Lake Bunyonyi /Uganda/

altitude: 1,962 m/6,437 ft
max length – width: 25 km/16 mi – 7 km/4 mi
depth: 44 m/144 ft

Unlike most lakes of the Gorilla Highlands region, Bunyonyi is not a crater lake. It was formed 10,000 years ago when lava dammed a river, drowning an area of 61 square kilometres (24 square miles), with 29 islands protruding it.

Second deepest in Africa? Not likely.

Knowing that today’s islands are former mountain tops, one can mentally connect underwater ridges and come to a conclusion that it is unlikely that Lake Bunyonyi is “the second deepest in Africa”. Nobody can trace the source of this claim, repeated by local guides.

Old scientific documents talk about 44m (144ft) as Bunyonyi’s maximum depth but it is likely that has increased over time. Namely, the river is still flooding the valleys, as it has been for thousands of years.

Many Birds, Some Otters, Few Fish

“Bunyonyi” means “the place of many little birds” and over 200 bird species have indeed been recorded here. That number, however, doesn’t make it a particularly unique destination in a region where double that number is not unheard of.

At the beginning of the 20th century fish were introduced but massively died in the 1960s, perhaps as a result of a volcanic gas emission. Present today are crayfish, mud fish and mirror carp — and their predators, otters.

More recent restocking attempts have led to locals trying serious fishing, to no avail. But children do have fun catching little fish, pulling staples out of their notebooks to make improvised hooks.

How Safe is Bunyonyi?

There’s an amusing story about hippos visiting Lake Bunyonyi this millennium and there was something similar taking place in the 1980s. Outside of that, Bunyonyi is completely hippo- and crocodile-free.

Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is not a threat but low water temperature can be — although it can reach 25℃/77℉ on the surface, it is recommended you enter the lake gradually on hot days to avoid cold water shock drowning.

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