Lake Victoria Tours – Visit Hamuyebe Village on Ukerewe Island

Visit Hamuyebe village to catch the sunset while you are resting on high and plain rocks. Also From the rocks you will view the scenery of the village, enjoy the greenish vegetation around it, and the beauty of other smaller islands on Lake Victoria. While in there, meet the locals who always desire to see tourists in the place. They become very happy for visitors who catch the sunset from there.

This place is also much known in Ukerewe Island for being the first place for the Missionaries to arrive and make their first settlement in 1885. As you catch the sunset, learn about the problems faced them in their Christianity establishment. Around 27 Christians including some of the Missionaries were killed after Chief Lukonge of Ukerewe by the time ordered his army to kill them .In the place is a cross planted by the Ukerewe Roman Catholic Church to mark 100 yeas of Christianity in Ukerewe Island. This was done in 1995.

It will take you about 30 minutes to get to the Hamuyebe village by bicycle. The best time to start this tour is at 4 pm till 6 pm. Remember to get back to your hotel before the darkness.

Rutare Hill Tour – Ukerewe Island

Rutare hill is located in western part of Ukerewe Island. This is the highest hill on the Island with lush green plantation around all parts, it is close to Lake Victoria, and it is safe to climb.

Bike to Rutare village with the hill for about an hour from your hotel in Nansio-Ukerewe. Once in the village, get off your bike and allow guys to push your bike with them to the top of the hill while you are walking up to the top too. Climb to the top for about 12 minutes with some stops to rest, and take pictures of the scenery of Ukerewe including green villages, smaller islands on Lake Victoria and fishing boats in the distance.

We stay on the hill as long as you like then take a different route biking back to your hotel for your lunch or for your dinner. Go on the tour in the morning at 8 pm till 12 pm or in the afternoon at 2 pm until 6 pm.

Visit to Local Family – Ukerewe Island

Visit to local family on Lake Victoria offers a chance to you to understand the general system of the family’s life. You will discover the daily activities by the family and their family work division. Get to know about the administration system of the clan of kerewe people who speak kikerewe as their tribal language. Learn about a way that the Ukerewe people conduct their marriage and this will let you know the special animals slaughtered for the wedding ceremony.

You are welcome to take part in the family cooking activities and have lunch with the them. This exprience makes you understand the cooking way by kerewe people, and this will be a great chance for you to notice the chief foods for the family, and for the kerewe people in general.

Start the tour of the local family in village at 3 am – 2 pm or visit them in the afternoon from 2 pm until 6 pm, but also you can stay there overnight if you wish to.

Bike Tour of Halwego Village With the View Points

Have a bike tour of Halwego village with the view points. These are the view points where you can overview Ukerewe Island. There are 3 view points and there is the highest one among of them. All of f them are found in the same area.

There is cave that was used to hide during the ethnic wars. Also the place is used for story telling.

Be happy for the greenish vegetations that you will be watching during your biking to and from the village with the view points. You will go past different villages, and you are advised to change the way back to your hotel. This gives you more experience of your Ukerewe visit that you will not forget in your tour life.

The best time to go on the tour is at 8 am and get back to your hotel before 1 pm for your lunch. Or start the tour at 1pm and come back to your hotel before it gets dark.

Bike Tour to Chief’s Palace Village

Bike to Bukindo village with the chief’s palace. The palace has got its unique history in the island. The palace was built during the colonialism in Tanganyika (Tanzania). The construction exercise was under an engineer called Tanel from Italy who was employed by the Chief to build it. In the palace are traditional drums used as means of communication between the Chief and his community. The drums are more than 100 years old.

Also In the Chief’s place is the first mango tree to be planted in Ukerewe Island, and is more than 100 years old too.

On your way to the village with the palace, cycle by some other villages where you will discover many about the island. From the Chief’s family back to your hotel, you will be biking on a different way to explore more beauty of the island.

