Some ten kilometres below Lake Victoria, lie the little-known but stunningly beautiful Bujagali Falls. Although lacking a single massive drop of the kind that generally earns waterfalls their fame, the Bujagali are distinctive because of the sheer volume of water cascading over the series of low rapids that would otherwise be unremarkable.
What the falls loose in height; they make up for in speed (only someone with a death wish would dive or swim there). The water is so fast that you can easily see how a few of these falls can move the Nile for the next 6000+ Km to Mediterranean Sea.
Unfortunately, this wonder of nature is about to disappear. To ease the power shortages (yes they have load-shedding in Uganda as well), the government has started the construction of a 250MW hydropower facility. This dam will result in water level rising and the falls disappearing for ever.
I know that since we have a serious power crisis in our country, it is very hard for us to sympathise about destruction of some falls. But in my opinion, if we play with nature too much... it does not like and bites back!
You can see the Bujagali Falls picture album on Picasa.
What the falls loose in height; they make up for in speed (only someone with a death wish would dive or swim there). The water is so fast that you can easily see how a few of these falls can move the Nile for the next 6000+ Km to Mediterranean Sea.
Unfortunately, this wonder of nature is about to disappear. To ease the power shortages (yes they have load-shedding in Uganda as well), the government has started the construction of a 250MW hydropower facility. This dam will result in water level rising and the falls disappearing for ever.
I know that since we have a serious power crisis in our country, it is very hard for us to sympathise about destruction of some falls. But in my opinion, if we play with nature too much... it does not like and bites back!
You can see the Bujagali Falls picture album on Picasa.
Labels: bujagali, falls, jinja, LakeVictoria, uganda
Lake Victoria is not only the largest tropical lake in the world; it is also the Source of River Nile - the longest river in the world. Although Wikipedia disputes the facts that the source of Nile is Lake Victoria, but since it does not offer an alternative locations and the Ugandan government has already developed the tourist spot, I think it would be fair to say that the Nile starts from Lake Victoria.
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the former being the longer of the two. The White Nile starts from Lake Victoria and flows through southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
We saw very few tourists on at this place (maybe because it was late in the evening and it had rained a lot a couple of hours earlier). We would have taken the boat ride in the lake and the river, but we did not have much time; so we took a few pictures and moved on.
Next to the source of the Nile is a statue of Gandhi. According to Ghandi's wish, the majority of his ashes were immersed in some of the world's major rivers. The monument represents the place at the source of Nile where part of theses ashes were immersed. I am told that a lot of Indians visit this place to pay their respects to him.
You can also see the Source of the Nile Trip album at Picasa.
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the former being the longer of the two. The White Nile starts from Lake Victoria and flows through southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
We saw very few tourists on at this place (maybe because it was late in the evening and it had rained a lot a couple of hours earlier). We would have taken the boat ride in the lake and the river, but we did not have much time; so we took a few pictures and moved on.
Next to the source of the Nile is a statue of Gandhi. According to Ghandi's wish, the majority of his ashes were immersed in some of the world's major rivers. The monument represents the place at the source of Nile where part of theses ashes were immersed. I am told that a lot of Indians visit this place to pay their respects to him.
You can also see the Source of the Nile Trip album at Picasa.
Labels: jinja, Lake, LakeVictoria, nile, uganda
