Kitagata hot springs

Kitagata Hot Springs: Kitagata Hot Springs is situated in Sheema County, which is in the Sheema district of Western Uganda, on Ishaka Kagamba Road. It is one of the district’s urban centers and is located 2 km southeast of Kitagata town. Additionally, it is roughly 62 kilometers from Mbarara town. For those who would like to fly, its coordinates are 0°40’42.0”S, 30°09’38.0”E.

Marrum is the route leading to this location, which is close to the marsh. The site’s breathtaking beauty includes inselbergs and conical hills with lush grass and tree life. The river Ngaromwenda, which provides water to the springs, floods during the rainy season, causing the Kitagata springs to become warm rather than hot. For this reason, Kitagata locals are worried that the development of the adjoining Kagamba-Ishaka road could endanger the hot springs by causing flooding.

One of the two nearby hot springs, known as Mulago, is thought to have therapeutic properties, according to the locals. It is named after Uganda‘s largest referral hospital, which is located in the country’s capital, and all the sick use its water for bathing and drinking in order to recover from their illnesses. The other hot spring, known as an Ekyomugabe, was used by the former Omugabe of Ankole (King of Ankole).

Located on the route that provides easy access to Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, and Semliki Valley National Park, Kitagata Hot Springs is a must-see destination for any visitor to Bushenyi district.

There are up to 200 half-naked men and women taking a 24-hour bath in the warm waters of Kitagata Mulago, which are thought to have healing properties, when one first arrives at the location. The water can become as hot as 80°C here.

Given the large number of people gathered there, one would question if it is a market. Some areas have boiling water hot enough to boil eggs or prepare millet porridge known as Obushera or Ekisyanga, while other areas only have warm water.