Safari to the centre of the solar system – can you eclipse that?
Safari to the centre of the solar system – can you eclipse that?
The Muzungu simply couldn’t pass on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a Hybrid Solar Eclipse in Uganda.
“Now you see me …. now you don’t” protective welder’s mask courtesy of Patrick Okaba, Daily Monitor journalist from Nebbi
I’m not usually stuck for words, but even now I’m struggling to describe those 22 seconds of my life: watching the sun – our whole world – temporarily obliterated by the moon. Not only was it dazzlingly beautiful, I thought my heart was going to stop!
Uganda’s NTV neatly summed up the Hybrid Solar Eclipse – but you had to be in Pokwero, in the District of Pakwach, to feel the excitement!
All roads lead to…. Pakwach!
“The total solar eclipse is only going to be visible at an angle of 17°,” explained John the physics teacher from ISU, as he, his wife Leslie and I drove north from Kampala to Pakwach.
All roads lead to…. Pakwach!
Here on the Equator, it gets dark around 6.30 in the evening, all year round. The Eclipse was due at 5.22 p.m. so the sun would be low in the sky: would we be able to see above each other’s heads to view the eclipse, the Muzungu wondered?
Halfway from Kampala to our destination, we stopped at the newish Kabalega Diner for a break. We were the only visitors when I first passed through a year ago. This time I was amazed to see the car park full of minibuses and the Diner jampacked full of Japanese tourists eating burgers and chips. Is this what Uganda might look like one day? Is this the way we want Uganda to look in the future? I ponder how mass tourism would look in a Uganda of the future. And will the Muzungu still love Uganda the same way?
We were intrigued to find out where the group were from. It had taken them two days to travel from Japan: to experience the Eclipse and then go on Safari in Murchison Falls.
“I just hope it won’t be cloudy tomorrow!” The Japanese tourist told me. “But what can we do?”
Mordechai welcomed us to Pakuba Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park
On arrival at Pakuba Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park, we had a wonderful, warm welcome from the towering Mordechai, who very graciously looked after us all weekend. (There was something of the filmstar about Mordechai!) No photo – sorry.
Pakuba Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park
Early evening, ISU student Fabien and I saw three Grey Hornbills and my first Silverbird next to the Lodge.
An eclipse! And ticks for my birdlist too! The Muzungu was in seventh heaven…
Approximately 70 of us stayed at Pakuba Lodge on Saturday night, a number of us opting to camp. Simon Peter, the very charming UWA Ranger visited each tent to reassure us that he would protect us from leopards and scorpions. (Check your shoes, campers!)
“Wake me up if you see a Leopard!” I told him (like I was going to get any sleep anyway…)
Why? Because the Muzungu’s experience shall go down in the annals of camping as “How not to camp.” I knew my strategy of improvising for missing parts of the tent might backfire… The floating toothbrush that welcomed me when I unzipped the tent shamed this former Venture Scout! Luckily I had a plastic cup to bail out “Lake Pakuba,” the huge puddle in one corner of my tent, and spent the night lying rigid on a tiny dry island of sleeping mat, scared I might tip myself into said Lake, while another heavy rain storm threatened overhead.
Meet the Eclipse Chaser!
One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting Kryss Katsiavriades, an ‘eclipse chaser’, in Uganda to see his 14th solar Eclipse. He was a mine of information.
Uganda’s Annular-Total (or Hybrid) Solar Eclipse of 3 November 2013 is one of the rarest types of eclipses, described in detail on Kryss’ excellent website.
Map showing the maximum duration of the total solar eclipse, which was found along the centre, middle blue line – slap bang through Pokwero / Pakwach and Gulu.
Kryss told us that “This kind of solar eclipse happens somewhere in the world every 400 years. It’s calculated that it will be another 400 years before Uganda sees a similar type of Eclipse. I don’t think even Museveni will be in power by then!”
At breakfast, the morning of the eclipse, Kryss Katsiavriades and the Muzungu greeted the Minister for Tourism, Maria Mutagamba, also overnighting at Pakuba Lodge.
Kryss explained to the Minister that the last time we saw an Eclipse in the UK was in 1999.
