4 Day Mountain Elgon Hiking Adventure

The 4-days Uganda safari starts and ends in Kampala. It will take you through Eastern Uganda, passing through Mabira Forest Reserve located along the Kampala-Jinja highway in Buikwe district between Lugazi and Jinja. Mabira is home to many endangered species like the primate lophocebus, a variety of birds, butterflies, as well as different endangered tree species. There are a number of touristic activities carried out in the forest; including forest walks, zip lining, bungee jumping, bird watching, mountain biking, among others.

You will also visit Sipi Falls, a series of three waterfalls located in Eastern Uganda shared by the districts of Kapchorwa, the north-east of Sironko and Mbale. They all lie on the edges of Mountain Elgon. There are a number of touristic activities carried out in this area including nature walks, community walks, hiking, tea plantation tours, and other guided tours.

The last destination of the safari is Mountain Elgon, located in Eastern Uganda. It is the fourth tallest mountain in East Africa and the largest intact caldera in the world. The vegetation around this area is comprised of bamboo forest, ferns and flowering plants like wild orchids and much more. The vegetation type around this area harbors a wide range of wildlife including monitor lizards, chameleons, and snakes, with a variety of bird species including turacos, grey cuckoo-shrikes, lemone doves, mountain yellow warblers, and many more, plus different vegetation types that support wildlife.

Tour Highlights

• Mabira Forest Reserve

• Sipi Falls

• Mountain Elgon

• Budadiri Community Walk

• Source of the Nile

Getting there

This tour starts and ends in Kampala or Entebbe

• Book your own international flights - Fly to/from Entebbe International Airport

• A transfer from and back to the airport can also be arranged

• Additional accommodation in Kampala or Entebbe before and at the end of the tour can be arranged for an extra cost.

Mabira Forest

Also known as “Mabira Central Forest Reserve”, it is a thick tropical rainforest characterized by dense canopies and according to www.ugandatourismportal.org, it is the largest tropical rainforest there’s in the country, but unfortunately, it is a greatly endangered ecosystem that stands high risks of massive destruction due to the on-going human activities that have caused people to encroach on its land.

Mabira forest is located on the main Kampala–Jinja highway in Buikwe District. It is 54 kilometers from Kampala city center and 26 kilometres from Jinja town. Its ecotourism site is about half a kilometre from the road head along a short dirt road off Najjembe trading centre. The Forest is accessible by all vehicles, private or public, throughout the year.

It is one of Uganda’s largest surviving natural forests, covering an area of 306 square kilometres. Mabira has a natural habitat of 312 species of trees, other varieties of plant life, a home to 315 species of birds, 218 butterfly species, 97 moth species and 23 small mammal species.

While in Mabira forest, you can undertake a number of activities. Some of these are forest walks with over 68 kilometres of well-developed trail length, mountain biking, bird watching, environmental education and research, camping and picnics, primate watching, butterfly identification and general forest exploration. While on an adventurous journey, for instance, there are several well networked trails to take to whether on a guided or unguided stroll. Of the ten trails Mabira has, the forest trails are good for nature walks whereas the grassland trails are preferred by the bird enthusiasts.

Sipi Falls

Sipi falls is located in Kapchorwa, which is found in the eastern part of Uganda, approximately 277 kilometres from Kampala. It takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes to get there by road. Kapchorwa’s neighbouring districts of Mbale and Sironko are also known to be related to these agreeably most beautiful waterfalls in Uganda.

This trio of steep falls separated by brant hills is found on the foothills of Mountain Elgon, just at the edge of Mount Elgon National park nearing the Kenyan border to Uganda. The name sipi was derived from the word ‘sep’ which is a wild banana-like indigenous plant that grows along the banks of the Sipi River. Sep is used by the locals in that area as medicine for treating ailments such as fever and measles.

Of the three saults that make up Sipi falls, the 95 metre main drop is more attention-grabbing and thus a darling to the viewers. That is why most places of accommodation are built facing it. The vast plains that wind up the distance offer magnificent views, making a hike in this area a venture worth undertaking.

There are a number of other activities to undertake while at Sipi falls. You can go on sightseeing and bird watching sprees, visit the Sipi River and the native communities, check out the coffee plantations on the lower slopes of Mountain Elgon or get immersed in abseiling and rock climbing.

When planning for a hike, bear in mind that since all the waterfalls are not clustered together in the same locality, it is impossible to view them simultaneously. Nevertheless, they can be seen in one day at different intervals, which makes it all the more interesting. The paths to these falls are approximately 7 to 8 kilometres as you walk. It takes about 3 hours to visit all the falls, but this pretty much depends on individual fitness and pace. As you hike, you will need walking sticks to give you support because of the steep slopes at certain spots. Also, in case it rains, the paths get slippery and rather muddy.

