Masaka District

Masaka district is among the districts that make up the central region of Uganda. Masaka district is also a good pillar in the history of the Buganda kingdom and Uganda at large; it is part and partial of the great Buganda kingdom. Masaka district’s main town is called Masaka town. Masaka borders Bukomansimbi district and Mpigi district, Sembabule to the north-west, kalangala district to the east and the south, then Rakai district to the south west and Lwengo to the west; lwengo was initially park of the vast Masaka district. The district headquarters are found in the main city of Masaka, south west of Kampala capital city of Uganda along the Mbarara highway. Masaka district sits on an elevation of about 1115 meters above sea level. Masaka is estimated to be having about 251600 total populations with a low population growth rate of about 1%.

Masaka district is located about 37 km away from the equator station towards the southern part of Uganda. From Kampala, you can reach Masaka headquarters in about 1 hour and a half, driving over a distance of about 120km. Masaka is a well-established councils with a strong educations system of about 304 primary schools, 12 secondary schools, about 3 technical institutes, and over three teachers training colleges. Masaka is a developed town and among the oldest districts in Uganda which were, formally, consisting of Rakai, Sembabule, and kalangala; this formation made it one of the biggest districts in Uganda then.

Economics of Masaka

There is a lot og things that the people in Masaka district do to earn a good living standard, as economic activities. However the major economic activity done in Masaka is agriculture where food crops and cash crops are grown, together with cash crops. The major cash crops grown in Masaka district include coffee and cotton, other crops grown by the farmers in Masaka district include; bananas, pineapples, maize potatoes, cassava, tomatoes, onions among others. also the farmers in Masaka practice a little livestock farming with a few cattle and poultry with chicken, ducks, guinea fowls among others. There is a little ranching done in Masaka district and fishing along the shores of Lake Victoria. The staple food for the people of Masaka is matooke and millet. Besides farming, Masaka district also has a few industries such as coffee processing companies, soft drinks factories, metal works and cotton ginning factories among others. Masaka town features banking facilities such as Stanbic bank, standard chartered bank, equity bank, dfcu bank and eco banks among others, and mobile money outlets to help in easing the transactions.

Health sector of Masaka

There is a strong health record about the health of Masaka, being one of the best performing and development districts, Masaka was also the first district to face with AIDs infestation in Uganda. For the reason, Masaka district is also the hub of different non – government organizations, both locally owned and international health organizations, since the 1980’s to date. The major health non-government organizations in Masaka include world vision international and save the children from Norway, have played the biggest role in Masaka of building health stations, schools, paying school fees for the orphans and also providing better food for the babies and pregnant mothers in Masaka. Despite this, there is one major hospital in Masaka town and other health centers that are used to keep the health services flowing all through the district.

Culture of Masaka district

Masaka district is a rich place for the history of Uganda and the Buganda kingdom; it is a rich cultural heritage for the BUganda kingdom and the whole country, Uganda. Despite the background strongly attached to the Buganda kingdom, Masaka is a diverse part of the country with over 40 ethnic groups with the baganda, being the majority. However, the intermarriages in Masaka districted have even invited the Rwandese people and Burundi people to settle in area. The banyankole are also common in the town of Masaka plus the remote villages towards mbarara. Despite the diversity in tribes and culture of Masaka, most of the tribes practice the baganda culture in order to blend in; the language spoken is Uganda, and greeting while kneeling is a culture for all growing ladies in Masaka town. The staple food consumed in Masaka is matooke, sweet potatoes, and beans among others.

Tourist attractions in Masaka district

There are a lot of things you can enjoy doing in Masaka district, and a number of other features that you might love seeing and knowing about in Masaka , including the following;

Lake Nabugabo holiday and conference center is located on the shores of lake nabugabo in Masaka district, in about 21-kilo meters from the main Masaka town. Lake nabugabo holiday Centre has a religious back ground as it was formed by the missionaries in Masaka many years ago. There are a lot of activities you can enjoy doing at Lake Nabugabo holiday center such as canoeing, sport fishing, bird watching, swimming, camping and sun bathing at the beach among others.
Nabugabo sand beach is another attraction in Masaka located on Lake Nabugabo about 23 kilo meters from Masaka town. The popular activities here include canoeing, beach rally, fishing, camping, and accommodation in the beautiful bandas and cottages besides the lake. You can also enjoy beach volley and beach football among others.
You can also enjoy agro tourism in the ranches with in Masaka, market gardening farm among others.
Community tourism is another thing you can do in Masaka which includes trail walks in the market places, the town suburbs, and cycling through the hilly terrain, the old factories in the town suburbs among others.
Cultural performances from the rich ganda cultural troops. The cultural troops are ready to perform for you during your visit in Masaka.
Crafts and souvenir shops are many in Masaka town, and you can visit one or two to enjoy the different art facts that represent the African culture.
Bukakata landing site is another place that you can visit and enjoy learning about the local fishing techniques in Uganda, plus tasting a fresh fish snack in Masaka district.

Hotel and accommodation sector of Masaka

There are over 55 accommodation establishments with in Masaka town and other small motels along the highway to Masaka. The main hotels in Masaka town include hotel lanova, lastone hotel, nabugabo holiday center, and nabugabo sand beach among others.