Speke Resort Munyonyo
In the 90s, Munyonyo, was still considered an inhospitable backwater finishing village best by marauding moneys pillaging the farmer’s crops. In the late 90s, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia – Chairman, Ruparelia Group of Companies acquired tracks of land there, with a dream of building a lakeside retreat for his family and friends to relax at over the weekend and without out having to drive out of the city center – Kampala.
However, as construction started on the cottages (now the Presidential Cottages) and the horse stables, Dr Ruparelia’s dream “spiraled” out of control from a family retreat into, the now 90-acre resort that is home to the five star Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort and is the premier resort in Uganda.
When it comes to accolades the resort has a number of them as testimony from United Nations Conferences, African Union Summits, to rock concerts. But its crowning moment, was being chosen to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007.
There is more to Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort than just a venue for meetings. It’s a resort that accomplishes all – meetings, conferences, leisure, weddings, excursions and so much more.
Accommodation
Our luxurious rooms – Presidential Suites, Presidential Cottages, Executive Rooms, Superior Rooms are bright, spacious residences, filled with beautiful views of Lake Victoria and the resort’s tropical garden.
Sheltered under charming, traditional African, modern contemporary and furnished with rich natural fabrics, the rooms and cottages are also equipped with the latest modern technologies, complimentary high speed Internet for up to four devices and 24-hour services, for our guests’ utmost convenience. Guests of Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort are guaranteed a stay unlike any other offered by luxury hotels in Uganda.
Dining
Speke Resort Munyonyo has 8 well-appointed bars and restaurants. Guests looking for a luxury dining restaurant at the resort can choose from our traditional, thatched, open-air dining spaces, Lakeside Grill and the charming Viking Bar. Unique amongst the resort, some of our dining spaces offers breath-taking lake views and is surrounded by fragrant, tropical blossoming trees, and is melodious with the sound of waves, monkeys and birds at flight.
Guests can experience fine European, African and Indian cuisine, be entertained by authentic Ugandan music and dance, and unwind in the romantic, paradise resort that is Speke Resort Munyonyo. As well as our luxury dining restaurants, the resort offers private, candlelit dinners for two under the stars and can enjoy a specially curated menu, designed in collaboration with our master chefs, accompanied by soft, traditional Ugandan instruments and the sound of Lake Victoria.
Meetings
Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort has long been a favourite venue for conferences in Uganda. Every year our facilities welcome thousands of visitors attending major national and international conventions, meetings, concerts, competitions, and more.
The resort has been hosting conferences since 2001 and today, boasts of 3 ballrooms, 19 indoor and 6 outdoor conference venues thus, making it the premier conferencing venue in Uganda. The crowning moment for the resort was when it hosed the 2007 Commonwealth Government Heads of State Meeting.
Each venue is unique in its own way and can be set up to suit your particular needs and requirements.
Weddings & Celebrations
The secret ingredient to why happy brides and grooms rank Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort as the perfect wedding venue in Uganda, is the resort’s ability to effortlessly organize enchanting weddings with truly romantic experiences.
Whether your wedding celebration is an intimate affair created just for two, or a grand extravaganza guaranteed to grace the society pages, Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort exceptional 90-acre integrated resort promises to exceed your expectations. From sunset champagne toasts on the shores of Lake Victoria, our certified wedding planners and personal butlers are on hand 24/7 to ensure that you enjoy the most important event of your life.
From intimate family celebrations to grand ballroom galas, our lakefront, ballroom and marquee wedding venues, set a captivating stage for weddings at the resort. Each venue is unique in its own way and can be set up to suit your particular needs and requirements.
Cancellation / Prepayment
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Children and extra beds
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Pets
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Accepted credit cards
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Why We Love It
- Air Condition
- Business Centre, Travel Desk, Taxi
- Cable TV
- Dry Cleaning / Laumdry Services
- Fire Place
- Gardens
- Golf Course
- VIP Services (Private Entrance, Helipad, Private Security, Dedicated Car Park)
- Wireless internet
Activities
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Internet
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Parking
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Kampala
Fondly known as the green city in the sun, the ROME OF Africa, Kampala is the commercial and administrative capital of Uganda. Spread over more than twenty hills, Kampala’s architecture is a mixture of the modern, the colonial and the Indian.
