Laso Falls

Karibuni Safaris has initiated a community telecentre project in Lwakhakha to train the community in computer use and thus bridge the digital divide. This is part of our pro-poor tourism initiatives to ensure the local community benefits from fair traded safaris. Having embarked on the community telecentre project, we recently took stock of attractions and activities in which volunteers could engage to pass time in-between teaching children at Lwakhakha telecentre.

Tourist attractions around Lwakhakha included the Sono water intake from where Tororo town gets water and rock bridge over river Lwakhakha wide enough for 5 cars to traverse at the same time. This bridge connects Uganda to Kenya and is called “daragi ya mungu” literally translated as God’s Bridge. The main activity is subsistence farming, with the use of donkeys to transport produce and irrigate on a small extent. This area is famous for coffee, beans, onions, tomatoes cabbages etc and is ideal for a cultural experience during the circumcision ceremonies in even years.

On two prior trips to Lwakhakha I had seen a stunning waterfall on the slopes of Namusindwa Ridge, but due to limited time was unable explore the site. On my third trip I was determined to visit Laso waterfalls, get a description, pictures and find out how to get there and away. Laso Falls could be a second route to entertain volunteers combined with a cultural experience on mountain bikes. We set off early so as to get to the waterfalls and away before it would become very hot. Our first hitch; breakfast wasn’t ready and we improvised with doughnuts, coca cola and mineral water arriving at Bumalye at 8 am.

We drove from to Bupoto 8 kms and turned left driving another 8 kms to the trail head at Bumalye. We parked the car at Bumalye and started the hike. In the school compound, we found 3 donkeys and learnt that they are the preferred means of transport due to the steep terrain. 

The hike was easy at first but as the gradient got steeper (close to about 70 degrees) as we approached the waterfalls, I started feeling dizzy and gave up the hike feeling disappointed and dejected.My guide John Kimwanga continued to the base of the waterfalls the rest of the story is his personal experience and the images he took.

River Laso emerges over a cliff on Namusindwa Ridge, from the catchment area in Mt Elgon National Park. The water gorges its way atop of Namusindwa Ridge before dropping approximately 260 feet; it splits into 3 falls the one on the extreme right (carrying the bulk of the water) terminating at bottom. The other two waterfalls simply jet-off the cliff for the last 25 feet, in a misty chilly spray making a spectacle that would marvel and inspire any architect.

Kimwanga observes “When you get to the base of the falls, you are literally out of breath and sweating as the hike gets very steep in the last 20 feet. I knew I had arrived when I was hit by a very cold shower and feared that I may suffer from hypothermia. Water jets off the cliff coming down in a hissing misty shower which is extremely cold. In a strange way, the cold was welcome after the strenuous hike. This waterfalls, is used as a shrine for (Wele Masaha) the water deity by the local people adding to my suspicion that this maybe sacred ground and therefore dangerous”.

With the combination of a slippery walk way and ice-cold water, I could not get to the base of the waterfalls. I took pictures about 30 metres from the base and left in a hurry before the biting cold started to take effect on my body. To enjoy the spectacular views at the top one needs warm and water proof clothing. Fortunately there is natural terrace which can hold 50 people. Laso falls has not been developed for tourism and is rarely visited. A stairway for the last 10 feet would ease the ascent, but for the time being, Laso is not for the faint hearted.

We are planning a cycling tour, starting in Mbale to Laso Falls, crossing the border into Kenya and proceeding to Kitale visit the museum, Delta Camp to see Rhinos and the famed underground Elephants and Bat caves in Mt Elgon National Park. Then, cycle to Suam cross back into Uganda for a night stop, ride to Kapwai Cottages for a cozy room, hike the forest exploration trails around the centre the next day. The afternoon is then spent, hiking the 3 sister falls, abseiling or trout fishing on Sipi River. The team the rides to Sisiyi Falls or alternatively visit Bulago area and pitch camp for the night. Set off early to Jinja for white water rafting, kayaking drive directly to airport for departure flight. This “Tour de Elgon” takes 12-14 days giving you, a cultural expose, living in budget eco-lodges on low impact transport.