“But it was in Germany!” Interrupted a German tourist. Our historical arguments travel with us: the British and the Germans argue, lightheartedly, over ‘who owned the eclipse of 1999.’ (The Muzungu experienced the U.K.’s eclipse of 1999, in Glasgow. All that happened was an already grey sky went a bit greyer! Typically Glaswegian).
Chasing the Eclipse
Across the river in Pakwach, is a very different Uganda to the one I’m used to. I’m intrigued.
I admit this is the first time I’ve crossed Kafu Bridge, over the Albert Nile. There are few cars, few motorbikes and little advertising. The only brick buildings are shops. Geometrically thatched, round bandas proliferate. Most activity takes place in the shade of big trees. Smoked, filleted fish are spread out for sale. It’s very hot and very dusty.
I worry how many people are going to damage their eyes this afternoon attempting to view the eclipse. As we drive down the main street of Pakwach, you can sense eclipse fever.
It was a competition to see how many cameras, phones, goggles and miscellaneous protective eye gear, one could use simultaneously!
A man holds dark sunglasses up to the sun. A boy holds a floppy disk, and another looks through a piece of smoked glass. Outside the stationer’s shop, two young men unfurl the unused film from a canister. Most people are trying solutions that I’ve read are dangerous.
I feel like we are on a film set
“We are now in the path of totality,” Kryss announces as we ‘eat the dust’ of a pickup truck full of 20 or more local people in their Sunday best clothes, beaming and ululating as they bounce down the road ahead of us.
In a country of red dusty roads, have I ever seen them this red? Have they ever been this dusty? We’re heading to the middle of nowhere; international Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have flown into Uganda just for the event [just a rumour I think! I don’t know anyone who actually saw them!] President Museveni and entourage are coming to Pokwero – and there’s a huge sense of anticipation.
International Hollywood filmstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie flew into Uganda just for the solar eclipse (apparently)
It all feels rather odd.
High security is in evidence. We pass soldiers by the side of the road, and follow a truck full of police to the viewing site at Owiny Primary School, Pokwero.
Diary of a Muzungu in the security line for the solar eclipse viewing at Owiny Primary School, Pokwero, Uganda
“2 degrees, 33 minutes and 11 seconds,” announces Kryss.
“And that means…?” Asks Fred the driver.
“It means a little bit further on and we will get to where we have maximum duration of the total solar eclipse.”
Ooooooo, it’s really happening!
The maximum duration of totality is found along the centre, middle blue line.
Kryss has frequently appeared on TV and radio in his global eclipse-chasing quest. True to form, we’ve only just parked our vehicle when an interviewer from Channel 44 approaches Kryss with a camera.
Kryss tells Channel 44 viewers: “The sun is the giver of all life on this planet, and to see it extinguished and the day turning into night, and to see the stars and planets in the middle of the day, is something that you will never forget.”
‘Muzungu Blogger of the Eclipse’ touches down in Pokwero
It had been announced that President Museveni was to be ‘Chief Viewer of the Eclipse’.
‘Muzungu Blogger of the Solar Eclipse’ touches down in Pokwero, Uganda
The eclipse was a great showcase for putting Northern Uganda on the tourist map but the country’s usual last-minute preparations realistically meant that only dedicated Eclipse chasers who had done their own research chose to visit Uganda for the eclipse. Many went to Kenya. Many went to West Africa. Some hired boats and went out into the Atlantic to view the solar Eclipse.
The King of Alur and the Omukama (Traditional King) of Bunyoro ventured to Pokwero, as did the newly crowned Miss Tourism Uganda.
Huge crowds waiting to view Uganda’s Solar Eclipse at Owiny Primary School, Pokwero, Pakwach
There was no escaping the party politics as we sat sweating in white plastic chairs, grateful at least for the protection from the glaring hot afternoon sun of 35° or more. The hours passed slowly: listening to welcomes, ‘laying the foundation stone’ on the rather unimaginative Eclipse Memorial, political speeches, schoolchildren dancing and singing, hymns and the national anthem, twice.
- Traditional dancers entertained the crowd waiting to view Uganda’s Solar Eclipse at Owiny Primary School, Pokwero, Pakwach
I feel sorry for the uneducated person who might actually believe that the government had organised the Eclipse just for Museveni ‘The President of the Eclipse’s entertainment.
