Saturday, 9.3. – A Ugandan Hike

Our last full day in Fort Portal starts with an early breakfast at 7:30 and a walk to the close-by meeting point where the local Kabarole Rotary Chapter is gathering for a hike into the Ruwenzori Mountains. The gathering is Ugandan-style, i.e. proposed time to meet is 8AM and around 9AM we leave by car to our starting point, the Kichwamba Technical College.

There is a sad story about this college we learn about when visiting the well-secured campus and mass-grave of 80 students who were killed in a raid in 1998, when ADF rebels from Kongo attempted to ‘free’ Uganda and attacked villages and public institutions over night, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind them.

Finally, at 10AM we kick off with a group 50 to 60 people and walk down the main road, just to turn left after 1km and move into the mountain. The terrain is surprisingly steep and the group quickly falls apart into faster and slower hikers. It takes me about an hour to get up to the intermediate destination, a very basic military camp about 1000 meters in height above our starting point. The rest in the cool wind, enjoying a gorgeous view over the sunny valley well compensates every hiker for the quite exhaustive climb up there.

We made it!

Felix mastering the last meters

Accompanied by a team of armed soldiers (protecting us against wild elephants, rebels and any other threats the terrain may offer) we follow our guide into a deep, jungle-like bamboo forest along a well hidden ‘Ho Chi Minh’-style single trail. Luckily, there are no rebels, unluckily, also no elephants... 

Safely guarded in the bamboo forest

A very green environment

After walking another hour and turning back the same way, we take the tour down again, and due to the steep terrain, going down unfortunately is not much easier than climbing up.

Half way down, Maria from Kluge’s guest farm has arranged a quick bite of goat meat and rice, and – sensing the daily weather change after some quite sunny hours – we continue our way down. Right on time – since the rain just starts when we sit in the car. On the way back, we are going through an extraordinarily violent thunderstorm and pass a telephone pole that gets struck by a lightning and explodes in the very moment we pass it. Quite an event...!

We spend the early evening with the hiking party at the Toro Golf Club for more goat meat and local food and later continue joining Philipp’s party at his home.

On business, I receive another confirmation from one bank on their participance in next week’s workshop – this already makes four banks at least, which is good news. Our transfer to Kampala is booked for tomorrow at 10AM, so that – depending on the traffic – we hope to be there during late afternoon.