The Fort Portal getaway.

I recently had an excursion to Fort portal, organized by Karibuni Safaris to organize value for money tour packages for you to Fort Portal, Kibale and the crater lakes. Just as it is for regular travellers, this turned out more like an adventure vacation rather than package planning exercise. We set off in the sunny afternoon and drove to Fort Portal via Mityana a distance of 290km west of Kampala city.

This is one the best ways to discover what Uganda has to offer, as the beauty starts enroute to the destination. I was particularly fascinated by the lush pine and natural forests inhabited by primates and varied avian species spotted along the way. This road also takes you to Kibale Forest National Park famed for chimpanzee trekking, bird watching and forest hiking. Human activities like tea growing(image shown above) also contribute to the scenic beauty of the area.

I eventually entered in a historical town known for ushering in tourists on Uganda safari en route to Queen Elizabeth National Park and stayed overnight in a budget guest house. The next morning was cloudy cold and wet but this did nothing to dampen my adventurous spirit.

I travelled to Amabere caves roughly 12km west of Fort portal town. These awesome caves are an attraction for anyone who loves the outdoors and wants to go off the beaten trail to connect with nature.

"Mother Nature" has combined the ancient rocks adjacent to sparkling waterfalls in a dark canopy of shrubs making a good Eco-system for small primates like the black and white colubus monkeys and bird species such as great blue Turaco. After the hike to the Amabere caves, I had a one-hour nature walk to two picturesque crater lakes and several empty craters.

I visited the magnificent crater lakes Saka and Balama surrounded by several empty craters. Both lakes have spectacular views with the Rwenzori Mountains looming in the background. These lakes can be approached by cycling or hiking from Fort Portal to Amabere caves and are safe for activities like canoeing and swimming.

Next day I visited the Omukama’s (King) palace to experience the rich cultural heritage of Tooro Kingdom one of the oldest monarchies in Uganda .This experience was very exciting. I returned to town in a drizzling afternoon rain and dropped into the Rwenzori gardens for lunch.

The Rwenzori gardens are a botanical venture by the municipality. They are famous for bird watching and relaxation . After my delicious meal I returned to beautiful gardens with a vengeance taking several shots with my camera.

This adventure vacation left me amazed by this area which was dotted with the largest concentration of craters in the world, friendly people and the ancient colonial town overseen by the fabled mountains of the Moon. I witnessed the countryside beauty and have made great packages for you. Checkout our website www.karibusafari.co.ug be a fan or follower of Karibuni safaris on face book and twitter respectively.

Story by: Arthur Kato

Picture Credit: Arthur Kato, Karibuni Safaris.

Excursion to the Serengeti- Arthur Kato

This article is a narrative written by Arthur who recently had an excursion to Serengeti Park with Karibuni Safaris. Enjoy your reading.

Day one
Our trip started at 4 pm. We traveled through the dark shadows of Mabira forest at 6.30 pm and crossed the world’s longest river (the Nile) at Jinja. We crossed the boarder successfully and drove all night having a lot of fun. As we got closer to Kisumu, Kenya everyone was asleep except the driver and I, because I don’t sleep much on tour.
Day two
Time check 5.30 am;we stopped at Nakuru for breakfast in a cafeteria then proceeded to Nairobi city with our cameras ready to capture attractions en route to Nairobi like Lake Nakuru, Mt. Longonot and the scenic East African Rift Valley.
It was a surprisingly long journey, as Mr. Wanyera and I came to observe.
“Ouch!” The area seemed too dry and arid to sustain the legendary Masai cattle and wildlife in the area. It even evoked some strange feelings to see such a desolate area coming from Uganda because we enjoy the lush green in most of Uganda. The Masaai people made it more appealing to us due to their life style and culture. We arrived in Arusha at 5.30 pm. Their main cuisine, roasted ugali and spice were so unfamiliar to me and my travel companions(students like myself). Obviously, Kiswahili is the main language spoken here.

