DISCOVERING KAGULU HILL: Why You Should not Miss Kagulu Rock Climbing Adventures this August

Kyabazinga Gabula leads Tourists During the previous climbing challenge

Kagulu hill offers spectacular views of the surrounding areas. Due to this adventurous experience along the hill, Kagulu hill is considered as one of the interesting places to visit in the Busoga region of Uganda.

This rock has been added to the previous areas and destinations in the eastern region and Uganda at large, it is perfect for adventure travelers with an interest in scenic views and photography.

This year’s Climbing challenge which will take place between 18th-20th August 2022 is expected to be officiated by President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the Commander in Chief (C-I-C) of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Kyabazinga of Busoga HRH William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, 1st Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs in Uganda Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga and Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja the Prime Minister of Uganda who will reach the peak of Kagulu.

Planned Activities between 18th-20th August 2022 include among others; Climbing to The Summit, Ministry of Culture Induction and Training on The Value Of Kisoga Norms, Values, Clans And Practices [Empango Dha Busoga], Family Unit Counselling And Guidance (Amaka Amosoga), wealth Mentoring Speeches And Films As Embedded In Kisoga Culture [Obukombe and Cultural Heritage Literature (Books on Kisoga Culture).

According to Hellen Namutamba ,the Minister for Tourism and Antiquities in Busoga Kingdom, Kagulu is a significant landmark in the life, history, sustainability and continuity of Busoga.

She says It is here at Kagulu that Mukama Namutukula settled and superintended over this fertile land and beyond. Sitting on the top one is able to see the whole Busoga from River Nile in the west, to Lake Kioga and across to lango and Teso in the north, River Mpologoma in the east and the mighty Lake Victoria in the south. Mukama saw Busoga as an Island ‘’ekizinga’’.

Also known as Kagulu rock, Kagulu hill is situated in Bugabula sub-county in Buyende district. The nearest main town to the hill is Kamuli which is located about 42 kilometers from the hill. The hill lies in the northern direction of Jinja which is the largest city in the region – the Busoga region in eastern Uganda. From Kampala to Kagulu hill, it takes about 4 hours by road.

It covers an area of approximately 5 square kilometers and rises to an altitude of 1100 metres Above Sea level.

It has an interesting physiological shape, with the eastern facing slope curving outwards, gently offering accessibility to would-be climbers, while the western facing side is steep and almost inaccessible.

Its sides are fenestrated by a number of crevices and undulations which are covered by a diversity of flora and fauna all of which contribute to its diversity of beauty and functions.

Inside the rock is a cave which could have served as an arena or assembly place. Further up is a water pool or lake which is said to have special medicinal properties as alluded to by the shrine custodian princess Nabiryo omumbedha.

On the top is a flat expanse of rock which has bestowed unique potential for use of this hill as a strategic military and vantage observatory point. It is that mighty hill, that the father of Busoga Mukama Namutukula and his wife Naudo accompanied by their sons: Nkono, Ngobi Mawu, Zibondo, Tabingwa and Gabula , chose as their administrative and defence headquarters on their sojourn from Bunyoro in the early 1600s.

It should be noted that they initially landed at Iyingo ten kilometres to the east. Settled for some time then saw a more vantage Kagulu to which they moved.

Iyingo was maintained as a special palace where official ceremonies of worship, prayer, counseling, and burial were initially held. It was left under the guardianship of Iyingo ‘’Mpologoma ‘’ the lion of the Baise Kisige clan. Iyingo is the official diviner, guard, watchman and custodian of all ancestral spirits and worship in Bugabula chiefdom.

Kagulu is therefore the home of the royals [ Abalangira] in Busoga.

This wonderful Arial scan can only be seen on a clear sky in the morning before 9am or after 3pm. The inability to see properly during the middle hours has been intelligently guarded through a taboo, by the cultural shrine custodians warning would be climber not to go uphill because it is during those hours that our spirits of this land go out to eat, if one antagonized them the repercussions to the climber wouldn’t be good. It is the same context that female climbers are warned not to do so when in their biological days.

Kagulu is a reflection of the inherent religiosity of the Basoga. Basoga time immemorial believed in the existence of the super power, through their names, the expressions and activities at birth, marriage or burial. This is ably elaborated by the powerful Kagulu ancestral shrine guarded by omumbedha Nabiryo, who is the custodian charged with preservation, protection and promotion of our cultural traditional knowledge, beliefs, norms, ethics, medicines, and antiquities. A princess above reproach serves as the community ‘’moving dictionary’’ of the kisoga culture and a reservoir of ‘’state secrets’’.

The diverse flora and fauna on Kagulu hill offers unique opportunities of medicinal value and medicinal tourism, with traditional medicine practitioners coming from far and wide to harvest the various and unique tree species especially those that grow in the cool montane climate, or in the rock crevices and fenestration that have otherwise been degraded in other areas or otherwise extinct.

Trees like ‘’olukomakoma, omusoghera, omuseru, omuyirigiti, omusasa and others, with omumbedha Nabiryo as the reference point. On this hill there are specific tree species used for making drum sticks, walking sticks, usable by royals and chiefs only as a sign of authority. Around Kagulu hill there is an un written environmental preservation and conservation constitution, it reads thus:

” Though shall not cut a tree or kill any living thing there about without the permission of the shrine custodian Omumbedha Nabiryo because everything therein and about is a medicine’’. Failure to comply leads to undefined and immediate punishment ranging from being hit by thunder, snake bite, or other.

There is medical tourism where people come from far to get remedies for complex diseases from Nabiryo, while a few unfortunate men if they climbed up to the top and bathed in the lake waters thereon, their manhood is revived especially after offering the necessary sacrifices at the shrine. Some formerly barren women attest to the fact that drinking water from Kagulu Lake opened their womb.

Administratively Kagulu hill is a constant reminder that there was a form of organized leadership in our communities even before the colonialists came. Kagulu hill as a centre reflects the ability to observe, learn, interpret the environment and purposefully distribute one’s resources the way Mukama distributed land or chiefdom among his five royal sons, with the eldest Nkono being farthest and the youngest Gabula nearest.

‘’The desire to protect, preserve and promote Kagulu is premised on the ground that land is wealth that must be protected for posterity. At Kagulu hill we sacrifice animals, we grow food, and promote our culture as a unique set of norms, ethics, and values on which we intend to build our national development. It would be desirable that more local tourists, aBasoga, Ugandans come here to limb Kagulu, see the environment and learn from the abundant wealth of inbuilt wisdom of our culture, that has kept us going for years ‘’, said a source from the Tourism ministry of Obwakyabazinga Bwa Busoga.

According To Gaia Hypothesis Which States That ‘Mother Earth Was Created in Equilibrium’, which Alludes to The Fact That the Soil That Was Removed by Nature to Make Lake Kioga [mwita nzige] was reserved to make Kagulu hill.

The purpose was to make a bathing pan [ekyogo] for the household of Mukama, his wife Naudo and their offsprings [abasoga]the basoga ‘’tribe.

On the western side of Kagulu hill, there are six other hills namely; Kagwese, Mawaale, Mpanga, Nakyeere, Bukolimo and Butadewo. You can have a magical view of these hills in a line when you climb to the top of Kagulu hill. You will also have beautiful views of the Victoria Nile and where it connects to Lake Kyoga and almost the entire Busoga region. Visitors can also move around the caves around the area besides the pleasant rock-climbing experience. Although there are limited and no yet well-developed facilities, travelers still enjoy visiting this place.