Mud wrestling in Uganda
Mud Wrestling in Uganda is one of the best adventurous activities you should look for on a Uganda safari. The athletic activity involves competitors that go through combat and martial arts. The athletes use their body parts that is head, arms, elbows, and legs to take out the competitor. It is practiced by athletes who do it professionally to avoid harming the competitor – wrestling dates about 500 years ago in Egypt and France and also around the world. In Uganda also mud wrestling is done in Mukono – a few kilometers away from the capital city of Uganda. Mud wrestling in Uganda is called a soft-ground wrestling competition. Competitors in this kind of wrestling go through training to ensure that they don’t harm the other competitors.
When did mud wrestling in Uganda start?
Mud wrestling in Uganda wrestling started in 2023 by Bumbas known as Daniel Cedric Bumba. The founder of wrestling states that he has been a wrestling fan since childhood and currently is about 35 years old. He later became a commentator and translated the WWE matches in Luganda for the local viewers. Mud wrestling in Uganda originates its name “Soft ground wrestling” from the ring that is made up of soft mud. The ring is made up of bamboo reeds as poles with stretching ropes.
In this wrestling competition, there are over 80 athletes where most of them are orphans who are trained professionally for about 8 months. The aim of this was to create a role for professional wrestlers around the country. Competitors who usually wanted to engage in wrestling were supposed to pay 100000 Uganda shillings about 26 dollars as a commitment fee as a chance to leave the poverty of the farming region.
In February, an American athlete named Jordynne Grace shared a video of a wrestler who was smashing an opponent on a bamboo pole. He inquired how he would get in touch with them. Mud wrestling competitions in Uganda have inspired most of the youth within the local communities. Currently in Uganda, there are over 200 wrestlers who are training to be the best and professional wrestlers. Soft ground wrestling is a competition in Uganda where travelers can see the wrestling men.
Other activities that can be combined with mud wrestling in Uganda
In Uganda, there are serval activities that travelers on their safaris to see the Ugandan wrestling men and they include;
Gorilla trekking
In Uganda, gorilla trekking is one of the primate activities that travelers can visit during the safari. The mountain gorillas are one of the large primates in Uganda’s national parks where travelers can see mountain gorillas. In Uganda, mountain gorillas are found in the Mgahinga gorilla and Bwindi impenetrable National all are in southwestern Uganda. In this park, the gorilla trekking permit costs about 800 USD for foreign nonresidents, 700 USD for foreign residents, 500 USD for the rest of Africa, and 300000 Ugandan shillings for the rest of Africa. Travelers are supposed to book in time the gorilla trekking permits to ensure availability.
Wildlife viewing
Wildlife viewing is done in the savannah parks of Uganda which include Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park. The wildlife viewing is done in a 4×4 safari van with a pop-up for the viewing of wildlife in the gazette trails of the park. The wildlife viewed includes lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, cheetahs, buffaloes, and many others.
Chimpanzee trekking
Chimpanzees are also the other large primates that travelers on their Uganda safaris to see Uganda wrestling men can encounter. These primates live in forested areas. The tracked chimpanzees are usually habituated for them to get used to the human presence. The chimpanzee trekking in Uganda is done in Kibale National Park, Kyambura Gorge, Kalinzu Forest, and Budongo Forest. During the safaris travelers are supposed to book in time to ensure the availability of the tracking space since the permits are limited in number.
Experiential activities
Experiential activities are usually done in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. The experiential activities in the park include mongoose tracking, experiential game drive, hippo census, and bird census. These activities offer a close encounter with the wildlife in the park during the safari.
Golden Monkey trekking
This activity is done only in southwestern Uganda in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. In this activity, travelers have an hour to spend with the monkeys. To see these golden monkeys, travelers are supposed to have booked the golden monkey trekking permits and they cost about 100 dollars for the foreign nonresidents, 50 dollars for the foreign residents, and 40000 Uganda shillings for the East African residents. Also, travelers on their safaris can engage in the golden monkey habituation which costs about 140 dollars.
Gorilla habituation
Gorilla habituation is only done in Uganda where travelers on their safaris can engage in to have more time with the gorillas in the park. It is only done in the Rushaga sector in the Bwindi impenetrable National park within southwestern Uganda. Gorilla habituation is done to make the gorillas get used to the habituation of the mountain gorillas. The gorilla habituation permit costs about 1500 dollars for foreign nonresidents,1000 dollars for foreign residents, and 700000 Ugandan shillings for East African citizens.
Cultural encounters
Uganda is made up of several cultural communities that are situated around the country. In these communities, you learn about the way of life of the local people in Uganda. During the safaris to cultural communities, travelers will engage in activities like preparation of the local cuisine, cultural dances, coffee roasting, banana brewing, storytelling, and many others. The cultural communities in Uganda include; Empako village, Entanda cultural community, Ewaffe cultural Village, Buganda kingdom, Tooro kingdom, Igongo cultural Centre, and many others.
What is the best time to visit mud wrestlers in Uganda?
Uganda is available for travelers throughout the year the see the wrestling men. The best time is during the dry season June to September and December to February when the country is more dry and clear for the viewing of the wrestling men.