Day three
Early in the morning, we had an excursion to the Mt. Kilimanjaro View Point. It goes without saying that we were all ready to hike up to the peak of Africa’s highest Mountain but because of unfavorable weather, we could not make the hike. Instead, we leisurely traveled back to Arusha Snake Park and visited the Masaai cultural museum. Everyone enjoyed playing with the harmless and docile snakes, camel rides and masaai cultural museum. I personally found it a little creepy!


Day four
We transferred to Karatu for an overnight stay. After driving for a few hours,we were graced to see the Ngorongoro crater and beautiful Lake Manyara scenery. We eventually detoured to the Manyara Serena safari lodge for a short tour and then continued to Karatu hostels where we danced masaai cultural styles as we waited for a delicious dinner.



Day five
At 6:00am we were all in the bus ready for the Ngorongoro experience and after a few hours we were at top of the crater. The breeze is so cold up there, you know! We could not believe that we were there, and all had our camera lenses focused down the crater taking captions of the biodiversity while everyone wondered at this world heritage site. One wonders how wildlife moves up and down that beautiful crater.

We headed for an interesting lecture about the Ngorongoro conservation area at the head offices that were few minutes from the crater. We had been wondered how the famous Olduvai Gorge looked like until we drove there! Surely the place looked like the cradle land of Zenj as proposed by so many historians.

Finally we set off to one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, the Serengeti National Park. To our good fortune, we witnessed the great wildebeest migration , and even saw the "big five". Serengeti is a paradise in all aspects including the beautiful scenery. We are lucky enough to we find a pride of lions with three cubs, giraffes, herds of buffaloes, elephants, huge numbers of wildebeests, gazelles, zebras, spotted hyenas and beautiful birds such as ostriches and vultures. We had an all day long game drive and had a night drive in the Serengeti as well, giving us a balanced picture. This was a bonus!!!

Day Six
We safely crossed the border from Kenya and arrived in Kampala-Uganda early evening braced for the usual city rush hour. All it all, it was a most splendous and educative tour to the Serengeti.


We cannot wait for you to join us. Karibuni will be your guide and companion.

Emotional Motivators in Landing Page Optimization

Emotional Motivators in Landing Page Optimization

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Karibuni Safaris releases a mini company profile.

Karibuni Safaris is a premier tour operator specializes in Adventure, Culture and Eco-Tourism. Conscious of the need to conserve our environment, we balance popular wildlife tours with alternative pursuits like nature, cultural and active adventure tours. We embrace pro-poor tourism and give back to communities we visit.

We offer tour packages for individuals and groups, hosted on River Nile and Mt Elgon. Our experienced team will give you unrivaled service while you have fun. We also operate mobile tent safaris, a fleet of luxury minivans and all terrain vehicles for hire and customize itineraries to suit your budget, time and pace.

For a new experience, look no further we have the perfect solution. We will take you “off the beaten track”, and give you the adventure of a life time. Our activities include: - Kayaking, rafting, Bungee Jumping, Horse riding, Biking, Abseiling, Rock Climbing, Fishing, Bouldering, Canoeing, mountaineering and Hiking.

Karibuni Safaris is a member of The Association of Uganda Tour Operators.

CONTACT US NOW!!

Room 21, 2^nd Floor, Susie House, Plot 1001 Ggaba Road (Next to American Embassy).

P.O. Box 10897, GPO, Kampala,Uganda.Telephone +256312110627, Mobile- +256772504597,

E-mail- contacts@karibusafari.co.ug Website- http: www.karibusafari.co.ug,

Blog - karibunisafaris.blogspot.com , Follow us - On Twitter and Facebook

“For that once in a lifetime adventure”

Paraa trip with Karibuni Safaris.

Karibuni Safaris was recently part of an excursion to the Paraa Region in Western Uganda. The last couple of weeks have been busy for this company between signing up for different member associations and making our mark know, it is no wonder we are moving up faster with each passing day.

Below are some of the pictures taken during the Paraa excursion. Enjoy your selves and do not for get to visit Karibuni Safaris on you tube by clicking this link.

