White Water Rafting on the River Nile
White Water Rafting. The Longest river in the world. Grade 4 + rapids. Wow! Get set for a memorable adventure on the River Nile!
The River Nile offers some excellent opportunities for a White-water Rafting adventure. The initial stages of the Nile shortly after it emerges from its source near Lake Victoria near Jinja town in Uganda, offer some really good rapids for white water rafting.
One can opt for either a half day (4 hour) or a full day adventure on the river. The Nile offers various rapids ranging from Grade 4 to Grade 6 (the latter being only for the intrepid experts). The geography of a river determines the excitement of the white-water rafting experience. On the Nile, the river is very broad at most places – narrowing down in certain spots leading to the formation of rapids. Hence, overall, you will find long stretches of peaceful rafting between the rapids.
Floating on the Nile
Of course, you cannot compare the river rafting on the Nile to the ferocious rapids of the mountain origin rivers like the Ganga and the Indus in India. But then, the nature of the river alternating between broad peaceful flows and rapids adds to quite a different and pleasant experience!
On the peaceful stretches, you can take the opportunity to safely abandon your raft and float on the Nile. This is also a great time to appreciate the bird life along the banks (which is quite abundant). And yes, take the time to interact with your guides – including the escorting Kayakers. This is wonderful chance to learn more about Uganda and its wonderful people.
The rapids on the Nile
On my 4 hour adventure, I went through 3 rapids. A grade V rapid named ‘Overtime’ with a 4 m high waterfall was one of them. Retrospect (wave) and Bubugo (Stop a wave) are the other Grade V rapids. The last rapid, a grade VI named Itanda, was respectfully left for the experts. While the rafts were lugged on to land then to re-enter the river later after the rapid, mere mortals like me appreciated the rapids from a safe distance on land,
The end of a fabulous time!
That’s me 👇 with the enthusiastic team from www.raftuganda.com
I have to specially thank – Charlie, the group leader for patiently teaching me so much! Charlie was a storehouse of information about Uganda, rafting, birds – loved the conversations on the Nile!
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Any day on the River Nile is a good day!