Page 61 - October - December 2022 Edition

become a successful heritage city where the
conservation of the rich historical past goes
hand in hand with the developments to
become a prominent city in future with all the
economical benefits which come with it. It
however needs a continuous developing of a
culture that recognizes, appreciates, maintains
and improves the status of Jinja’s iconic
buildings and sites.

If more visitors come to Jinja purposely for seeing
its heritage sites, it will show and convince
residents and local government that historical
Jinja heritage is appreciated and of value to the
country. So come visit Jinja and we will guide you
through the British colonial quarter, we will stroll
along the beautiful facades of Main Street and
Historical buildings Jinja source - Luuk Eickmans
will visit the hidden gems of Jinja together.
Bikeventures offers bicycle tours and walking
tours which bring you back to these days of
grandeur. The tours will give you great stories and
historical facts, and we will show you photos of
these hidden gems in their heyday. You will find
out that Jinja is a very Instagrammable place!
The Historical Jinja Bicycle and Walking Tours are
Old Railway Bridge source - Bikeventures
Historical buildings Jinja source - Luuk Eickmans offered daily by Bikeventure
(+256.778.366.007).
ARTICLE BY LUUK EICKMANS & IMAGES BY LUUK EICKMANS / BIKEVENTURES
Jinja resident, promoter of Jinja heritage and director of Cycling out people today in Jinja have forgotten about For more guided bicycle tours, visit https://www.-
of Poverty Foundation and Bikeventures Bicycle Tours and Rentals. Amber Court. Likewise, to the Ripon Falls Hotel. bikeventures.org, because Bikeventures does
This grandeur hotel was built in 1950 but has now not only offer Jinja City tours. It also does various
Jinja is East-Africa’s Capital of Adrenaline. But Jinja however has another underexposed attraction: its turned into a shabby building but with many bicycle tours to the Source of the Nile, single
rich and unique heritage. Its history, its architecture, its palm trees waving in the lake breeze and its stories to tell. Amber Court Club and Ripon Falls track mountain bike tours on the banks of the
streets lined with giant Mvule trees make Jinja City a gem well worth visiting. Hotel are actually good examples of the lost river Nile visiting tea estates, pineapple and
glory but are at the same time a symbol of sugar cane plantations, and cycling through
There are many buildings in Jinja with a stunning architecture. But unfortunately, most Jinja residents pay Jinja’s vast heritage potential. But there are also picturesque villages and the Bujagali area. Or for
little attention to the beauty that the city holds and don’t value the heritage value. They rather want to a lot of small things which remind you of Jinja’s instance mountain bike tours through Mabira
see skyscrapers been build, more tarmacked streets and more shopping malls. Over the years I have past: like lamp post designs, mail boxes, and Forest. So don’t hesitate to call Bikeventures for a
seen a lot of buildings with beautiful features reminding us of its history being torn down and replaced markings on buildings. splendid day out in Jinja.
by new, modern and standardized and - honestly - boring buildings. And even though I do understand
the ambition of the youth to develop a prominent city, it has become my personal goal to encourage Luckily the Uganda Tourism Board-UTB have said And by taking a bicycle or walking tour with
fellow residents and visitors to embrace Jinja’s beauty and history and appreciate and conserve its rich they are shifting their focus that was hugely Bikeventures, you are supporting students, health
heritage before it is too late. I want to show that conserving a rich heritage past can go hand on hand based on marketing Uganda’s landscape and workers and entrepreneurs with bicycles.
with developing a prominent, modern city. wildlife to architectural tourism. Hopefully this will Because all proceeds of Bikeventures are
add to attracting more visitors to Jinja to visit its donated to Cycling out of Poverty Foundation
Together with a befriended Historical Jinja fan, Tim Sliedrecht, I started the Historical Jinja Facebook historical monuments and architecture. This Uganda to support Jinja residents with bicycles.
Group. This page is about collaboratively sharing, exploring, learning from, celebrating, and preserving mind shift has already put some buildings under Find out more about these bicycle projects at
the history of Jinja and its historical sites still standing today. Everyone is free to contribute their photos, protection as part of Jinja’s heritage sites. Like the our office in Jinja.
memories, stories, experiences, insights, and discoveries in relation to Jinja's rich past. I also developed iconic post office which was founded in 1906
the Jinja Historical Bicycle & Walking Tour with Bikeventures Tours and Rentals, geared towards exposing and is the oldest post office that is still operation-
the stories behind some of the most iconic features of the city. al in Uganda. Also, the Madhvani House, the first
double storied building in Jinja has been well
Take for instance Amber Court Club. From the early 50s to the late 70s it was the place to be. One of Idi restored in its former glory and received a
Amin's most popular hangouts in Jinja and it once hosted Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Jinja in National Heritage Award for protecting this
1954 to commission the Owen Falls Dam. Amber Court Club was also home to Jinja's first public building. With the opening of the Uganda
swimming pool. Nowadays the pool with diving board only fills up when it rains, the snooker tables are Railway Museum at the Jinja Railway station in
left abandoned, but when you walk around the Club you can still feel the splendor it once had. Many 2022, Jinja has again taken another step to Madhvani Building source - Bikeventures

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