Three Day Nature Experience on the Sasa Trail

Trekking the Sasa Trail in Mt Elgon National Park is a truly rewarding experience with professional guides, great food and good accommodation.

Overview;

Our Three Day Trek brings you a fantastic experience in the beauty of nature in Mt Elgon National Park with amazing waterfalls, lush green vegetation, birds and awesome views of the valleys and communities below.

The best option is to have a pre-night stay in Mbale town or Sironko.  It is 52km from Mbale town to Budadiri Uganda Wildlife Authority office, taking approximately one hour drive from Mbale town. To get an early start be at UWA offices at 8:00am. Clear the park entrance fees as: –

$35 per 24hr period for Foreign non-residents and $25 per 24hr period for Foreign residents, Ugx.15000/- for East Africans. The trek starts just above Bugiboni Village at Elgon Trekking Services basecamp.

Brief itinerary:

Day 1. At the basecamp 1,720m, Hike to Hunwick’s Camp 2,882metres.

Day 2. Hike to Sasa River Camp 2,880 metres.

Day 3. Descend down to the basecamp

 

Day one is a 7.1km walk with an altitude gain from Elgon Trekkers Base Camp above Bugiboni at 1,720m to Hunwick’s Camp at 2,882m giving an altitude gain of 1,162 metres. The trek starts at Elgon Trekkers Base Camp with a steady climb through coffee plantations, maize, potatoes and onions to Kigoma Primary School.

From here it is a steady walk up to the park boundary directly below the 61m Nabunyifu Falls (meaning cold wind) flanked by sheer cliffs. We have constructed switchbacks in the trail to make it an easier and offer excellent views of the community below and distant mountains. This section is a completely new trail which has never been accessible to tourists before and a great addition to the Elgon National Park. The trail climbs steadily up the Dirigana Valley through the montane forest with huge Podacarpus trees and thick vegetation to where you cross the river and stop for lunch at a shelter. From here it is a steady climb up to the Mukoola Ridge and the Hunwick’s Camp at 2,882 metres where you get fantastic views across the hills and valleys to Masaba Summit.

Overnight stay at: Hunwick’s Camp 2,882m.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Day two is a relatively easy walk through some stunning forest and down along the Dirigana River past a series of waterfalls, after hearty breakfast, you continue climbing up through the montane forest before branching and walking down to the Dirigana River. When you cross the river to the right there’s a steady climb up to the Sasa River camp at 2,880m set in the forest near the river with many birds especially in the morning.

Overnight stay at: Sasa River Camp 2,880m.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Descend down through the forest along the original Sasa Trail before turning and cutting across to the top of Dirigana Falls through and area of Giant Tree Ferns and down to Elgon Trekkers Base Camp at Bugiboni

Meal plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Some of the things you will explore