of Mtesa's empire." Getting there The most popular route that the islands can be accessed is through Nakiwogo near Entebbe by MV Kalangala as the main gateway to the archipelagos. Transfer between Nakiwogo and Bugala Island is usually 3½ hours. From Bukakata: From the western part of Uganda, a free car ferry links Bukakata mainland located 36 km east of Masaka with Luku on Bugala Islands about 50 minutes sailing. The ferry sails either directions every few hours from early morning to late afternoon. The morning trips on Sunday are not available. From Kasenyi landing site: To get to Banda Island, there are small wooden boats departing from Kasenyi, a fishing village 7 km off Entebbe-Kampala road; turn off is 5 km outside Entebbe. On Bugala island there are shared taxis that run from Kalangala to Luku. Economic activity The principal industry in the Ssese Islands is fishing for the huge Nile Perch, with much of the catch being exported. Overfishing is a huge concern on these and other islands in Lake Victoria. Other industries include agriculture, forestry and tourism. Livestock farming is practiced on the islands. It is estimated that 3,000 cattle, 250,000 poultry (chicken and ducks), 1,235 goats and 7,000 pigs are kept on the islands. BIDCO, a private palm oil processor based in Jinja District, on the mainland, owns a palm oil plantation on the islands. In addition, outgrower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor. In 2010, the palm oil plant began generating 1.5MW of electricity through the burning of bagasse and some of the oil. The power supplies the oil processing plant and the excess is sold to Kalangala, the largest town on the islands. Logging is another economic activity that is practiced on the Ssese Islands. Flora and fauna The islands are also home to a variety of animals including primates, which are not easily accessible on the mainland. The most common large terrestrial mammal is the Vervet monkey, which is often seen in the vicinity of Lutoboka and Kalangala. Bushbuck and black-and-white colobus are also present, but seldom observed. Since Buggala was separated from the mainland, one endemic creek rat and three endemic butterfly species have evolved on the island. Water and forest birds are prolific. There's a variety of hornbills, barbets, turacos, robin-chats, flycatchers and weavers. Particularly common are the jewel-like pygmy kingfisher, the