Whoever said jogging is better than trekking had better check out our monthly #KampalaTrek with Trekking Timmy. If you missed the Adungu-Loop Trek last Saturday, 9th June, make it a point to clear your calendar on 7th July because trust me, you don’t want to miss the next one…unless you don’t like having a good time.
It’s hard to say what the best part of the trek is. The trail itself has got some really interesting historical sites. For those interested in faith tourism, you will find the Aga Khan Mosque, Kampala Central Mosque (also known as Gadhafi Mosque), and Namirembe Cathedral on the trail: these sites have important historical and religious value to the people of Kampala.
At the Buganda Parliament in Mengo (Bulange), and the Royal Palace at Lubiri (Twekobe), one gets the opportunity to see photos and artefacts depicting Uganda’s history right from the arrival of the first Europeans to the present day.
What You Missed At the Adungu-Loop Trek
There are no adungus on the Adungu-Loop Trek. The trail gets its name from a famous music instrument native to most cultures in Uganda because it is shaped like an adungu on the map; of the three trails we have explored since starting the #KampalaTrek, this one is arguably the most exciting.
With stops at all the tourist sites on the trail, it takes about 5 to 7 hours to complete the trek. We, however, made only one stop at the Royal Palace, completed the trek in just 3 hours and 25 minutes, a record for the loyal trekkers whod did the first trek in 3 hours and 50 minutes, and the second in 4 hours and 30 minutes.
As usual, we set off from Red I Lounge in Lugogo By-Pass at 11:00 am, after the briefing. With senior trekkers Tom and Solo at the front, the trek pick up a brisk pace from the get-to-go. Within just 30 minutes we had cleared the 3-4km stretch from Red i Lounge to the city centre in just 30 minutes!
As we bolted through the commercial hub known as downtown, we had to dance our way through the busy traffic; at this point the trek seemed more like street salsa than and a walking exercise.
The hilly climb to Old Kampala presented no problems at all. With the pace we had picked it was easy to clear the hill in record time as trekkers raced each other to catch up with our breezy pacesetter. Everyone was making jokes and telling stories along the way, one could hardly tell we were doing 15kms; it seemed like just 5km by the time we arrived back at Red i Lounge.
The Adungu-Loop Trek is the third instalment of #KampalaTrek, a set of monthly treks launched by Trekking Timmy in April 2018. Besides the health benefits of walking, the treks are a fun way to meet new people, network, and explore the sites and sounds of the city.
The first one – the Uganda Colony Trek – introduced the trekkers to a portion of Kampala’s history they didn’t know about (you can read the story here to learn more); the second, dubbed the Dog-Loop Trek, went down in rain and sunshine in May (more on that trek is here); and the third, dubbed the Adungu-Loop Trek, went down last Saturday. The treks are mapped and organised by yours truly, Trekking Timmy, the chief trekker of Kampala city.
#trekwithtim #kampalatrek
