About this Package

The Soul of Ankole is a seven-day journey with Kitara Foundation. It brings you into the heart of Banyankole life. You stay with host families in traditional homestays. Evenings begin with karo, eshabwe and storytelling by the fire. Each day is led by local hosts and community groups. Women’s groups teach basket weaving and clay pot molding. Farmers guide guests through coffee gardens and banana pits. Elders share Bachwezi histories and local songs that shape daily life. Mornings start among Ankole long-horned cattle. Take part in okukama. Help with okwera in the kraal. Watch okucunda as ghee is churned by hand. Join farmers to pick red coffee cherries. Roast and grind the beans using traditional stones. Watch Tonto brewing and see bananas ripen in underground pits for Waragi. Walk the River Rwizi Trail for four kilometres and look for Engyeya, the black-and-white colobus. Visit the sacred caves and the Eclipse Monument from 1520 AD. You will join a Banyankole ceremony and learn the Ekitaguriro dance. Later in the week move to Lake Mburo National Park. Take a sunrise game drive and a late boat cruise on the lake. See elands, Burchell’s zebras and the recently reintroduced Rothschild giraffes. Hippos and crocodiles appear at the water’s edge at sunset. • Hands-on cattle care: join milking, kraal cleaning and ghee churning. • Bean-to-cup and pit-to-spirit: pick, roast and grind coffee; watch traditional banana brewing. • Culture and conservation: craft classes, sacred sites and wildlife at Lake Mburo. A visit to Ankole is a hand-shake with history. You arrive as a traveler and leave as part of the family, knowing your visit helps local education, community health and river conservation.

What you'll do