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Located
some 8kms out of Jinja this is a spectacular scenic spot with
1 km of raging rapids, forested islands in the Nile and an abundance
of bird life. Accommodation Bujagali Falls: At the Shell Filling
Station roundabout follow the signposting for the Bujagali Falls.
Approx 8 kms. The 2 campsites frequented by most visitors are
detailed below. Nile River Explorers Campsite: Great views over
the Nile and the rapids at Bujagali. Big thatched bar area with
meals and snacks available. Tents for hire and several thatched
bandas. Remember if you raft with NRE you can stay here for
1 night for free.
Camping US$2 p/p
Bandas US$15 |
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Spekes
Camp: Tel. 041 220906 or Cell 075 720906, e-mail bujagali@bujagalifalls.com
Next to the NRE camp set down at river level actually on the
Bujagali falls. 2 free nights camping when you raft with Equator
rafting. Bar and restaurant, kayak school and sunset cruises.
Camping US$2 p/p
Dorm bandas US$5 p/p
Double Bandas US$15
Eden Rocks Resorts: Tel. 077 504059. Located between NRE and
Speke Camp. Unique self contained bandas and camping site. A
la carte restaurant and open bar. Accommodation rates include
breakfast.
Banda US$25-
Camping US$3-
Bujagali Falls is one the first big rapids you will encounter.
If you would like to see it though you better hurry up. The
whole series of rapids including Bujagali may soon disappear
with the construction of a new dam.
Some ten kilometres below Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest
lake and source of the River Nile, 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. The luxuriant vegetation covering
the river banks and islands, and the startling diversity of
bird life attracted by the multitude of fish, complete the stunning
vista, as illustrated in the photographs. Water entering the
White (or Victoria) Nile – known locally as Omugga Kiyira
– from the Lake takes fully three months to flow the 6400
km northwards to the Mediterranean Sea.
This peaceful corner of Uganda, not far from the country’s
second city of Jinja, might well have remained relatively obscure,
save to local residents and the young travellers frequenting
nearby campsites to experience the excitement of white water
rafting and other forms of low-impact ecotourism. However, construction
of a second hydro-electric dam near the falls, now under way,
has thrust the area into the international spotlight. The powers
that be deem the ageing Owen Falls Dam, completed in 1954 at
the source of the Nile, inadequate to meet the region’s
increasing demand for electricity, and see the Bujagali Dam
as a source of lucrative export revenue, mainly to neighbouring
Kenya.
Moreover, it is now widely accepted that smaller dams and weirs,
costing far less and without the massive environmental and social
impacts, can generate comparable amounts of electricity. This
was affirmed by the report of the respected World Commission
on Dams in 2000, which also highlighted that the costs of such
schemes may outweigh the benefits, although it is disproportionately
the poor and the environment who bear most of the costs.
As with so many large dam schemes, the controversies do not
readily go away. Suspicions that vested interests rather than
objectively tested need lie behind the construction of Bujagali
were fuelled in September 2002 when the Washington Post reported
the sacking of John M. Fitzgerald, an American lawyer working
as an environmental policy analyst for the US Agency for International
Development (USAID). His misdemeanour was apparently to highlight
‘environmental problems, gross waste and mismanagement’
in his review of US-backed public bank loans to overseas infrastructure
projects, including Bujagali, and then to challenge other staffers
who had toned down his criticisms. |
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