Karuma Falls

At Karuma the Victoria Nile drops through a long series of rocky steps and chutes over about a kilometre, white water the whole way, at the point where the Kampala to Gulu highway crosses the river on the eastern boundary of Murchison Falls National Park. The bridge is the viewpoint. The Karuma power station built here, planned at 600 megawatts and the largest hydropower project in Uganda, takes water through tunnels, which has altered the flow over the rocks; the town of Karuma lies 77 kilometres south of Gulu.

The landscape

• The rapids - about a kilometre of continuous white water over rock steps.
• The bridge view - the highway crossing that serves as the viewpoint.
• The park boundary - the eastern edge of Murchison Falls National Park.
• The hydro scheme - the power station built into the site in the 2010s.

When to go

Year round; flow varies with the hydro operation and the season. Daylight only, as the bridge is a security point. Traffic on the bridge is heavy.

What to expect

Photography on and around the bridge is restricted. The hydro scheme has reduced the flow over the visible rapids.

Nearby

Murchison Falls is west, and Gulu is north.