Day 5
Early in the morning we go into the woods to meet our closest relatives. At least for an hour we are going to watch chimpanzees and other apes. Then we drive to Fort Portal (550 kilometers or 342 miles). on our way we'll visit one of the most mystical places in Africa - Walumbe Pits of Death.
The Pits of Death are more than 200 strange vertical holes of an ancient origin that go downward into the ground, they cover the cliffy slope of the African Tanda Hill. The pits are 1.5 meters (5 ft) wide and from 3 (10 ft) to 70 meters (230 ft) deep. According to the legend, Ggulu, the Lord in Heaven, got angry at Walumbe, whose name means 'death', and threw her down from the Heaven to the earth, and sent his brother Kaikuzi after her to wipe her out of existence for good. But Death was no fool and turned out to be cunning and insidious, and to save herself from the god's wrath she started to burrow into the earth in several places, leaving deep pits behind. Eventually, Kaikuzi didn't manage to catch Walumbe, and she remained among people, taking their sinful lives and bringing death to them.
Scientists assume that the Pits of Death were made to extract something very valuable from beneath the surface of the earth. The ancient people were far too primitive and didn't have the necessary tools for the underground work. Many people who took a chance of descending into the pits tell about an absolutely miraculous feeling of "separation of the soul from the body" which one is bound to experience in such a mystical place.
Then we spend the night in the "Raja Hotel". The estimated time of arrival to Fort Portal is 8:00 PM.