To paraphrase one of the speakers, apparently “God chose Uganda for this hybrid solar Eclipse, an event that only happens every 400 years. It’s no coincidence that it’s taking place during the reign of the NRM regime…” i.e. God planned the Eclipse in Uganda in 2013 thanks to the NRM. (Obvious really).
Cue the real stars of the show
Mostly attentive until that point, come 4 o’clock every spectator picked up their chair and turned their back on the President and the dignitaries to view the real stars of the show: the partially eclipsed Sun and the Moon.
The excitement was contagious. We passed around special eclipse glasses and sunglasses customised with camera film, and shared the Ministry of Tourism’s viewing filters with local children. We didn’t speak the same language, but we were all in awe of what was happening in the skies above us.
- IT WAS HOT! And the day of the eclipse the skies overhead were vividly coloured all day
It was a huge party. Did I mention it was HOT?!
A message came through from Kampala
The partial eclipse was due to last just over two hours. After a few minutes, people started getting bored, waiting and waiting for the total eclipse. Some of them wandered off.
Clouds covered the sun!
Oh no, perhaps, the Japanese tourists was right? Kryss had reassured me that even if it was cloudy, the experience would still be memorable. The MC switched on the microphone and told everyone not to go home.
“Many clouds?” read the SMS from Kampala.
“Oh bog off,” I replied (although perhaps not quite that politely).
Friends in Kampala said they “couldn’t be bothered” to travel all the way up to Pokwero. Couldn’t be bothered to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience? I was dammed if clouds were going to spoil my eclipse experience while they sat smugly in Kampala.
Captivated by the sight of the partial solar eclipse
Despite the clouds, the light was a magical golden colour. The clouds were beautiful too.
Hashers of the Eclipse – we should have had a Circle in Pokwero!
The competition for the maximum number of cameras, phones, goggles and miscellaneous protective eye gear is hotting up!
We were back on track and I could feel the excitement grow you as the skies darkened on the countdown to the total eclipse.
Hashers of the Eclipse part 2 – we should have had a Circle in Pokwero! The competition for the maximum number of cameras, phones, goggles and miscellaneous protective eye gear is hotting up!
We watched the sun – our whole world – temporarily obliterated by the moon.
Not only was it dazzlingly beautiful, I thought my heart was going to stop!
Uganda’s total solar eclipse. Photo taken with fisheye lens by Lukasz
And then darkness!
Diary of a Muzungu’s very amateur photo of Uganda’s hybrid solar eclipse, Pokwero. Apparently a good first attempt, according to Kryss, the astronomer!
(It was just 5.30 pm in the afternoon…)
Diary of a Muzungu’s very amateur photo of the Diamond Ring, visible for just a second or two after the total eclipse, as the sun bursts back into normal view from behind the moon. Apparently a good first attempt, according to Kryss, the astronomer!
I’d been thinking about the solar eclipse non-stop for a few days by then. I couldn’t sleep, I was so excited! In those few magical seconds, my brain and emotions worked hard to process what I was seeing.
A close-up of Uganda’s total solar eclipse 2013. Photo courtesy of John McDonald.
None of the photos do justice to how amazing the solar eclipse looked with the naked eye: pink and alive!
Can you imagine seeing ‘flames’ on the surface of the sun with your naked eye? These ‘flames’ were huge bursts of flammable gas the size of a small country!
Diamond ring and chromosphere. A close-up of Uganda’s total solar eclipse 2013. Photo courtesy of John McDonald.
Imagine getting your best exam results ever, on your birthday, with a firework display in the background and falling in love – all at the same moment … and then someone punches you in the chest! You realise that this thing that you’ve been aching to see could be your terminal undoing, the end of not just your life, but of everyone and everything you hold dear.
The end of the world.
Diamond ring and chromosphere. A close-up of Uganda’s total solar eclipse 2013. Photo courtesy of John McDonald.
And then it was over. 22 seconds of my life that I shall never forget, and shall always struggle to articulate.
As the moon continued its trajectory away from the sun, there was a blinding flash ‘the diamond ring’ effect, as the sun re-emerged. Totally spectacular.
Within seconds, the sky was lit up again, and life went back to normal … for a while.
I understood with utmost clarity how people can become Eclipse chasers. Apparently NASA’s head meteorologist (who apparently saw just 10 seconds of the eclipse; when the clouds obscured the sun, his group packed up their kit to try and find a better viewing spot – and almost missed the whole thing!) There was no sign of ‘Brangelina’ in Pokwero. Apparently they were in Gulu.
