist in the bamboo. You hear your boots crush leaf litter, distant chimps scream, then the soft grunt of a gorilla family tearing vines an arm's length away.

Murchison Falls National Park squeezes the entire Nile through a seven-metre cleft. The roar rattles ribs and throws mist into your hair. Game drives across golden plains deliver elephants, giraffes, and the dry smell of savanna dust.

Roll up your sleeves: this cooking class happens in a home kitchen, not a showroom. You char green bananas over charcoal for matoke, stir groundnut sauce until it smells like peanut butter soup, and flip chapati until the edges blister.

A walking tour stitches together Kampala's seven hills. You'll see the Bahá'í Temple's white dome float above gardens, dodge motorbikes outside Owino Market, and step into the hush of Rubaga Cathedral while guides spin tales of Baganda kings and British rail builders.

Five days, three parks, one suitcase. Track chimps in steamy Kibale, swap to Bwindi for gorillas, then cruise the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park as elephants swim and fish eagles screech overhead.