Sitting at an altitude of 1,180m above sea level, it enjoys pleasant weather, with annual temperatures averaging 17 degrees Celsius (minimum) and 27 degrees Celsius (maximum).
To the south is Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water lake and the source of the longest river in the world, the River Nile.
The history of Kampala, like that of many other cities in the world, is wrapped in both folklore and historical facts.
According to folklore, swamps and hills dominated much of the area where it presently stands.
This made it an ideal habitat for Impala and other members of the antelope family. The animals grazed on the slopes of the hills and came down to the swamps for water. The palace of the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, located on the landscape rich in Impala herds. The king thus turned it into his hunting grounds.
Folklore merged with history when the British Empire builders arrived at the end of the 19th century.
“Impala” was the English name for that particular antelope family. The British referred to the area as the “hill of the Impala”, which the Baganda translated into Luganda as “kasozi k’empala” and eventually “Kampala”. Kasozi means hill. Whenever the kabaka left the palace to go hunting his favourite game, royal courtiers would say “the kabaka has gone to Kampala to hunt”, thus the name was born.
From a small hamlet occupying 19 square kilometres, Kampala had spread to seven hills by the time of independence, earning the tag “city of seven hills”. The original seven hills are: Mengo, Rubaga, Namirembe, Makerere, Kololo, Nakasero, and Kampala (Old K’la).
Today, greater Kampala stands on at least 21 hills. On this tour, we take you through the prominent hills that form the modern-day capital and their signature to the city’s political and socio-economic life, starting with the original seven.
The major highlights of the Kampala city tours are visits to; Katanga slums, the Uganda museum, Kabaka’s palace and Royal Mile, Kabaka’s lake (K’ayanja k’Akabaka), Namirembe cathedral, Rubaga cathedral, Bahai temple, Market day trips, Craft shops and coffee shops among others.
Things To Do
Katanga Slums:
Katanga slum is located in Kawempe Division in Kampala city. It is bordered by Bwaise to the north, Mulago to the east, Wandegeya to the west, and Nakasero to the south.
Katanga slum stretches about 1.5 kilometers from Wandegeya to Kubiri, near Bwaise. It is developed with students’ hostels as viewed from Wandegeya, and temporary structures built with timber or mad and bricks. The temporary structures are mostly close to Mulago hospital.
The life of people living in this slum is heart breaking as many have to share inadequate temporary toilets and have to walk a long way without light.
Your trip shall leave you immersed in affection and perhaps with a new thought about the lives of these people.
Get onto the road for a walking tour to Katanga slums in the heart of Kampala, perhaps the biggest slum in Kampala and Uganda in particular. Have a pick into the real life of these slum dwellers who almost live with no hope for tomorrow but none the less the happiest.
We’ve all heard the term “slumming” it, but what if you actually lived in one? thousands of people living in the Katanga slum isn’t quite the same as being without a home, but it’s pretty close, and without access to decent food, clean water and suitable housing, those who live in the Katanga slums are certainly well below the poverty line.
Kabaka’s Palace and Royal Mile:
In the heart of Kampala lies two distinctive sites all joined by the royal mile; from the Buganda palace to the Buganda parliament. Have a walk of royalty along this mile, discover the history of Buganda and Uganda, and as well have a treat of Idi Amin’s’ torture chambers in the kingdom’s palace.
The palace of the King of Buganda Kingdom locally called “Lubiri” (literally meaning a
Palace) was built in the 1922. The palace is connected to the Buganda parliament just a mile away offering you an opportunity to have a walk of African Royalty as you learn about the history of this prestigious kingdom depicted by the tree ‘clan’ symbols put along the road.
The building was duly converted to army barracks, while an adjacent site became a notorious underground prison and torture-execution chamber built by Idi Amin in the 1970s. Guides will lead you to this terrifying site, a dark concrete tunnel with numerous dark, damp cells separated by an electrified passage of water to prevent escape.
