The islands occupy the northwestern corner of
The islands lie in two main groups. The south west can be referred to as the Bugala Group, after
Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of Ssese, but some oral traditions associated with the creation of Buganda claim its founder Kintu hailed from the islands, or at least arrived in Buganda via them. The Baganda revere Ssese as the Islands of the Gods. In pre-colonial times it was customary for the Kings of Buganda to visit the islands and pay tribute to the several balubaale whose main shrines are situated there. These include shrines to Musisi (spirit of earthquakes) and Wanema (physical handicaps) on Bukasa Island, as well as the shrine of Mukasa (spirit of the lake), on Bubembe.[1]
The Ssese Islands are inhabited by the
Henry Morton Stanley described the inhabitants as "the principal canoe builders and the greater number of the sailors of Mtesa's empire."[3]: 168
The most popular route that the islands can be accessed from is through Nakiwogo near Entebbe by MV Kalangala as the main gateway to the archipelagos. Transfer between Nakiwogo and Bugala Island is usually 3½ hours.
From Bukakata: From the western part of Uganda, a free car ferry links Bukakata mainland located 36 km east of Masaka with Luku on Bugala Islands about 50 minutes sailing. The ferry sails either directions every few hours from early morning to late afternoon. The morning trips on Sunday are not available.
From Kasenyi landing site: To get to Banda Island, there are small wooden boats departing from Kasenyi, a fishing village 7 km off Entebbe-Kampala road; turn off is 5 km outside Entebbe.
On Bugala island there are shared taxis that run from Kalangala to Luku.
The principal
BIDCO, a private palm oil processor based in Jinja District, on the mainland, owns a 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) palm oil plantation on the islands. In addition, outgrower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor.[5] In 2010, the palm oil plant began generating 1.5MW of electricity through the burning of bagasse and some of the oil. The power supplies the oil processing plant and the excess is sold to Kalangala, the largest town on the islands.[6]
Logging is another economic activity that is practiced on the Ssese Islands.
The islands are also home to a variety of animals including
This has led to the evolution of a nascent but growing tourism industry on the islands. Infrastructure is still rudimentary but is slowly improving.
00°26′00″S 32°15′00″E / 0.43333°S 32.25000°E / -0.43333; 32.25000
•Jay adventures ( +256703636163/ +256785252903)