Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru Caves
The Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru Caves and the three surrounding Explosion Crater Lakes make it a most interesting day adventure and can be done while staying in Fort Portal or Kibale Forest. A side-trip to the Amabere Caves and the three nearby Crater Lakes will be a time of hiking, learning about the local culture and legends, plus a hike around three crater lakes.
Visit The Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru Caves visit while on Safari with us, take out a day for hitting the trails taking in the Amabere Caves and the three surrounding crater lakes. You should have good hiking boots since the trail down to the caves and the waterfall is often slippery. You will need long trousers, long sleeved shirt, light rain jacket, a backpack with one liter of water, a hat and maybe some dried fruit or other snacks.
These caves are hidden away in the Toro Kingdom found in Western Uganda. A local guide will take you down a thick jungle path – boots are a good idea since the path can be quite slippery and wet. This short, at times difficult walk in the jungle that leads you to a place where you are greeted by a waterfall that is simply lovely and that tumbles down from the cliff above the caves.
As you enter the caves it is a good idea to have a flashlight in hand so that you can see. There is not enough light and sunshine coming in and your guide will assist you in every way possible. He will also tell you about the caves both facts and local Legend. The word cave may be a bit exaggerated since most of what you will see is a giant overhang which might be a better definition.
Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru means “the breasts of Nyina Mwiru – and the name in the local tradition and the Toro folklore has it that the caves acquired the name after King Bukuku of Toro chopped off the breasts of his daughter Nyina Mwiru and had them thrown inside these caves, following a prophecy that the daughter would one day get married and have a son, Ndahura, who would kill the king and take over his throne. According to local legend, the prophecy came true.
In reality – the scientific explanation is that the so-called breasts are in reality stalactites and are made up of calcium carbonate when blended with water drip down and form the stalactites that you will find here. The water dripping made to look milky by the calcium carbonate is called “breast milk” by the local people who live near the Amabere Caves.
Once the Amabere Ga Nyina Mwiru Caves guided tour comes to end you can continue the guided walk – and visit the explosion crater lakes that in the light of history came into being not too long ago.
This means hiking up a hill and making our way around the 3 crater lakes including Lake Saka. You can have a picnic lunch on top of the hill with views of the crater lakes and the surrounding countrysides.
Our Crater Lake hike will also take you through villages and hamlets found in the area which adds some cultural interaction that you can have.