After a few hot days in Soroti, we headed back to Mbale and then wound our way up Mt. Elgon to Sipi Falls. Mt. Elgon is a HUGE dormant volcano almost 14,000 feet high. The Sipi River (it’s more like a stream) flows down the northern slope of the mountain. About half-way down it tumbles over 3 different cliffs. The upper falls is about 250 feet high, the middle falls is about 200 feet, and the lower falls is about 350 feet high. In between them the river winds its way through small plots of land dotted with mud huts, matoke and banana trees, cassava, and coffee. It’s one of the most enchanting places I have ever been to.
We stayed at the Sipi River Lodge. Our cottage was small, but was located just a couple hundred feet from the middle falls offering us a spectacular view from our living room and porch. We spent our days trekking up and down the river exploring the waterfalls. On our first trek, a 10-year-old boy named Peter asked me if he could show me some things at the top of the middle falls. I knew he was hoping for a small payment for his services, but I said OK, and we headed off. Before I knew it we had a dozen other boys “helping” us. They were actually very helpful. They held Elise’s and Brody’s hands on the steep parts and one boy gave Milenia a higgy-back (Milenia’s version of piggy-back) ride. We later found out that it’s a bad idea to use the local boys for guides because they end up skipping school to try to earn money from the mzungus (white people). Should have know better, but lesson learned!
So the next morning we decided to hire a real guide named George to take us to the lower falls. He was great. He taught us some of the local language which is called Kupsabiny. We learned about the local culture. I was shocked to find out that George is the 8th best distance runner in Uganda running 10 km in less than 30 minutes! All of the other top runners come from this area as well, which makes sense given the incredibly steep terrain and high elevation. The trek down to the lower falls was steep and treacherous. At one point we had to go down a 40 foot ladder. As we struggled to keep our footing on the way down, we passed several women barefoot with a walking stick in one hand and a bag in the other yet somehow perfectly balancing banana bunches and logs on their heads as they climbed the steep slope. Absolutely amazing!
At the lower falls, Milenia and I decided to take a swim. I got in up to my waist, but the water was so frigid that my legs got numb. I decided to stop there. The climb back up was difficult, but we stopped at a cave along the way and explored it for a while as we dodged the bats that we disturbed along the way.
That night we climbed to the top of a hill and watched the sunset over the plains below. It also offered a spectacular view of all three falls as well as the top of Mt. Elgon. All in all it was great way to unplug from city life for a few days, and we all feel very refreshed as a result!
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