MPANGA FALLS

Just as it is about to finish its course in Lake George, the Mpanga is set in a gorge whose 50-metre-high waterfall is the high point. The riparian vegetation is also worthy of interest since giant cycas(Encephalartos whitelockii) dot the slopes of the canyon. Although morphologically similar to ferns and palms, the giant Ugandan cycas are relics of an order of coniferous plants that appeared more than 300 million years ago and underwent a phase of significant geographical expansion from -250 million years ago. The giant Ugandan cycas, whose female cones resemble pineapples, are thus a 'living fossil', endemic and, like its congeners, critically endangered. Paradoxically, it took the construction of a hydroelectric power station, which at the end of the decade 2000 led to the felling of many cycas, for protection and preservation measures (as well as the construction of a nursery) to be put in place. If the activism of environmentalists has paid off in the case of the cycas, it is for the moment less conclusive concerning the hydraulic installations and the multiple pollutions that affect the flow and quality of the waters of the Mpanga. The construction of a dam, necessary for the operation of the Mpanga Hydroelectric Power Station, has had - and continues to have - an impact on the volume of water falling at Mpanga Falls. Despite this distortion, the site remains picturesque. A handful of diversion bays upstream of the main waterfall is thus conducive to invigorating swimming (however, before going down into the Mpanga bed, find out about the river's hydrological and health conditions). In addition, a trail (The Cycad Trail) has recently been created to help visitors discover the cycads and their environment. Reserved, for the time being, for the most adventurous, it could be the prelude to the tourist development of the area, envisaged by the Ugandan authorities. In the meantime, although access is better today than it was in 1891, when Frederick Lugard - the representative of the Imperial British East Africa Company - crossed the gorge with men, salt and ivory, you will have to take the Fort Portal-Mbarara national road to the outskirts of the village of Rwenjaza (3 km south of Kamwenge) before branching off onto a track (and then others....) for about 20 km to reach, via the locality of Rwengo or Mpanga, the parade.