The next total eclipse in Africa is on July 22, 2027 in Egypt. See you there?
A special thank you to John and Leslie McDonald and ISU Lubowa staff, Fabien the birder, Kryss Katsiavriades and Roman Kostenko the amateur astronomers, and Simon Peter, Mordechai, Connie and all the staff at Pakuba Lodge. Last but not least, a big, nocturnal thank you to Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Conservation Area Manager Tom Okello – who helped rescue dozens of vehicles from a flooded swamp on our way back to the lodge! A weekend I’ll never forget…
Did you see the Hybrid Solar Eclipse in Uganda? How did it make you feel?
A solar eclipse turns the spotlight on Northern Uganda’s appeal
Suddenly, everyone in Kampala is talking about this weekend’s action: not the usual parties and nightclub events, but a hybrid solar eclipse, an event so rare that it only happens every few decades… and guess what? Northern Uganda will be one of the best places in the world to see it!
I can never throw a shoe box away – & finally it’s time to make use of one. Hybrid eclipse 2013, here I come!
The Muzungu first heard about the hybrid eclipse 2013 from an amateur astronomer tip, tap, typing on his keyboard 3410 miles (5488 km) away from Kampala – in Poltava in the Ukraine to be exact. Roman Kostenko – or Роман Костенко in the local Cyrillic script – first wrote to me on 19th February. He explained the uniqueness of the event that will take place this Sunday, November 3, 2013.
Photo courtesy of the Society of Astronomy Amateurs in Poltava, Ukraine http://astrosafari.comIn Roman’s words: “The solar hybrid eclipse occurs on November 3rd, along a narrow strip over the Atlantic Ocean and Equatorial Africa, from Gabon to Ethiopia. In Gulu, Northern Uganda, it will be late afternoon, 17:23, one hour before sunset.
The overall duration of the hybrid solar eclipse will be almost 2 hours, however the total phase is very short: 60 seconds in Gabon, 20 seconds in Uganda and 12 seconds in Kenya. Despite the short duration, this rare kind of hybrid total eclipse will offer us a brilliant glimpse of the solar corona and Bailey beads (outer parts of the Sun emerging between the lunar mountains).
Roman explained that although many people will go to Libreville or Gabon to see the hybrid solar eclipse 2013, “other eclipse chasers have been checking the weather, and will choose Uganda or Kenya, since there are much higher chances of clear skies in the areas north of Lake Albert in Uganda and west of Lake Turkana in Kenya.”
Basic viewing of the totality of the eclipse requires no more equipment than your own eyes, however special filtered ‘eclipse glasses’ are recommended to view the partial phases.
Roman advises: “It is EXTREMELY unsafe to view the eclipsed Sun with binoculars or telescope, unless they have an appropriate solar filter. I would never recommend to use any optical device to look at the Sun before you are confident that it features a properly installed solar filter.
P.S. As the day will turn into deep twilight in less than half an hour, and then back to daytime, and then back to night time (sunset), it will be very entertaining to observe how African wildlife responds to it.”
“Let’s see what the animals make of it….” says the Muzungu…
Roman is a member of the Society of Astronomy Amateurs in Poltava, Ukraine and their brilliant blog has been following their journey to East Africa. (Tip: click on Google translate for the English version of the site!)
“Eclipse chasing is an absolutely international hobby” he told me.
My online research – applied cautiously, Dear Reader – tells me that one of the simplest ways of safely viewing a solar eclipse is by making a shoebox pinhole camera. This enables you to see an image of the solar eclipse, rather than look at it directly. To make one, you will need: a cardboard shoebox, duct tape, knife or razor blade, a white sheet of paper, tinfoil, clear tape, needle or pin, solar eclipse.
Just look at the diagram for how to make a solar eclipse pinhole camera and follow these steps below…
Just copy the diagram for how to make a pinhole camera or follow these steps – or if you can’t be bothered, scroll down for the Muzungu’s Top 10 hybrid solar eclipse 2013 viewing do’s and don’ts.
