Sipi Falls

Two weekends ago all the interns took a break and took a quick trip to Sipi Falls. After a five hour ride squished into a 16 passenger taxi that is about the size of a conversion van, we arrived at what I can only describe as a little slice of heaven. Sipi Falls is a series of three waterfalls at the base in of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda. Mount Elgon is a dormant volcano straddling the border of Uganda and Kenya. The three falls range in heights from 30 meters to 100 meters.

We stayed at a wonderfully relaxing resort that was at about 1800 meters of elevation so it was remarkably cool. It was a nice break from the (relative) heat of Kampala. We felt really spoiled to have stayed at such a nice place. We thought it was funny that we were getting giddy over luxuries as simple as no mosquito nets (it was too cold at night for mosquitoes), temperature control on our showers (in my apartment, the options are freezing cold or scalding hot), and chocolate cake for (Ugandans aren't too big on sweets).

Here are some photos of the highlights.

On the first day, we found this tree root hanging near the base of the falls closest to our camp that we used as a swing.

This was our little hut tucked away in some trees. It sat next to a small stream that came from the fall just a few dozen meters away.

The second day we went on a hike to the lower falls in the morning and the upper falls in the afternoon. This is what we saw at the start of out hike. It would only get better from here.

We came around the corner and could start to see the falls. It was still a long way to the bottom.

This is one of the rickety wooden ladders we had to climb down in order to reach the base of the falls.

Almost there...

We made it to the base of the falls. Here is a group shot with our guide, Jasper.

A shot looking up to the top.

On our way back, we found a neat place to go for a swim. Tim and Kevin are jumping in with a slew of locals gathered to watch.

Stopping for a break looking out over the horizon before heading back home.


That night after dinner, we found this really cool place to watch the sun set over central Uganda. These last few are from our photo shoot.