Also look at more pictures at this link

Stay connected and remember... whenever you need a freindly, cost efficient guide in the Pearl of Africa, look no further than Karibuni Safaris Limited. Contact us at the email below for all your travel questions, complaints and needs.

Have a splendid weekend!

My Trip to Mbale with Karibuni Safaris. Day 2

SIPI FALLS


We left the Westend Inn at about 11am this morning. In the rush to leave after mum and dad returned from Mbale town, we could not get ice-cubes to freeze daddy's medicine.

In any case, we got to moving and are on the way to Sipi Falls now. It is amazing to see the raw beauty of eastern Uganda. Definitely something worth seeing in your life time: the hills and Mountain Elgon ranges across the horizon coupled with waterfalls, cows goats and even some donkeys.

below: look into the horizon: hidden treasures of Sironko District in Uganda

donkeys in the court yards

one of the "sister" falls in Sipi Falls area

To put it as dad said.. " the good thing about the trip to Sipi is that the journey begins even before you get there!"

I totally agree. And I have pictures to back me up! :)

Our first stop was at the Crow's Nest Camp site. It is a small site with work and maintenance done completely by the local community. The housing is well organized and amicable for the traveler looking to relax and enjoy the view of the  Sipi Falls. We were lucky to meet some tourists; all from different countries. Some where from Australia and others from Great Britain. The ambience at Crow's Nest is amicable. All the accommodation resembled little bird nests facing the Sipi Falls.

below: one of the cabins at Crow's Nest.

a bed at Crow's Nest lavished with a mosquito net and lots of room for two .

below: another cabin at Crow's nest


After our short visit to Crow's Nest, we left and headed for the Mount Elgon Forest Research Center. We were shocked to discover that  the ten minute drive we were trying to take. . .was actually to be 30 minutes. Daddy was not particularly amused by this and suggested to stop and walk at some point.. Mum suggested that we leave her by the road and go to the camp alone then pick her up when we got back. Walking was not in her agenda!, thank heavens we met a local tour guide take us to the camp…

The Forest Research centre was really amazing. There are a multiple of forest trails and cabins for different type people. The Research Center boasts four cabins, and four tented camps.

below: a kibanda at Mt. Elgon Forest Rsearch Center
 It also has campsites for tourists with their own tents. On arrival at the centre we met a group of tourists on their way to hike. Our tour guide enlightened us that the tourists would be travelling and setting camp at  the "tum tum" camp site. Pronounced "toom toom "

"Tum, tum." Mum repeated the words after the tour guide mentioned them, and she had a silent laugh.. 

"What is tum tum? ", daddy asked.
"You know, long ago, the people used to dance there. The word "tum" means dance.. And "tum tum" means dance dance. The name comes from the dances at that place.." he said.

"Haha, tum tum.. " Daddy and mummy said again.. Laughing as we drove away to the next location on our to-do list.

I managed to talk my dad into letting me have a walk down to the foot of the Sipi Falls. The tour guide is going to take me down there so I can take some pictures in the cave. He says that the walk down will take 30 minutes, but I am skeptical. You know how it is with these guides.. Ten minutes becomes 20 and 30 become one hour!.. Oh well, I'll walk and speak!

… one hour later …

Wow is all I HAVE to say as far as  the trip to the foot of the Sipi Falls goes. I did not think I would be able to make it to the bottom of that hill . . . but I did. I have never seen hills so steep and sun so bright. 

Honestly, the walk down to the bottom was pretty smooth. May be it was because I was looking forward to getting to the bottom of the falls and my dad wanted me to see it from within the cave! I have to say, when I started to hear the falls in the back ground, I could not wait to get to them. Their beauty and sheer grandeur were enough to make me cry, but I contained myself none-the-less. My tour guide was telling me of how strong I have been. 

We managed to walk through some tough terrain in less than 30 minutes. It was something amazing..  And I promised him that I would bring a friend over the next time I came to the falls. Infact, the next time I bring a friend over, I will make sure we go to the top of Mount Elgon too.

