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Enengo: Kanungu’s unmatched beauty
Enengo, a river valley comprises most of the landscape on which the roads are constructed in Kanungu District. It is a sight to behold. Photo BY RAJAB MUKOMBOZI.
What you need to know:
Scenic. Kanungu district is remotely located in western Uganda, however, it boasts of enchanting terrain. And the most outstanding is enengo; a valley with a big river as Rajab Mukombozi explores.
Last week myself with a group of other journalists left for Kanungu from Mbarara on an assignment. For the 137- kilometre–journey, we set off around 8am through Ntungamo then Rukungiri. After Rukungiri town, we joined a bumpy dusty, Kanungu-Ishasha border road. Our colleagues who were making their maiden trip were eager to see enengo. They interrupted every conversation asking about how far away the feature was.
“You people are we about to reach enengo? I feel drowsy but make sure you wake me up to see enengo because how can I tell of my Kanungu adventure minus enengo, ” Collins Tusubira wondered.
Guidelines
Ambrose Muhumuza, however, warned that those with motion sickness avoid sitting by windows because the undulating hills and boulders tend to trigger this condition.
Snaking through hilly and flat terrain with farms and scanty homesteads; we moved distances. At this point, Deo Okoodi, was entrusted with the tour guide role. “Should we miss catching a glance of the enengo, you are in trouble,” they cautioned him.
A few kilometres after, our guide announced, we are approaching enengo, as everyone struggled to get out their cameras.
Enengo and narrow roads
Disembarking the vehicle we were eager to capture the beautiful scenery. God must have spent a little more time on the landscape.
Thereafter, we sloped to more dangerous but captivating scenes. Our colleagues asked the driver to stop to capture every moment of the terrain but he warned them of the narrow road and that if the vehicle swerved off the road, it would be the premature end of the adventure.
As we maneourved at snail pace, the rising and dropping terrain on both sides of the road becomes more attractive to the adventurous but risky to the fearful.
At one moment you would think you are headed to a bottomless pit with boulders threatening to roll over your vehicle. It is a different world and toss you 1,000 feet below.
It takes a careful and skillled driver to maneouvre the miles as the road borders with the steep sides of the road. At some point the vehicles just moves inches on the steep slopes. The road is narrow, snakes around the hills after about every 100 metres.
As we went downhill, some of our colleagues who had badly wanted to have a feel of enengo were afraid of looking outside their windows and it felt like any slight swerve off the road would see us hundreds of feet into the river valley.
We drove on the slope for more than 20 minutes until we got to Mitaano Bridge, a landmark where Rukungiri District ends. We disembarked and spent close to 15 minutes climbing another place as part of the adventure. The drive through enengo took us between 30-50 minutes.
Kampala
After the fluctuating landscape, we found scanty homesteads and a trading centre with a beehive of activity. On inquiring about the name of the place, one of our colleagues announced, “Welcome to Kampala.” It is named after the capital city because it is the only “town” one chances upon after about 30 kilometers.
“If you wanted to buy anything for this entire journey after Rwerere, in Rukungiri its only here so it is our Kampala,” says Mr Darious Karakire. We were about to reach our destination but I could not resist telling of the rising and dropping terrain. It is every traveller’s marvel.
Quick note
Kanungu district was carved out of Kabale in 2001; it borders Rukungiri, Kisoro and DRC. It also shares two national parks,Bwindi Impenetrable and Queen Elizabeth National parks.
