Igongo Cultural Centre

The Igongo Cultural Centre and Museum is on the former palace ground of the local Ankole king, located in Mbarara District in western Uganda. The museum is the largest exhibits center in Western Uganda.

 The museum has a vast collection of artifacts, exhibits of the agrarian and pastoral culture, history of political changes as well as present-day modernization of agricultural activities in the region. 

The Igongo Cultural Centre and Museum highlight the way of life of the tribes in southwestern Uganda, including the cattle herding tribe, Bahima, and how adaptable the region has been to new technologies and life. The tribe has collaborated with the University of Basel, Switzerland, on cheese making and milk pasteurization, which the museum has documented extensively as a success story of new technologies from Europe reaching Uganda.

The museum is part of the Cultural Centre, which encompasses a state-of-the-art hotel with conference facilities. Day trips from the Centre include visits to the Biharwe Eclipse monument in Mbarara, honey farms, as well as evening entertainment and meetings with the Bahima tribespeople.

The museum staff can arrange bespoke events that include afternoon sessions with the local tribespeople in eshawbwe-making from ghee/clarified butter made from Ankole cow milk, and millet bread-making. Other activities include trips to the local Ankole cow farm for a hands-on milking experience. The Centre has two restaurants that serve local, authentic Bahima and Ugandan food.