Now the trip back to the top of the mountain / hill was not easy at all. I had so conveniently forgotten my water bottle in the car and I realized how badly I needed the water when we were climbing these hills inclined at 90 degrees...literally. I must have made about six stops and by the time I got to the top,my heart was pumping so fast that I thought I would die. Haha, but as you can tell.. I am alive and WELL! :).. The one thing that kept me going was the thought of a cold bottle of fanta running down my throat when I got back to flat land.

I have to say, the journey to the top had an interesting climax..  I found  a plate of deep fried irish potatoes, fish fillet and some salad… and lastly but not least … a cold bottle of FANTA... I LOVED THAT FANTA! ;)

We are on our way to Mbale town and it is about 4:50pm here . We are gonna stop by market to get some food for Bukhaweka( the real village).. Then we are gonna go  to the village for the night. Its been more than a year since I was last there.. And I am waiting anxiously to get there. :)

Alright buddies, that is enough for now.. I will be back later.. With more from the Eastern Uganda excursion. :)

for more information on these and more trips, send emails to contacts@karibusafari.co.ug or visit the website at www.karibusafari.co.ug

My Trip to Mbale, With Karibuni Safaris!

I am on my way to Mbale right now with the parents. This trip has been organized by Karibuni Safaris and so far  it has been good, but I guess only time will tell. We left Kampala at about midday today and have been on a non-stop trip to Mbale for about 3 hours. Dad is a little aggitated because there are some business people we are supposed to be meeting in Mbale to strike some deals with. I hope all goes with the trip.

tracks on the road side to Mbale
…half an hour later..
We  stopped at Najjembe to get some chicken and gonja and  the car tire we fixed  yesterday  after spending a cool 35000 shillings was flat again. I am pretty sure we lost thirty minutes of our journey there. We were able to get a mechanic to help us fix our car and are now back on our trip to Mbale.

muchomo plaza

roasted gonja
                                                                   
I have my own quarrels dealing with the police now and what not. How can we driving at 50kph on the highway! When are we supposed to get to our destination- especially when we have deadlines to beat! Anyway, I am  hopeful that we will find some of these business people in their offices when we 

get to Mbale.

green bananas
Otherwise, for now… I am enjoying the beats from Putumayo's South African music  and letting daddy drive us to Mbale. 

 ... one hour later...
"Clara I have got a fart… and behind it there's a tool! " daddy said as we headed into Iganga. He was guarding that tool jealously to save the passengers least it became a calamity! 
Poor passengers!

Kiira Dam in the back ground.. Me in the foreground
So, as it turns out.. The road to Mbale between Jinja and Bugiri has been fixed! All tarmacked and smooth as ever, I am enjoying this trip today. Plus, I HAVE been able to open the sun roof of the car and take some well deserved pictures of Uganda.
So far we have been stopped by two policemen. The first one took 10,000 shillings from daddy. The second one simply asked us to:
1.  Put  on the indicators.
2. Put on the wipers.
3. Show the driving permit and what not.
Wow quite the epic adventure. I am glad that I was not the one driving the car today: because it would be a complete disaster!
We just left Iganga town  a few minutes ago and we are now on Tirini road! It is our straight shot to Mbale Town. Did I forget to mention that it is a 99km stretch?! Haha, well, there is nothing to enjoy on this road aside from the maize plantations, the mud huts covered with grass thatched roofs, the cassava plantations here and there,, and ofcourse, the lovely sounds of Erykah Badu and simple conversations from mum and dad. 

cows grazing on Tirini Road
Its 3:35pm now. :)… so much for the three our drive to Mbale. :P
3:56pm.. It s just started pouring  rain! We are still on Tirini road and its refreshing to see some rain after being home for a couple of weeks and not seeing anything. :)… Mum's legs were swelling a while back.. But managed to get that under control. :D.. So, they are good now basically. From the look in the sky, Mbale  town seems to have been visited by some rain.. And we are driving right into it.
K.. I'll be back a little later when I have something nice to add to my travel to Mbale. :D
4:46pm, we finally arrive into Mbale.

A street in Mbale Town

10 Day Great Bird Watching Expedition.

  Uganda is located right on the Equator, at the crossroads of the East African plains.Karibuni Safaris has organized a 10 day premier bird watching experience that you, your family and your friends can enjoy in the heart of East Africa. The 10 day bird watching expedition will include visits to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Queen Elizabeth National park. 

