The Gisu land in Eastern Uganda, is synonymous with the famous Imbalu ceremonies where young men are initiated into adulthood through circumcision. However, a lot of gem is imbibed in the Masaba land; far beyond the blood-spilling Imbalu.
From Kampala city through Mukono, Jinja, Busembatia , Namutumba and Budaka districts, in just four hours I was in Mbale town where a site of a magnificent standing granite rock in the Eastern side of the town welcomed me.
From a distance, it’s hard for one to feel and see the beauty of this high protruding rock but as one gets closer to its footsteps, the roar of many waterfalls from different corners initiates you into the hidden treasures you are yet to feed your eyes on.
At Mooni village I got my mind and body set to dare the 6,864 ft Wanale hill through the Mooni trail where a stream lets you cross with little difficulties to ascend Mbale’s great rock. It’s from a similar site where the Imbalu ceremonies are also flagged off every even year. Indeed this was witnessed.
As one climbs higher, many streams on the way keep on ushering you into Wanale’s jagged rocks that make you calculate each foot step, so as not to mess up what one would describe as an adventure not for the faint–hearted.
While on the way, I could not help but to wonder how the locals manage their daily climbing for gardening, as the hill also supports the growth of Onions, Carrots and Irish potatoes amongst other food crops
The muscle-aching painful but sweet hike lasted about 5 hours to the top of the Nkokonjeru hill, as the Late Semei Kakungulu described it, in one of Uganda’s well spread local language-Luganda; meaning a White cock.
According to the late Kakungulu, the Ridge is covered with white waterfalls that flow seamlessly in all angles, a semblance inclined to a white cock.
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