Rwenzori Mountains National Park presents Africa’s third-highest glacier peak, Margherita! At 5109m it is amazingly high to a snow point stretching the mountain it is also popularly known as the “mountains of the moon” situated in the southwestern Uganda gazette in 1991 and was declared a UNESCO world heritage site by 1994 and also an important Ramsar site in 2008. The national park is a great place to see magnificent beauty, it is a real challenge to experience a hike of the mountain Rwenzori, and most travelers to the conservation area are lured by the heights and the snow-capped mountain. The Rwenzori is a rare block mountain through the floor of the western Rift Valley region, the park covers an area space of approximately 996 square kilometres at an altitude of 5109m above sea level. The massif hills including mountain Mount Baker, Mount Speke, Mount Emin, Mount Gessi, Mount Savoia, mount Stanley, and Margherita Peak.
In 1888, the European explorer Henry Stanley discovered the mountain and placed it on the map, he called it the Mountains of the Rwenzori a local name to means“Rainmaker” It is a major water catchment area in western Uganda and is said to supply most of the waters of the source of the river Nile. The protected conservation area protects 120 kilometres and 65km wide Rwenzori mountain range, it is snow-capped along the equatorial mountain range. The fame of the Rwenzori is the mountain climbing, for travellers looking for an extra something to do the park is ideal, the climb is cherried with several wildlife species in the national park.
The Rwenzori Mountains National Park features a different vegetation cover ranges from the dense forest at the foothills of the mountain, bamboo forest, woodlands, high altitude vegetation with lobelias, heathers, and groundsels, these together form a superb angelic environment, in the park are several animal species the common species encountered here include the Rwenzori colobus monkey, mountain duikers, giant forest hog, forest elephants, Angola colobus monkeys, bush bucks, reptiles, amphibians the present animals are commonly heard yet are shy and rarely seen and over 300 species of birds some of which are endemics to the destination, example types include the Rwenzori batis, great blue turaco, cinnamon chested bee-eaters, handsome francolin, golden-winged sunbirds, barbets, to mention a few.
In the national park, most activity is mountain climbing, and hikes take 9 days to reach the summit, there are well-developed trails used to climb, one of which is the central circuit, along this trail one will take 7 days to reach the summit, and the Kilembe trail begins in Kasese trail, both trails passing through the beautiful contrast vegetation covers, these combined are a fairy tale as you continue hiking upwards on a lucky day you will be changed to see the mammal species of the park, Birding done in the montane forest, guided nature walks, cultural encounters with the local communities.
Rwenzori Mountains National Park can be accessed by road or by air from Kampala it takes approximately+/-5 hours’ drive to reach the national park by road passing through the amazing small villages and towns or the Western Uganda flights can be arranged from Entebbe International Airport or Kampala Kajjansi. The park is visited all year round but best during the dry season between December –January and June-September. Around the national park is available accommodation ranging from the best budget to Luxury.
In conclusion, Rwenzori Mountains National Park can be visited any time of the year but best during the dry season between the months of December-February and June –September when the trails of the park are drier and easier to hike.