Among other species of birds you will see are the Yellow Eyed Flycatcher, the Kivu Ground-thrush and the Red-faced woodland warbler seen respectively in the pictures following.

Queen Elizabeth National Park along had over 550 avian species of birds and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has 350 species of birds. Working together with the these parks, Karibuni Safaris stands on its promise of customer satisfaction, with great accommodation and an unparalleled fun and nature-interaction experience.

What are you waiting for? Pick up your travelling shoes and book a trip with us at our website. Need more information on the itinerary, follow this link.

Any of your travel questions can be sent to us at contacts@karibusafari.co.ug or info@karibusafari.co.ug.

More contact information can be found on this site.

We look forward to hearing from you. :)

Change of contacts

There has been a change in the contacts for Karibuni Safaris.

You can now contact Karibuni at

contacts@karibusafari.co.ug and info@karibusafari.co.ug rather than the resently said

contacts@karibusafaris.co.ug and info@karibusafaris.co.ug.

We apologize for the confusion.

A HOME...OR HELL RUN?

This story is a follow up from David K's Excursion to Kibaale National park. It describes the misfortunes of he and his travel companions. We hope that you will read and enjoy this sad.. yet funny story and hope that you will pick a few lessons as regards being fully prepared for your next trip into the Wild! Enjoy!!

We started our 6-hour journey for Kampala city at 2 PM expecting to get there at about 10 pm. After barely driving 25 KMs, our rear tire got a puncture in a prime tree climbing lion territory. We had no car-jack and the spare tire was deflated! Fortunately a truck not too far from us had tire problems too. We used the truck driver’s hydraulic system to inflate our tire and borrowed his car-jack to replace the spare tire. That was when we discovered the car couldn’t start as its battery was empty! The truck driver simply started his truck and drove away shaking his head at our sheer bad luck.

Not too long after, we started flagging down vehicles. To our dismay, they are few, far in-between and those who dared stop asked us whether we had jump wires used to restart the engine. You guessed right we didn’t have any! We were eventually rescued by a well prepared motorist and got back on the road; time check 4.30 pm. We had already lost 2 hours of our day and still had to take a detoured at the Simba Safari camp to pick a journalist Edwin who had asked for a lift. He would later regret this decision.

At 6 pm, we got to Kasese, fueled up, fixed the spare tire (this would turn out to be a crucial decision), and set off for Kampala at 6.30 PM. On the way we stopped to buy fruits in a township 20Kms from Fort Portal and as fate would have it, our driver switched off the car engine. After buying the fruits the car couldn’t start! We were ONCE AGAIN, asked for jump wires. You already know our answer to that. A few moments of discussion ended with us buying the jump wires; however, motorists refused to stop and help us start the car; their excuse, “Sorry, we are in a hurry!” We eventually got a good Samaritan who helped us start the car, but no sooner had he driven away, our car started to stall again. Lucky enough, we had saved his cell phone number and asked for his assistance once again: he obliged to help for a fee, so much for Good Samaritan....; time check 10.25 pm.

We finally set off for Fort Portal at 10.35pm after losing 2 more hours and vowed not to turn the car engine off again. A quick stop over in Fort Portal to freshen up and buy snacks would have us leave for Kampala at 12 am. We got to Kampala at 3.30 am; prime time for traffic police to hassle truck drivers with faults. The police stopped us because our right head lamp was kaput and it took us the better part of the hour to negotiate our freedom.

If you think the worst was over, do you remember the tire we repaired in Kasese. Well when the traffic police finally let us go that tire gave way as if to punish us for the failed mission of frustrating our journey back home. Fortunately there was a gas station nearby from which we borrowed a car-jack from a truck driver and replaced the flat tire. At this point in time, the tire was completely damaged beyond repair.

I finally got home at 4.30 am, almost 14 hours later. It is with this that I warn you to know and take it upon yourself to check the car-road- worthiness on your next trip to the wild. See you around.