Lake Albert is located in the Albertine Rift in Western Uganda and is the seventh-largest lake in Africa, therefore it is among the African great lakes. The lake is 260km from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda with an elongated body of about 160 kilometers in length. Lake Albert has a maximum width of 30 kilometers with several tributaries such as Victoria Nile and Semliki rivers flowing into the lake. The Albert Nile takes the water out of the lake.
Lake Albert has its main sources which are the Semliki River and the Victoria Nile, from the Rwenzori Mountains (also known as the Mountains of the Moon) which stands between Lake Albert and Lake Edward to the South. The waters of the latter still drain into Lake Albert through Semliki river.
Several kilometers of rapids act as a faunal barrier between the two lakes. Other lateral inflows into the lake are small and seasonal, so they contribute very little.
The waters of the Victoria Nile form a swampy estuary in the northern part of the lake, and this is also the starting point of the Albert Nile River, which becomes Mountain Nile once it enters South Sudan. The massive amount of sediments brought in by tributary rivers led to the formation of many swampy plains. In western Uganda, Semliki landscape extends to the shores of the lake, to Murchison Falls, inside Uganda’s biggest National Park, Murchison Falls National Park. This is found on Victoria Nile just before it flows into the lake.
The most important settlement on DR Congo’s shore is Kasenyi.
Fishing on Lake Albert
Fishing on Lake Albert is mainly carried out by local people found in Kibiro village. Kibiro village is a small fishing village found at the base of the Western Rift valley, along the Southeastern shores of Lake Albert. People in this area majorly do fishing and other related fishing activities.
People around Lake Albert use different fishing gear or methods but mostly the traditional methods. In a few cases the modern fishing methods are used as well. Fish on Lake Albert is caught mostly with plank canoes and to a lesser extent, fiberglass boats and some dugout canoes which are also still being used on the lake.
In a number of localities, traditional methods including baskets, traps, and mosquito nets continue to be used. The gears commonly used include gill nets, lift-nets; scoop-nets used in light fishing; hook and line gear. The most common fish caught is silverfish and Tilapia, as well as Sprat, locally known as “Enkejje”.
Main Activities On and Around Lake Albert
Visit the Hot Springs
The hot springs near Lake Albert are situated at the shores in the Kigorobyo sub-county. This takes approximately one hour drive from Hoima town, in a distance of about 35km. Water at the hot springs boils at 100°c every time. Many residents visit this area for various reasons but one of them being traditional healing.
It is great to watch water form bubbles as it reaches its boiling point, so you can place in Irish potatoes, green bananas and eggs to experiment. These foods usually get ready in a few minutes and can be served immediately.
This water forms a stream flowing to the west where it meanders to pour in Lake Albert.
Visit the Mining and Processing Salt Gardens
Kibiro salt gardens are an amazing and adventurous activity one can ever do while on an Uganda safari to Semuliki National Park. The area is like any other fishing village on Lake Albert but what distinguishes it are the salt gardens found here.
You can access this area either by boat along Lake Albert, on foot – having a hike to the base of the escarpment or using a monster 4WD vehicle. This garden has been providing salt to its kingdom for years.
When visiting the Kibiro gardens, you will find people selling salt along the road, which is a great eye-opener to what you will see ahead. Water in this area is salty because it flows over salty soils, so the locals choose to use traditional ways of mining and processing salt for consumption.
They sprinkle dry soil on the moist soil in the water channel. After some time, it dries up and salt can be easily picked, though with soil. So they go on to collect it and put it in a bag filter and place the filter in a container or bucket. Later, water is poured into the salty soil and left to go through the filter to the bucket. After, this salty solution is burnt until what is got are salt crystals, which turn into big cones.
Tradition Believes
Residents have their traditional beliefs and myths about the hot springs which are usually narrated to visitors. Some residents believe that the water in the hot springs completely cures many diseases like scabies, wounds and measles among others. They also believe that these hot springs can only be visited up to 7pm because after that time, spirits are in the springs. When you visit engage them on other myths that will teach you much the community.
Visiting the Kabwoya Wildlife
Visiting the Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve is one of the most scenic wonders found in the Pearl of Africa in Uganda. Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve is comprised of 87 square miles of protected land. It consists of an isolated plain along with Lake Albert and splendid views of the lake and the Blue mountains of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve offers you different activities such as a guided hiking and nature walk. This is a very popular activity on the Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, where you may see many antelopes, warthogs, various species of birds, and other wildlife, along your journey.
The wildlife reserve has savanna plains which offer great trails for mountain biking, so, mountain bikers can move along while seeing some wildlife and birds.
Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve has now added quad biking safaris within the reserve in addition to fossil hunting, which also takes place in the reserve. The reserve hosts more than 460 bird species, which makes it an ideal place for bird watching.
Oil reserves have been announced in the lake’s basin and estimates suggest that the multi-billion field will be the largest onshore field in sub-Saharan Africa.