At the gate of this palace is a traditional fire source that has never burnt out since the inception of the Buganda Kingdom and shall never stop burning least a king is dead. Here is a representation of all Baganda Clans and their respective role in this Kingdom since time immemorial as narrated by a royalist at this fire source.
A mile away but directly positioned gate to gate is the Bulange- a parliament in which the
Kabaka and his ministers have since old days sat to deliberate upon issues concerning
Buganda Kingdom. The architectural design of this building has proven a spectacular Uganda tour site to many local and international visitors. Walk the mile as you learn about Buganda cultural norms and the cultural history of the city of Kampala.
Baha’i Temple:
The Baha’i temple, completed in 1961, is the only Baha’i temple in Africa. Located at Kikaya hill, the temple is set amidst a beauty of rolling flowers and green trees offering such magical treats to photographers and picnic lovers as its flower gardens are such a conducive place to relax and take captions.
Learn about the Baha’i faith, as you over-look the city whilst amidst spiritual intervention and a scent of flowers. The site as well is a birder’s haven with over 105 bird species with the Common Bulbul topping the list.
Butterfly watching at the site is as well exceptional and nature walks as well. Never miss out this on your trip program to Kampala.
Uganda Martyr’s Trail:
About 15 km east of Kampala city lies the Namugongo martyrs’ shrine where more than 20 catholic and Anglican martyrs were burnt alive on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga in June 1886. Consequently, christians from eastern and central Africa and indeed the world over flock to Namugongo to pay their respects and renew their faith by paying pilgrimage to the martyrs on June 3rd, every year.
A church was constructed in the shape of a traditional Buganda hut (akasiisiira) in memory of the martyrs. It stands on 22 copper pillars representing the 22 catholic martyrs. In front of the main entrance to the church, below the altar is the spot where Charles Lwanga, the leader of the Catholics was burnt on June 3rd 1886.The church was consecrated by Pope Paul VI on August 2nd, 1969.
The Uganda Martyrs Trail is Uganda’s exclusive faith-based tourism product that takes you through different places where the first Christian missionaries passed and preached from, and where some of the Uganda Martyrs were killed before their bodies were taken to be burnt at Namugongo.
The death of these martyrs has always been memorable in the hearts of many people especially Christians who celebrate the lives of the martyrs on 3rd June of every year – a day the republic of Uganda considers as the Uganda Martyrs’ Day and a public holiday. Their remembrance was amplified when the Catholic Church of Rome beatified the martyrs of its faith in 1920 and canonized them in 1964.
Many pilgrims, especially Christians, from all over the world descend to the Pearl of Africa to join together with Ugandans to commemorate the martyrs’ day. This is celebrated in remembrance of 45 young men (recorded) both Anglicans and Catholics who were killed on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II (then the King of the Buganda Kingdom in Central Uganda), for refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ or Christianity. The execution took place between November 1885 to June 1886 with a climax at Namugongo on 3rd June 1886, after the Kabaka (king) thought the Whites were ‘infiltrating’ his subjects with Christianity to cause rebellion against him. As a result, he killed most of his servants at Namugongo.
Since its launch in 2014, the Uganda Martyrs Trail was expanded to cover such places like:
- Mapeera site in Ssese Islands
‘Mapeera Site’ at Bugoma, Buggala Island in Ssese is the spot where Fr. Simeon Lourdel, who was later named “Mapeera” and Brother Amans first touched Ugandan soil when they landed at the site to spend the night of 15th February 1879 on their way to Lubaga to meet with Kabaka Muteesa I, seeking permission to set up a camp in Buganda to preach, teach and spread Christianity.
- Kigungu Church, Entebbe
This is the second spot where Fr. Simeon Lourdel & Brother Amans landed on 17th February 1879 after spending a night at Bugoma, Buggala Island in Ssese, en route to Munyonyo to meet with Kabaka Muteesa I.
