The Kasubi Tombs

Kasubi is the burial ground of the kabakas, the kings of Buganda, and its central building, the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, is one of the largest thatched structures anywhere: a great dome of reed and grass over a ring of wooden posts, its interior divided by a bark-cloth curtain behind which the royal graves lie. It remains an active spiritual site with a resident community of caretakers drawn from particular clans, each with hereditary responsibilities. A fire destroyed the main building in 2010, and the reconstruction using traditional materials and methods took years, involving the same clans that have maintained it for generations, which is itself part of why the site matters as living rather than frozen heritage.

What you actually see

• Muzibu Azaala Mpanga - the great domed thatched building over the royal graves.
• The bark-cloth curtain - the boundary beyond which only certain people may pass.
• The reed enclosure - the woven fence and gatehouse around the compound.
• The caretaker clans - the hereditary custodians who explain the site.

When to go

Any time of year. Visits are guided and the site is quiet on weekdays. Certain days and ceremonies restrict access to parts of the compound, which the guides explain on arrival.

Honest expectations

This is an active spiritual and royal site, not a museum: there are areas visitors may not enter, shoes come off, and photography is restricted in places. The 2010 fire and the long reconstruction mean much of what stands is recent work in traditional materials, which some visitors find deflating and others read as the point. Kampala traffic makes the short distance take longer than expected.

Nearby

The Uganda Museum and Namugongo shrines are elsewhere in the city.