Updated
Nakasero Market is Kampala’s best-known fresh food market, on the lower slopes of Nakasero Hill in the city centre, close to the main business district and many central hotels. It is famous for its fruit and vegetables, piled high in neat pyramids: bananas of many kinds, avocados, passion fruit, pineapples, tomatoes, greens, and fresh ginger and spices. It is smaller and calmer than the vast Owino market, which makes it the better choice for a first visit.
What you will find
The market has two main parts: an open-air area of produce stalls under umbrellas and awnings, and a covered market building with more traders, dry goods, household items, clothes and fabrics. In the produce section look for matoke, sweet bananas, jackfruit, mangoes in season, mushrooms, and leafy greens such as dodo and nakati. Spice sellers offer turmeric, ginger, chillies and pilau masala, and other stalls sell beans, groundnut paste and dried fish. See our guide to what to buy in Ugandan markets.
Visiting tips
Go in the morning, when produce is freshest and it is cooler. Carry small notes, ask before photographing traders, and keep your phone and wallet secure, as pickpocketing happens in busy markets. Prices for visitors may start higher, so gentle bargaining on larger purchases is normal, though many items are sold in fixed-price heaps. Going with a local guide or on a food tour makes it easier to learn what each ingredient is used for. See our guide to Owino Market for a bigger, busier contrast.
Eating nearby
Simple eateries in and around the market serve matoke, posho, beans, groundnut sauce and stews at lunchtime, and street vendors nearby sell rolex, chapati and fresh fruit. Choose busy places with food cooked to order. See our guides to the rolex and groundnut stew.
Fitting it into your trip
A market visit takes one or two hours and works well on your first or last day in Kampala, combined with the Kasubi Tombs or the Uganda Museum. Buying fruit here for the long drive to Bwindi is a good idea. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November.
Frequently asked questions
In central Kampala, on the lower slopes of Nakasero Hill.
In the morning, when produce is freshest.
Generally yes; watch for pickpockets and keep valuables secure.
Nakasero for an easier first visit; Owino for size and atmosphere.
