Ndere Cultural Centre and Dance Troupe

Ndere Cultural Centre is one of the most popular cultural sites in Uganda. The Centre is located in a Kampala suburb known as Bukoto and was founded by Stephen Ruwangyezi in 1986. Ruwangyezi is a renowned story teller and performer at the Centre. The Ndere Cultural Centre became more established in 2003 and got relocated to the present day site. The Cultural Centre is home to the amazing Ndere Troupe. The Ndere Troupe were the first professional traditional music and dance group in Uganda. The name “Ndere” was picked from a famous traditional flute locally known as “endere”. Endere is special and has the ability to produce very soothing sound. The flute is played to express the mood or emotional state of the people. It can be played to express joy, love or any form of celebration. It can also be played to express sorrow, loneliness and loss. Other amazing instruments at the Center include the “Adungu” that you see in the photo.

The Ndere Cultural Centre currently sits on a piece of land measuring up to 9 acres. The site has very beautiful lush green gardens with beautiful African fruit trees The walkways are well designed with colorful flowers growing gracefully along the paths. Apart from the walkways are beautiful and well decorated African huts. Everything was designed to showcase the Uganda cultural heritage. You can read more from an article about the things to do in Uganda and how to plan your trip to Uganda. There is even more in another article about the top attractions in Kampala.

Things to Do and Activities at the Ndere Cultural Centre

Traditional Music and Dances: The Ndere Centre is the best place to go to in case one wishes to enjoy local dances and musical performances that cut across all the various tribes and cultures of Uganda. The main dance and music performances at the Ndere Cultural Centre occur on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. On these days, visitors attend in large numbers and often fill the 700 capacity ground. During the music and dance shows, you will see talented vocalists, dancers, drummers and other instrumentalists on stage. They are always clad in beautiful traditional attires and costumes. As they showcase their unique talents, you may be forced to rise up and dance along. The talented Ndere Troupes organize cultural performances from all regions of Uganda. You will witnessthem performing the Acholi courtship dance known as “larakaraka” and the royal dance known as “bwola”. There is also the “amagunjja” royal dance from Buganda, the “imbalu” initiation/circumcision dance of the Bagisu people and the “ekitaguriro” harvest dance of the Ankole people among other cultural dances. These dance performances are done in such a way that they tell a story of an individual culture. The performances show how a particular tribe/culture they responded to love, marriage, war and famine in the past.

Oral Poetry: Apart from the lovely music and dance performances, visitors also get to hear oral poetry performed on stage. These traditional poems are generally traditional stories and folk tales performed by Stephen Ruwangyezi himself. You will enjoy every bit of the narration because he performs the oral poetry with so much love in his voice and actions.

Trying out local cuisines: The Ndere Centre also offers tourists opportunities to try out the local Ugandan dishes for a fee from their restaurant. You can be sure to enjoy delicious foods that identify with each of the regions and ethnic groups of Uganda. Some of the foods include millet bread commonly known as “atapa” among the Iteso people of eastern Uganda and “kwon” among the Nilotic tribes (Acholi, Lango and Adhola among others). Visitors also get to enjoy bananas steamed with leaves locally known as “matooke” among the Bantu tribes of Buganda, Ankole, Bagisu and others.

Dance and Culinary lessons: The Ndere Centre offers visitors who are interested in learning local traditional dances for fee. It is also possible to learn how to prepare local traditional dishes after paying the required fee.

The Cost of Visiting the Ndere Cultural Centre – Entrance Fee

The Ndere Cultural Centre is open throughout the week starting from 6pm to 9pm. However, they have earmarked specific days of the week for certain performances. Wednesday, Friday and Sunday receive the most visitors. Sunday is popular for families. As already noted, the Center is open throughout the week for visitors who would love to spend quality time at the beautiful gardens as enjoy the local cuisines.

What is the entrance fee to the Ndere Cultural Centre? The entrance fee for visiting the Ndere Cultural Centre is $25 for adults and $8 for children. Ugandans pay less and in the local currency. It is important to note that the entrance fees for visiting the Ndere Cultural Centre does not include meals, drinks, souvenirs and other personal costs.

Accommodation at the Ndere Centre

Visitors can choose to stay within the Ndere Cultural Centre itself to enjoy the ambiance and quality accommodation facilities or opt to set up base from the surrounding areas (Bukoto, Ntinda and Kampala City). The accommodations at the Centre are in form of African bandas with thatched roofs. Accommodations close to the Ndere Centre offer luxury, mid-range and budget friendly rooms. If you are not staying close to the Centre, we highly recommend staying at the Kabira Country Club, Forest Cottages, Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Ministers Village Hotel and Acacia Villa.