Visit and Explore the Beauty of lake Bunyonyi; lake Bunyonyi located in the southwestern Conner of the country , in the districts of Kabale, Rubanda and Kisoro next to Uganda Rwanda border. There are three lakes in the area that is lake Mutanda, lake Mulehe and lake Bunyonyi but lake Bunyonyi is the largest and highest in the region of Kigezi highlands that are the part of Nile basin.
Location of lake Bunyonyi; lake is located in the height of 1970metres above sea level, its 25 km long and its 7 km wide most of it its 900m deep , which makes it the deepest lake in Uganda, the second deepest in Africa after lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and its the third after lake Baikal of Russia in the whole world.
Swimming on lake Bunyonyi; lake Bunyonyi stands out among the East African lakes as its free from hippos, bilharzia and crocodiles that make it safe for swimming. Don’t overlook the enchanting of lake Bunyonyi with its array of activities, while you will hear about its depth and geological history nothing to see than its beauty.
Why is it called Bunyonyi; the name Bunyonyi came in after many small birds in the area, the local name for the small birds are called obunyonyi thus the place is having many birds along the shores of the lake and name was Nyanja yo Bunyonyi ( lake of small birds), the lake Bunyonyi also is the home to over 200 bird species most especially the small birds like black headed weavers, bulbul, robin chat, pin tailed whydah, pied kingfisher, firefinch, swamp flycatcher, sun birds, pied wagtail, great cormorant among others.
Island of lake Bunyonyi ; the lake is having up to 29 islands with the more popular and visited island , the most visited island on lake Bunyonyi is the Akampene island / punishment island. This island is the smallest island on lake Bunyonyi and it has a lot of historical back ground that the Bakiga tribe whom the tribe in the area tend to dump young pregnant unmarried girls to die from their but some men and boys whom not managed to pay for dowry pick them and marry them for free of charge , that why they change their minds to take them to river Rwizzi where also dead from there many interesting story of Bunyonyi islands.
Akampene island is the smallest island and Bwama island is the largest island on lake Bunyonyi. This island is known for leprosy treatment sanctuary and people visit the island to see the remains of the leprosy hospital. In the year of 1920s and 1930s a Scottish missionary set up the leprosy treatment Centre on this island to treat the people with the leprosy away from the stigma of the non-suffered ones , that is why is called the sanctuary. Though the treatment Centre is no longer existence the facilities are still there and a used as school facilities.
Hiking to the tor of highlands; hiking to the top highlands surroundings lake Bunyonyi is very exciting and giving/ rewarding access of incredible / clear view of the lake Bunyonyi , trek passes through the local community and terraces which gives you a chance to meet and learn about the people of Kigezi whom are welcoming people in their nature Mirama Hills Safaris are very grade to take you all around the pearl of Africa to such places.