1. Open your shoebox and cover any cracks or joins with duct tape, to make sure no light can enter your shoebox.
2. Cut a small hole (approx. 1 inch / 1.5cm across) in one end of the shoe box, near one edge.
3. Tape a piece of tinfoil over the hole.
4. Using a pin, make a hole in the centre of the tinfoil.
5. At the opposite end from the foil-covered hole, tape a small piece of white paper to the inside of the box,. The paper should be positioned so that light entering the box through the pin hole will hit it. This is where you’ll look for the sun.
6. Cut a 1 inch / 1.5 cm diameter hole in the box near the image screen (the white piece of paper), but on a different side of the box — the side next to the screen. This is your viewing hole; it must be positioned so that you can look through it at an angle and see the image screen.
7. You now have a pinhole camera. Go find that solar eclipse!
8. Sunday November 3rd 2013: hold the shoe box so that it lines up with its own shadow (meaning it’s aligned with light from the sun). Stand so that when you look through the viewing hole, you can see a tiny bead of light on the image screen: that’s the sun. During hybrid solar eclipse 2013, you’ll see the moon’s shadow pass in front of the sun.
[Information courtesy of @nattyover and www.livescience.com]
In the spirit of participation – admittedly, I was crap at physics at school – I decided I’d try and knock up a pinhole camera for you, but can I find duct tape late at night in Kampala? No. I shall track it down but not this evening… Anyway, you don’t want to get all the way to Northern Uganda and find the tape has come off your wonky old shoebox, do you?
So here are the Muzungu’s Top 10 hybrid solar eclipse 2013 viewing do’s and don’ts:
1. DO NOT use a mirror to view it – that will only do double damage to your eyes
2. The Ugandan Minister of Health’s briefing: “watch it through a black cavera (plastic rubbish bag!)”
3. Standard or Polaroid sunglasses are not solar filters and should not be used to stare at the Sun during the partial phases of an eclipse. You will damage your eyes permanently.
4. DO NOT use film negative.
5. You can make your own filter out of fully exposed and developed black-and-white film, but only true black-and-white film (such as Kodak Tri-X or Pan-X). Such films have a layer of silver within them – this protects your eyes.
6. If you want to observe the eclipse with binoculars or a telescope, you must use a specially designed solar filter on the front end (or Sun-side) of the instrument. (You think they sell them in Pakwach?)
7. Read this bit carefully: if you plan to use binoculars to view the hybrid solar eclipse, totality can and should be observed without a filter, whether with the eyes alone or with binoculars or telescopes. But the partial phases of the eclipse, right up through the Diamond Ring Effect, must be observed with filters over the objective lenses of the binoculars. Only when the Diamond Ring has faded is it safe to remove the filter. And it is crucial to return to filtered viewing as totality is ending and the western edge of the Moon’s silhouette begins to brighten.” If observing the Sun outside of eclipse totality without a filter is quickly damaging to the unaided eyes, it is far quicker and even more damaging to look at even a sliver of the uneclipsed Sun with binoculars that lack a filter.”
8. You can damage your video camera trying to watch the eclipse. Sunlight focused through a lens sets things on fire – do you want to set your camera on fire?
9. Welding goggles or welding glass are safe.
10. And the Muzungu’s personal favourite idea: watch the Uganda solar eclipse reflected in a river – doesn’t that sound romantic?
*DISCLAIMER* my few minutes Googling are not sufficient for me to be sure I’m sharing good advice. Misinformation abounds, and I’m worried I’m making it worse!
It’s always good to have a backup plan! It’s not like many/any? of us are ever going to have a chance to see a hybrid solar eclipse again … but it doesn’t mean you have to permanently damage your eyesight, so don’t get carried away with the moment and do something you will live to regret.
I’m so excited to be in Uganda for hybrid eclipse 2013 and I’m so excited for Uganda to be centre stage for the world, even just for a few moments. Northern Ugandans in particular truly deserve some good publicity.
My tent is packed and so is my cavera, so who’s coming with me? See you in Northern Uganda!
A girl called Kevin: climbing Mount Elgon, Uganda
A girl called Kevin: climbing Mount Elgon, Uganda
- Four days on foot
- 48 km covered
- A 3,000 metre climb
- Summit of Wagagai 4,321 m (14,177 ft) the 17th highest mountain in Africa
- First recorded ascent: 1911
- First recorded ascenders: Robert Stigler, Rudolf Kmunke
- – and a damaged knee ligament on day one!
