Page 41 - July - Sept 2022 Edition

EXPLORE UGANDA

Next time you cross the Equator
on Masaka Road, swing by
for a cup of coffee or
tea and get a complimentary
Equator Chocolate

www.aliuganda.com • www.chocolate.ug
AidChild: 0777-445810 • Equator Chocolate: 0783-104217

EQUATOR
Where hemispheres meet! Here in Uganda, the equator also crosses the
Mbarara-Kasese Road, and a tiny, uninhabited
There are only 13 countries in the world island in Lake Victoria.
where you can take a photo of yourself in To plan your own equator visit on Masaka
the southern hemisphere AND in the northern Road, check out aidchild.org/equator, or the
hemisphere at the same time. One of these hashtags #UgandaEquator and #EquatorLine.
great photo ops is right here in Uganda--just 70
kilometers (43 miles) from the edge of AIDCHILD EQUATOR SHOP
Kampala--on your way to Lake Mburo and A few steps north of the equator line on
Queen Elizabeth national parks, and on your Masaka Road. +256 777 445810.
way to visit our beloved gorillas, Rwanda, info@aidchild.org. www.aidchild.org/equator
Congo, and all-things-west. @AidChildEquator (f). @AidChild (t).
@ali.uganda (i)
At the roadside line-marker, you can position (SEE OUR ADVERT ABOVE)
one foot in the south, and the other foot next
to it--in the north--and suddenly you're the
center of the world (or at least you're standing NATIONAL PARKS
on it). BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL
In 2002, AidChild (an NGO) received a grant PARK
from USAID, and brought water and elec- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park lies in
tricity to the equator-village while creating southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift
the first coffee shop and art gallery at the Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed
equator-crossing, spawning an arts and crafts by one of Uganda’s oldest and most
destination. biologically diverse rainforests, which dates
Twenty years later, AidChild still has a shop back over 25,000 years and contains almost
here (including a garden cafe', and a plas- 400 species of plants. More famously, this
tics-recycling-collection point), just a few steps “impenetrable forest” also protects an
north of the line, donating all its proceeds to estimated 400 mountain gorillas – roughly half
scholarships for students living with HIV. of the world’s population, including several
habituated groups, which can be tracked.
There is also a unique demonstration point www.ugandawildlife.org
where you can see how water swirls-and-drains
differently in each hemisphere, making it a ACCOMMODATION: WHERE TO STAY
quick-pic-stop, or a fun and educational, BUHOMA SECTOR
shopping day-trip from the city. BUHOMA COMMUNITY REST CAMP
+256 312 100060 / +256 772 384965.
Where else can you have one foot in buhomacomunity@gmail.com.
winter, and another foot in summer? The 12 www.buhomacommunityug.com.
other equatorial countries are: Colombia, BWINDI GUEST HOUSE
Ecuador, Brazil, Sao Tome and Principe, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Gabon, Republic of the Congo, +256 780 314560. @Bwindi Guest House (f)
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, managerguesthouse2@gmail.com.
Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, and Kiribati www.bwindiguesthouse.com.

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