Nsongezi Rock Shelter is among the endowed features situated in southwestern Uganda, along the banks of River Kagera and Kikagati Trading Centre. It is a must-visit site to be recorded in your travel diary while planning for your Uganda safari.
Nsongezi Rock Shelter is a famous archaeological site in Uganda because of the late Stone Age Microlith and dimple-based pottery which came into existence way back in the 9th century.
More About Nsongezi Rock Shelter
It is believed that the shelter was used to produce stone tools and pottery during the early times of about 1,000 AD. Along with these rock shelters, you will also find Kansyore Island next to River Kagera. The island was occupied by the rulers of Nkore, Ntare of the time and Rwanga as a refuge. To date, it is used as a holiday resort.
The rock is one of the attractions that carries the beauty of western Uganda. It is also among the most valuable stone age sites that you shouldn’t miss while on your safari to Lake Mburo National Park. It’s worth visiting if you are interested in archaeology.
Visiting Nsongezi Rock Shelter offers you an opportunity to see the Buchunku Stanley memorial and the Bweyorere capital sites. This is where the famous explorer H.M. Stanley made a blood brotherhood with Buchunku on 23rd July 1889. Buchunku represented the king of Nkore, Ntare V.
Bweyorere, which is located nearly three-quarter kilometres off the Mbarara-Kikagati route, was a capital site for two rulers of the Nkore. These were Kasasira and Karara.
Do not miss to see the low mounds all over the site that might have been the shelter sites and cow dung heaps. There is also pottery widely spread on the site, which is Uganda’s only thriving archaeological site.
How to reach the Shelter
Nsongezi Rock Shelter is accessible by using Masaka-Mbarara road which is about 268 kilometres from Kampala city. Alternatively, you can take the Mbarara-Kitagati route, that’s about 26 kilometres from Mbarara town.
Similarly, visitors can access the Nsongezi Rock Shelter and the Kansyore, through the Kampala-Kabale route passing over the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement.
Other interesting attractions within the region include Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga Gorilla, Kibale Forest, Semuliki, and Rwenzori Mountains national parks. So, don’t miss out on mountain hiking safaris in Uganda and gorilla trekking experiences.