For the hikes, still, there are different starting points depending on which waterfall to visit first. In the event that you have limited time to hike, you are strongly advised to start with the main waterfall and then proceed to the others thereafter. However, if you have plenty of time at your disposal, it is always better to first make for the first and second water fall, take a break, then crown it all with the third and most breathtaking of them all. At the base of the falls, you will notice some rocks at the mouth of the caves and beyond that look like they were manually sculpted to appear like seats. However, they were sculpted not by man but by Mother Nature herself.

Please note that vehicles cannot access all these spots owing to the steep terrain. In spite of this, you should look forward to having an amazingly unforgettable experience, because at your disposal will be some local guides who are very knowledgeable about the historical and geographical background of the area. Also, should your car get stuck because of the bad weather, you needn’t worry as they will readily offer you a helping hand.

Mount Elgon

This is the world’s largest mountain caldera.

Mount Elgon National Park, named after Mount Elgon, has two arms; one in Uganda and the other in Kenya. The former covers 430 square miles and was gazetted in 1992, whereas the latter covers 65 square miles and was gazetted earlier on in 1968.

Mount Elgon National Park is home to over 300 species of birds, including the endangered Lammergeyer. Other birds of particular interest are Jackson's francolins, the eastern bronze-naped pigeons, Hartlaub's turacos, and the the Tacazze sunbirds. Mammals such as elephants and buffaloes can be found on the lower slopes. The park is also home to a variety of small antelopes and duikers, as well forest monkeys, including the black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys. Red-tailed monkeys have been reported around the mountain after being thought to be locally extinct. Both leopards and hyenas existed here in the late 1990s.

Elgon's slopes support a rich variety of vegetation ranging from montane forest to high open moorland studded with the giant lobelia and groundsel plants. The vegetation varies with altitude. The mountain slopes are covered with olive Olea hochstetteri and Aningueria adolfi-friedericii wet montane forest. At higher altitudes, this changes to olive and Podocarpus gracilior forest, and then a Podocarpus and bamboo Arundinaria alpina zone.

The higher slopes of Mount Elgon are protected by the respective national parks in Uganda and Kenya, creating an extensive trans-boundary conservation area which has been declared a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve. A climb on Mt. Elgon’s deserted moorlands unveils a magnificent and uncluttered wilderness without the summit-oriented approach common to many mountains: the ultimate goal on reaching the top of Mt. Elgon is not the final ascent to the 4321m Wagagai Peak, but the descent into the vast 40km² caldera.

Some of the activities to undertake at Mount Elgon National Park include embarking on vehicle circuits leading to animal viewing areas and the caves plus self-guided walking trails, hiking to the peaks, primate and bird watching, cave explorations, mountain biking as well as camping photography. You can also check out the ancient cave paintings near the trailhead at Budadiri, and hot springs in the former volcano's crater which bubble at temperatures of up to 48 °C.

When visiting the area around Mount Elgon, it is worthwhile to undertake some cultural visits; or rather community walks to the nearby villages of the Sabiny and Gisu. Through this, you will get to know their ways of life in relation to farming as their major economic activity. One major cash crop grown on the slopes of Mount Elgon is Coffee, so you will get to see vast coffee plantations here. Remember to grab yourself some of this great African coffee grown here, which is sold far and wide by coffee houses such as Starbucks. This will be availed at a pocket-friendly price. Besides, you will be treated to cultural dances like the enchanting kadodi of the Gisu. You will also visit the Ugandan Jews (Jewgandans) who live in Mbale. One other notable event you will witness during your cultural visit is the celebration of imbalu, a revered circumcision ceremony among the Bagisu, in which boys are initiated into adulthood. This, however, only takes place during the even years.

The Budadiri Community

Budadiri is a town in Sironko District, which is located in eastern Uganda. It is situated just within Mount Elgon National Park. Those intending to scale the heights of Mount Elgon pitch camp here and use this place as their base. The Budadiri community group offers accommodation, car hire, cultural dances, guided coffee tours and community nature walks to its visitors.

Budadiri is inhabited by the Gisu/Gishu people who are the growers of the famous Arabica coffee that is savored worldwide by coffee enthusiasts. A community walk in Budadiri will give you a noteworthy ecotourism experience. Visitors to this culturally laden small town can discover the region’s cultural dances, food preparation, folklore and its famous malewa (bamboo shoots), a revered delicacy.