- Mapeera site in Kisubi
On their way to meet with King Muteesa I at Munyonyo palace, the missionaries also stayed at Kisubi, on the shores of Lake Victoria along Entebbe road, a place the Catholic Church later revamped and established a seminary, schools and a well-maintained beach and gardens.
- Uganda Martyrs’ shrine, Munyonyo
In the same area where Kabaka Muteesa I had his palace lies the Munyonyo Matryrs’ Shrine. This is the place where the missionaries met with the Kabaka who had earlier on written a letter to Queen Victoria of UK in 1876 inviting Christians to come, teach and preach in the Buganda Kingdom. It’s also the place where the journey of the Martyrs, both Catholics and Anglicans, began before their martyrdom at Namugongo, happening after Kabaka Mwanga had assumed power when his father (Kabaka Muteesa I) died in 1884.
It was at Munyonyo where King Mwanga took the crucial decision to begin putting
Christians to death. The blood of Uganda’s martyrs was shed on the soil around Munyonyo. The first three Christians to render their lives for Christ’s sake after the king’s decision did so on 26 May 1886. They included, St. Denis Ssebugwawo and St. Andrew Kaggwa. It is also in this place where in 1886 Saint Charles Lwanga, leader of the Christian community in Uganda baptized St. Kizito, St. Mbaga, St. Gyavira and St. Muggaga.
The place has now been refurbished with a Cathedral and a monument which were inaugurated by Pope Francis on 27th November 2015, when he visited the Pearl of Africa.
Uganda Martyrs’ shrine, Namugongo (both Anglican & Catholics’ side):
The climax of the plight that befell the Uganda Martyrs between 1885 and 1886 happened at Namugongo, and the place was earmarked by the construction of a church. The construction of the Uganda Martyrs' Shrine (Catholics section) began in 1967 and it was completed and formally opened by the special Papal envoy, His Eminence Sergio Cardinal Pignedoli on 3rd June 1975.
The Uganda Martyrs minor basilica/Shrine is a Catholic church dedicated to the Martyrs of Uganda who shed their blood because of the Christian faith. The Shrine is well known for its beautiful and unique interior and exterior, but it is especially notable for its shape and architectural plan: the 22 copper pillars-over 100 feet long that support the shrine built in form of an African hut and its wooden doors that depict the history of the Martyrs. The Shrine has a capacity 1000 seats arranged in a circular form.
It is here that 14 of the 22 Catholic Uganda Martyrs were burnt alive, on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II in 1886, having refused to denounce their Christian faith. Following the holocaust of these Martyrs which reached a climax on 3rd June, 1886 Namugongo has steadily taken on the image of attraction as a place of pilgrimage, as God simultaneously has honoured them before Believers.
On 6th June 1920 Pope Benedict XV beatified the Uganda Martyrs. Pope Paul VI canonized them on Mission Sunday, 8th October, 1964 in Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome. The same Pope honoured the Martyrs with a pilgrimage on 31st July to 2nd August 1969 - the first visit ever by a pope to the African Continent.
Remembering the work executed by St. Charles Lwanga when still a page in King Mwanga's palace, when he spearheaded the excavation of the legendary Kabaka's lake in Ndeeba, a Martyrs' lake was excavated at Namugongo. Many pilgrims have often drawn water from this lake and later given testimonies about this water healing them of various diseases.
The Pavilion (Island) in the lake is another unique feature at Namugongo with a clear view that can be seen from all angles of the over 15 acres Shrine compound. It is inside this pavilion where the main celebrant sits on big occasions like Martyrs' day, June 3. This grass thatched pavilion, also in circular form like the Shrine is supported by 4 pillars and can accommodate more than 300 priests and a number of bishops that turn for the High Mass on Martyrs Day.
In remembrance of the 23 (recorded) Anglican martyrs, the Anglican Church of Uganda also constructed a museum that collects all the information of the story, right from the coming of the first missionaries, to the torture of the martyrs and the spread of Christianity all over Uganda. Visiting these places shall provide you with all inspirational and spiritual knowledge.
Both sites have so far been visited by three Popes; including; Pope Paul VI in 1969, Pope John Paul II in 1993 and Pope Francis in 2015.
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