Sipi Falls & the mountain

Three waterfalls down the face of Mount Elgon, with a rope descent beside the main drop and some of the best arabica coffee in East Africa at the top.

Sipi is three hours east of Jinja, in coffee country on the north-western flank of Mount Elgon. The three falls are linked by a hiking loop that takes most of a day at a comfortable pace.

The abseil beside the main fall is the reason most people come: a rope descent down the cliff face with the water beside you. Zip-lining runs across the gorge, and the walk up to the top of the falls is worth doing whether or not you go over the edge.

Coffee here is grown, washed and roasted on the same hillside. The farmer cooperatives run their own tours, and we book through them rather than a middleman.