Over the weekend, the state minister for Tourism Martin Mugarra officially launched ziplining along River Nile in Njeru, Buikwe district. Ziplining is becoming a popular activity for adrenaline junkies in Uganda, and doing it along the world’s longest river is an experience worth having. The zip line on River Nile is located at LivingWaters Resort and Luxury tented camp in Bukaya village, Njeru municipality on the western bank of the Nile near its source.
The place boasts of a vast green serene environment, making it ideal for relaxation and enjoying nature while taking in the cool breeze from the Nile. Jonathan Okia, the manager of ZipTheNile, said they began setting up the zip line in December last year after realizing that among all the fun activities being done on the Nile, ziplining was missing. Not only is this the only zip line on River Nile but also the longest zip line in Uganda.
There are two zip lines with the first one (which takes you) being 300 metres and the second one (which brings you back) being 320 metres, both passing along the River Nile. There is also a dual zip line running parallel to the existing one, which will allow couples to go ziplining at the same time, as well as the only ‘superman’ zip line harnesses in East Africa which allow one to zipline in an horizontal position, or facing down. Before taking part in such an activity, there are always safety concerns from participants.
However, Okia reassures that they have instructors who are very well trained in the activity, having worked at different zip lines before, and are also trained in first aid. “Our instructors give the participants safety briefings before they zipline because this is an extreme activity. The activity is safer than most people would imagine because we use the best harnesses imported from the UK,” he added.
Minister Mugarra said the facility is a welcome addition to the adventure tourism stock in a region that is earmarked as the country’s adventure capital and it fits perfectly in government’s intervention to develop the Source of the Nile into an iconic world-class facility. “The establishment we are commissioning speaks directly to the ministry’s effort to promote domestic tourism through the Explore Uganda campaign. Adventure tourism is one strand that is appealing more to the domestic tourists, especially the youth and the middle-aged.
Many visitors and in particular the leisure and business tourists will not depart from Uganda without visiting the source of the Nile, making it one of the most iconic attractions in the country.” He further noted that government has started the implementation of the developments of the Source of the Nile in order to increase its tourism potential and this attraction has been prioritized in the overall plan to diversify tourist product range that is currently skewed to wildlife in terms of development, and build on the strength of its established brand value and development potential. Mugarra encouraged LivingWaters proprietors to not only stop at ziplining but also develop other adventure tourism activities which will pull more crowds to the site.
“The Nile is known to host a wide range of water-based activities such as water sliding, bungee jumping, water cycling, water tubing and white water rafting, among others. These are some of the activities that can be benchmarked to develop more and make this zone a hub for tourism,” he said. The age for ziplining is five years and above with a maximum weight of 130kg.
The participant should not have a history of major heart conditions, spinal injury, high blood pressure or any other underlying health issues..
