Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in the western part of Uganda, it hosts the third highest mountain in Africa placed at 5109meters above sea level. Mount Rwenzori is also known as the “Mountain of the Moon”as termed by Ptolemy a Greek Photographer. The top of the mountain is uniquely covered in snow, the name Rwenzori locally means rainmaker, it was gazette in 1991 as a national park and declared a UNESCO world heritage site by 1994, it is a water catchment area with rivers and lakes originating from the national park some of these are as a result of the melting snow and water in-between slits of rocks, it is being managed by the Uganda wildlife authority covering an area space of approximately 992 square kilometers.
Driving to Rwenzori National Park begins from the Entebbe International Airport or Kampala, sometimes from the agreed pick-up place with your operator the drives are conducted using 4×4-wheel car drives to beat the tough terrain of the African wilderness, vehicles commonly used include safari land cruisers, super customs, Rav4, tourist vans, safari drones or personal cars it is an amazing drive as you pass through small towns and villages of western Uganda, there are several routes taken to reach the national park from Entebbe or Kampala there areseveral routes to the park, it takes approximately 440 square kilometers to the conservation area about +/-7 hours drive. The park can also be accessed directly from other conservation areas by car from Fort Portalwhich is nearly 3 hour’s drive, while Queen Elizabeth National Park is only 72 kilometers from the conservation area.
The Rwenzori National Park is one of the best mountaineering destinations in Africa after mountain Kilimanjaro, it is a hyped kind of hike for experienced travelers, the mountains are in form of ranges joined by beautiful gorges and valleys which makes it even more difficult to climb, the conservation area is home to more than 200 species of birds some of which are endemics to the destination, the differed vegetation cover harbors about 70 mammals which are commonly heard but rare to see, the major attraction of the Rwenzori is the mountain stretch comprising of six hills( Mt. Stanely, Mt.Luigi di Savoia, Mount Gessi, Mt.speke, and Mountain Emin). The surrounding communities like the Bakonjo and Bamba people surround the ecosystem and present beautiful cultural tours to travelers.
Flying to Rwenzori National Park is also an option, there are domestic flight handlers who one can arrange directly or through a tour operator landing at the Kasese airstrip, these can be either charter or scheduled flights, it is from the airstrip that you will be transferred further to accommodation that have been arranged during your stay.
Driving to Rwenzori National Park will take you to experience the park’s major activities including climbing the Mountain Rwenzori, nature walks, birding in Rwenzori National Park, cultural encounters, trips to the Rwenzori National Park can be combined together with those to the Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo national park and the Bwindi impenetrable national park home to mountain gorillas.