Visit Traditional Healer on Ukerewe Island by Bike

Most people here believe in traditional healers as the ones who can treat their sickness such as a headache, leg ache, mental problem, stomachaches, and other personal sickness. These healers also show their healing ability by making the devils go away from one’s body.

Also it is said that some healer help some people get rich or get promoted at their work, so many people go and see the healers for the richness and work promotion.

Do a bike tour and visit the healer in a village and discover more about this. The healer is open to tell you every thing about how they run their services for their patients. Also this will be good chance for you to meet some patients who will be getting treatment from the healer, have some chat with them about their problems and about their treatment over there.

Visit traditional healer on Ukerewe Island in the morning at 9 am till 12 pm, or go on the tour in the early evening at 4 pm until 6 pm.

Visit Local Farmers on The Fields by Bike

Many families on Ukerewe Island engage in agriculture for food, and the most participants are women and young people. Bike to a village and visit local farmers on their fields. Get to know how they grow crops such as cassavas, potatoes, rice, and maize. Some go to the farm twice a day: in the morning and in the late afternoon for growing or for planting crop seeds. The best time for the farmers to grow the crops are from the late September to early May since they get enough rains for their crops.

The best times to see them over there are at 8 am till 11 am, or at 3 pm until 5 pm, but the morning tour sounds good.

Visit Local Fishermen on the Shores of Ukerewe Island by Bike

The economy of the Ukerewe Island mainly depends on fishing activity on the Lake Victoria. Some types of fish caught here on the Island include the Nile perch, Tilapia, an sardines. The main fishing methods include Gill netting, Sardine seining, Long hand lining with hooks on it, and Beach seining.

Visit the fishermen at their work to witness the fish they catch, and know more about the fishing methods they catch fish with. You are allowed to participate in the fishing activities especially in beach seining as this is conducted by the fishermen pulling the net from the beach. Please try following their work instructions or you will go against their fishing tradition. Every fishing method has got fishing tradition, for example some fishing type does not let women to walk over a net as this may cause the net to fail catching fish on that day.

The easy fishing type to experience is the beach seining as this is done any time especially in the early morning, in the evening, and at night. The other types are usually done at night on the middle of the Lake.

Visit the fishermen as early as at 7 am till 10 am. This time you will found the men have already come back from fishing and still have the fish they caught. Or you find them still doing beach seining fishing. Another good time is in the evening from 4 pm where by beach seining will be taking place. The man will very glad seeing you at their work. You need to bike to a village where fishermen are available.

See Traditional Ukerewe Dance Performance

Ukerewe Island has many traditional dance groups such as Matwi gachalo, Wabogobogo, Wakenyalume, Staff band, dunga, and Wasimbula which are available in different villages.

Bike to a village with one of the groups to enjoy the dance in a tradition way from dresses, songs and drums. These groups always perform at special events such as a visit of high government leader, at a special invitation and dance for any guest like you who would like to see their performance. But also some group perform during the cultivation where by the diggers follow the beats of drums digging.

Bike for about 40 minutes for the nearest group. The best time to do this is at 4 pm-6 pm, or at 10 am-12pm.

Motorbike Tour to Rubya Beach Forest on Ukerewe Island

Rubya Beach forest is the largest forest on Ukerewe Island. The forest is located about 36 km away from Nansio town, and the best way to reach it is by a motorbike or by a car.

Visit local people who engage in lumbering, maize agriculture, and fishing that take place in the forest area. You are also advised to visit and climb a fire tower where you will overview the whole area of the Rubye forest.

In Rubya you can swim in the Lake Victoria. There is a very beautiful beach with white sand that you will enjoy its nature.

The best time to go to the forest is at 8 am to 12pm, or from 1:00 pm to 6 pm. starts your motor biking from your hotel where you will be picked up from.

If you choose to go on the tour in the morning and plan to spend more than 4 hours, then you are advised to have something to eat for lunch. But if you do in the afternoon, there is no need of any meal as you can go there after your lunch, but should be back to the hotel before it gets dark.