CLIMBING TORORO ROCK




A looming Tororo Rock silhouettes the horizon at dusk

  


The exhausted group in front of Rock Hotel, Tororo at dusk. The writer is on the extreme right

  Tororo Rock is a vegetation-covered volcanic plug that juts out proudly from a flat plain that is the site of Tororo Municipality. Jugged rocks protrude from any surface that is not covered by foliage.

The climb is recommended for those who love challenges. The climb lasts approximately fort-five minutes to an hour. It could take longer, however, depending on one’s fortitude. This is because air is quite thin at high altitudes and this can cause shortness of breath and nausea.

One way of gauging whether you are cut out for this sort of activity is to assess whether your body reacts to flying or heights. If you are prone to air sickness or vertigo, this could well be an indicator that climbing will be quite a struggle for you.

However, this does not mean you will not make it to the top – I did, although it was after much coaxing, reassurances and a lot of fruit juice from the guide. A person’s demeanor is not an indicator of possible success or failure either. For example one of the girls in the group did not know a lot of basic things. She did not even know what a traditional granary looked like, until we showed her one along the way. I wondered whether she would make it.

Another, on seeing the rock loom as we approached, said in a sing-song voice, ‘I don’t think I will be able to climb that rock. I will stay behind.’ I thought, my goodness, why did she come?

They met me on their way from the top. I was plastered onto a rock, all sweaty, nauseated and unable to move. They claimed to have had their lunch and rested for twenty minutes before starting the downward trek. ‘Go on, you can make it!’ They encouraged – including the two. How embarrassing!

I was not the only sufferer though. Another of the girls in the group at one point also felt nauseated. She lay on her back and refused to go any further. No amount of coaxing by the guide and all of us could get her out of there. She later confided that it was only the thought of a snake curling under one of the rocks that had made her shoot up and continue.

Take the well formed path from the foot of the Rock, through the bush, shrub and trees growing on the Rock. The path becomes stony towards the top, so trainers and heavily treaded tough shoes are a must.

Towards the top, where the Rock is very steep, are iron ladders fixed onto the Rock to enable climbers get to the top without having to use ropes.

Have a picnic at the top of the Rock and take pictures of the panoramic view of the municipality and the surroundings from there. Packed lunch is recommended; with lots of water and fruit juice for the climb. Paint your name at the summit and let others know that you too made it there. The summit is thick with bush. There are some caves there as well. There is also some kind of electricity or television installation there. Although I would not climb again, I do not regret having done so.

Tororo is a small, sleepy municipality in Eastern Uganda, two and a half hours’ drive from Kampala. Almost derelict now, it used to be a hive of activity as a railway town, in its prime. Situated on gently undulating, but otherwise flat ground, its serene and beautiful country surroundings are ideal for rambling. Cycling is also recommended.

Bicycles can be hired from the friendly municipality people at negotiable rates and could be between Ug. Shs. 500 to Ug. Shs. 1000 per hour. Of course it would be better if visitors had their own mountain bikes.

See the extinct volcanic plug that is Tororo Rock and the beautiful and scenic savannah and shrub-covered Sukuru Hills, where limestone is mined. And, depending on one’s cycling abilities, go as far as Busitema, fourteen miles away on the Tororo-Jinja highway. There is a forest reserve there, with plenty of wildlife.

Naughty monkeys live there. The monkeys have been known to, among other things, wrest newspapers away from pedestrians and tease women. It is also advisable to keep close to the open grassland area near the university, as the reserve is said to house some fierce man-eating leopards and even lions.

Go out for the day and take a picnic lunch with you. Stay at the Rock Hotel in the tranquil outskirts of the municipality. The hotel was built in 1963 as part of the government-owned Uganda Hotels chain. It was privatized in 1994.

Mr. Wafula Ogola, the Assistant Manager of the hotel says: ‘We offer both local and international dishes and handle workshops at discounted rates.’

There is a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; a bar, health club, laundry and banqueting hall. Accommodation is in three categories: Ordinary doubles cost Ug. Shs. 32,000; Executive rooms cost Ug. Shs. 49,000 and Suites cost Ug. Shs. 64,000 per night. The price includes bed, breakfast and taxes.

Visitors are usually business people, who go for seminars and tourists who go to see the municipality. So, next time you start wondering what to do for entertainment, think of this rather inexpensive pastime (Rambling).

The taxi fare from the old taxi park at Kampala is Ug. Shs. 7,500. Unfortunatly, the only tour company that used to organize rock climbing tours is no longer operational. It used to charge Ug. Shs. 20,000 for the day. That could be sufficient for each person, provided the group does not sleep over.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

• TRAVELITE last visited Tororo Rock in the year 2000. Please double any shilling amounts until TRAVELITE is able to update prices.
 



The triumphant writer at the summit of the Rock. In the background is Tororo Municipality


• One Dollar is equal to Ug. Shs. 2,800.