Jinja is the second biggest
city in Uganda, though population-wise that’s not saying much. It’s really only a dusty market town 80 kilometres
east of Kampala and 143 kilometres to the Kenyan borders at Malaba
and Busia. You are destined to pass through it if you are arriving in Uganda
overland. It lies on the banks of Lake Victoria and is best known
as the location of the source of the River Nile as it spills
out of Lake Victoria on its journey to the Mediterranean. The Nile is undoubtedly
the greatest river on the African continent and at 6 650 kilometres,
the longest river in the world.
In 1862 the explorer John Speke traced the course of the Nile and
claimed Lake Victoria’s Ripon Falls at Jinja as the source.
Then in 1954 the Owen Falls Dam was opened, submerging the Ripon Falls and
making Lake Victoria one of the world's largest reservoirs. The
main Kampala to Nairobi road runs across the top of the dam, and the
nearby hydroelectric station supplies Uganda and much of Kenya with
electricity. More recently, another dam has been constructed below
the Owen Falls Dam and another is in the pipeline further upstream.
There’s not much else in Jinja to keep you there, other than
the staggering amount of internet cafes - nine - and most people
move on to Bujugali Falls, 8kms upstream. This is a spectacular scenic
spot with 1 kilometre of thundering rapids, forested islands in the
Nile and an abundance of bird life. There are a couple of lively campsites
overlooking the rapids and a number of adventure activities and community
projects to keep you occupied.
Bujugali Falls is the first rapid on a half or full day white water
rafting trip through a turbulent series of rapids with sinister names
like ‘Overtime’ or ‘The Bad Place’. If
getting wet is not your thing, explore the Nile riverbank, the surrounding
villages and countryside by quad-bike. You could even bungi jump over the
Nile on a jump that includes a water touch – your head is submerged at
the optimum end of the jump. Very unfortunately, though its probably necessary
for the power needs of East Africa, the completion of the third hydroelectric
dam in the Owen Falls dam project will see an end to river rafting
at Bujugali. The existing rapids will be flooded, so go now before
this beautiful spot disappears forever.
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