Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in the western part of Uganda and is famous for the Rwenzori Mountain commonly termed the “Mountains of the Moon”. The name Rwenzori locally transforms to Rainmaker, the park is a major water catchment area originating from many rivers that supply water to the local community, the base of the valleys boasts beautiful lakes formed from the melting ice and water running through the slits of the rocks. The conservation area was gazetted in 1991 as a national park and declared a UNESCO World Heritage site by 1994. The park occupies an area space of 992 square kilometers rising to 5109 meters above sea level.
Mount Rwenzori is the major physical feature of the park, it is different from other mountains of Uganda, it being a block mountain. Tt was formed during the formation of the western rift valley stretching along the border with the democratic republic of Congo, along the slopes of the mountain region is a growing beautiful vegetation cover like no other in Africa, it is a magical land of beauty, the forest ranges from, afro montane forest, bamboo forest, and the afro pine forest, there are a few animal species present in the park a though they are shy and rare to see, for example, the mountain duikers, bushbucks, black and white colobus monkeys, among others.
How to reach Rwenzori National Parktwo ways, one can choose to drive or Fly to the destination, driving is conducted in 4×4 wheel car drives to beat the tough terrain of the African wilderness, it can be on self-drive or choose a driver guide to take you to the destination, it takes approximately 7 hours on the road with brief stopovers for lunch. There are 2 routes to the park from Kampala Via Mubende to Fort Portal or one can decide to pass through Masaka-Mbarara-Busheyi and then to Kasese. The routings are more exciting when you drive through national conservation areas, there is a chance to see animal species like waterbucks, en route primates like vervet monkeys, and waterbucks among others.
By flight, charter or scheduled flights can be arranged to the Kasese airstrip, whichis a few kilometers away from the park gate, a ground representative will then transfer you to the respective lodge facility. Flights begin from the Entebbe International Airport and Kampala Kajjansi. There are 2 domestic flight operators Aero Link Uganda and Fly Uganda who can be reached directly or through your tour operator.
Things to do when you reach the national park include climbing the mountain Rwenzori, this activity is the major thing to do in the national park, for travellers who are up for a challenge then this is the best alternative for you, it is a tough hike and one of the experienced hikers, for less experienced travellers it is wise to take on shorter hikes,the climbing begins in the morning hours led by an experienced Uganda wildlife game range. Rwenzori Mountains National Park can be visited all year round but best during the dry season between December- February and June –August, the trails are much drier and easier to access.