Must See Uganda - Jinja

Jinja lies on the shores of Lake Victoria and is chock-a-block with old Asian-style buildings, reflecting the days when the town had a sizeable Asian community. The town was virtually owned by Asians until Idi Amin unceremoniously kicked them out of the country.

Many of the Asian population have started to return and the town is once again becoming prosperous. Jinja is also one of the spots on which Mahatma Gandhi chose to have his ashes scattered. A statue commemorates Gandhi at a Hindu temple near town.

Jinja is close to the Owen Falls Dam, a hydroelectric station which supplies Uganda with the bulk of its electricity. The main Kampala to Jinja road runs across the top of the dam, and the railway line crosses on a bridge close by. Before the building of the Owen Falls Dam, the Source of the Nile was Ripon Falls, where the Nile left Lake Victoria on its way to the Mediterranean. The falls were inundated by the waters of the dam, but you can still make out where they used to be from the turbulence.