Furthermore, visitors are treated to a tour of Mt Elgon’s famous Arabica coffee processing plants, which support local farmers. Nature lovers can indulge in one of the three trails – the full-day Namugabwe Cave Trail, passing through BaMasaba community land and banana plantations to reach a historical cave filled with bones; the Dirigana Loop Trail to the Dirigsana Falls and Gabushana Cave past local markets and the “Walls of Death”; or the three day walk to Sipi Falls which reveals the culture of two neighboring tribes.

The Source of the Nile

River Nile is well known to be the longest river in the world. Its source (or rather one of its many sources) is right here at Jinja, Uganda. If you may be wondering how the name Nile came about, it is a famous Greek word simply meaning valley. The river flows from the surrounding areas close to the Equator to the outrageous Sahara desert and up to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Lake Victoria was first sighted by Europeans in 1858 when British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while traveling with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate the great lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after the then Queen of the United Kingdom. Burton, recovering from illness and resting further south on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, was outraged that Speke claimed to have proved his discovery to be the true source of the Nile when Burton regarded this as still unsettled. A very public quarrel ensued, which sparked a great deal of intense debate within the scientific community and interest by other explorers keen to either confirm or refute Speke's discovery. British explorer and missionary David Livingstone pushed too far west and entered the Congo River system instead. It was ultimately Welsh-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley who confirmed Speke's discovery, circumnavigating Lake Victoria and reporting the great outflow at Ripon Falls on the lake's northern shore.

Flanked today by the city of Jinja, the waterfall described by Speke now lies submerged beneath the Owen Falls Dam, Uganda’s main source of hydro-electric power. Still, a visit to the source of the Nile remains a moving and wondrous experience, no less so to those who have seen the same river as it flows past the ancient Egyptian temples of Luxor some 6,000 kilometres downstream. (Source: www.ugandatourismcenter.com) The source of the Nile, alluded to hazily in the ancient writings of Ptolemy, stood as one of the great geographical mysteries of the Victorian Age.

Closer to home, the Nile downriver from Jinja offers some superb white water rafting and game fishing. Its crowning glory, however, is Murchison Falls, where the world’s longest river funnels through a narrow fissure in the Rift Escarpment to erupt out of the other side in a crashing 43 metres plume of white water. The river below the falls is no less spectacular in its own way, with its profuse birdlife, thousands of hippos, and outsized, gape-mouthed crocodiles.

A tour to Nile will take you through another life of adventure. There is a golf course unwinding along the banks and the Source of the Nile, which provides a pretty focal point to the flow of water from Lake Victoria’s only outlet. A boat ride out to Samuka Island is another trip of itself, not counting the beautiful fauna you will see along. Booking a safari downstream on the Nile River brings you to Adrift Nile High Camp with various activities including bungee jumping. A few kilometres further is Bujagali Falls, the adventurer’s capital with grade-five white water rafting, kayaking, river boarding, and mountain-biking. These activities offer a unique way to explore the river banks, passing though farms, forests and villages beside the Nile.

According to trip adisor, while at the authentic, original Source of the Nile Site, where the British Explorer Speke first discovered the River Nile you can stand where he stood, take a picture with the monument, go for boat rides across the River Nile and into Lake Victoria, see monkeys, monitor lizards, pythons (and maybe even an authentic African Witchdoctor). The site also allows for camping, nature walks, parties and occasions with a truly spectacular nature setting. It is deal for bird watching and for anyone looking for a 1 day tour in the Ugandan Countryside.

 While planning an excursion to the Source of the Nile, you are advised to visit it during the day time, and endeavor to carry binoculars in order to have a spell-binding birding experience. You can also visit the curio shops and grab yourself some souvenirs. The Speke monument just near the river’s source is also a landmark worth beholding, and it is ideal for photographic moments in which you will capture life-long memories of your River Nile adventures!

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SAFARI INCLUSIONS

Safari includes:

Transportation in a Tour Van/Landcruiser.

Service of an English-speaking tour guide/Driver

One gorilla permit per person

Boat cruise

Game drive

Cultural village tour

Park admissions

Accommodation on full board

Entrance fees to all destinations as per the program.

Transfers to and from Entebbe Airport/Kampala

Safari excludes:

All activities not mentioned in the program

Phone call bills

Tips

International Transfers

Visas to Uganda

Gratitude to tour-guides

Personal insurance

Visas to Uganda

Personal effects of any nature

Hotel fees before and after the safari