Today I’m exhausted but elated after climbing Mount Elgon: one of the highest peaks in Uganda, with views – above the clouds – across to Kenya and northern Uganda. It really was breathtaking.
According to Wikipedia, Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain’s highest point, named “Wagagai”, is located entirely within the country of Uganda.
During our five day trek, we passed through numerous contrasting habitats: forest, bamboo, savannah, moorland, strange and eerie ‘moonscapes’ – Mount Elgon was once higher than Kilimanjaro – then back down a steep 1000 metre drop looking out onto valleys that reminded me of the foothills of the Alps …
This evening I received a lovely text from my special VSO volunteer friend Isla that sums it all up:
“Hope all went well at hospital. Will forever be impressed by your resilience. You are hard core. So glad we did it. I loved it.”
AHEM.
Hospital, yes.
Ultrasound treatment for the torn knee ligament (I can’t Hash or do aerobics for six weeks) and antibiotics for two small toes that look like they want to explode.
Actually I feel fine (I’m sitting down!) although I will have to go easy on the bananas and Waragi (local gin) for next six weeks.
What a bore.
Yet, it’s amazing how quickly you can forget the truly awful times isn’t it?!
I can even find myself saying I’d climb Mount Elgon all over again, despite the terrible, miserable cold and lack of sleep for two of the nights (we were camping); the 6 am wake-up call every day; the times (hours!) when you just have to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and the sheer yucky squelchiness of it all!
Perhaps we shouldn’t have climbed during the rainy season?! Hmmm!
My first afternoon and evening were hell.
Climbing Mount Elgon was easy enough but going downhill – the terrain undulates all the way – was agony and I finished day one with tears streaming down my face, so far behind everyone else that Patrick (the UWA ranger) and I limped to camp, just the two of us walking in total darkness on the mountain for the last hour.
Patrick led me down the hillside a step at a time, moving forward three steps then stopping to turn around and shine the torch at the ground in front of me, so I could ease myself downhill.
“Step here – then here – then here,” he guided me. “Mpola mpola,” he said. Slowly by slowly… what a lovely gentle man he was.
If you’re offered bamboo walking sticks – TAKE THEM!
It was another UWA ranger – Bernard’s – turn to accompany me hobbling down from the summit. Walking was easier thanks to two bamboo sticks cut down for us on the ascent; regular leg massages from one of my male friends (every cloud has a silver lining …) and walking with my left leg stuck out at an awkward straight angle, as if I was wearing a plaster cast.
I developed altitude sickness (nausea and a headache) on the way back down from the summit of Wagagai, and got sunburned. We all did. I think we were all so relieved to dry off after all that soggy weather that we stupid Bazungu forgot to protect ourselves from the high altitude sunshine.
Bernard fashioned some protection for my sunburned hands from big green plant fronds so I walked (limped!) into camp on the last day looking like an extra from Dr. Who!
Kevin held her own effortlessly amongst 9 men (7 of them porters) for four days (they all huddled close and slept round an open fire every night). What a great role model she is. Kevin works for UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority), and is the youngest of 24 children! (Did her parents run out of girl’s names perhaps?)
If you’re in the area, allow another day or two to explore Sipi Falls, a series of waterfalls. This is the most dramatic waterfall.
Back home in Kampala, I just had time to unload the car before the power went off. After five days waiting for a hot shower, it was a cold shower by candlelight for me!
Climbing Mount Elgon is a terrific experience.
You will bump into few other hikers; I loved the challenge and I loved being away from it all (the knee injury on day one was just bad luck!) As we passed through the forest on the climb uphill, we watched Hornbills and Dusky Blue Flycatchers; in fact some visitors visit Elgon’s foothills just for the birdlife. In 2013, the birders from Mt. Elgon National Park won the annual Big Birding Day 24-hour competition.
To climb Mount Elgon you will need to pay park entry fees for Mount Elgon National Park. This will include two (or possibly more) rangers. Click here to download the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Tariff (price list) 2020 – 2022 which contains all Uganda’s National Park and Wildlife Reserve fees; hiking; gorilla, chimpanzee and golden monkey tracking permits; birdwatching, boat cruises; nature walks and more.
P.S. If you’re a runner, there is a new initiative to boost running and outdoor tourism in Kapchorwa. Visit the Run Kapchorwa website for more details.
