Mountain Rwenzori

Mountain Rwenzori 

Mountain Rwenzori is the best place to hike in Uganda, and, perhaps it is East Africa at large. It is indeed Africa’s top hiking destination basing on the reviews from tripadvisor. It is an alternative tour place except Queen Elizabeth National Park It also has Africa’s five highest peaks; the peaks are spectacular and the trails are not crowded, and the beautiful high altitude forests all make a sight full package for the mountain climbers.

Mountain Rwenzori is an ecological community; it has a number of ecosystems with the spectacular varying mountain vegetation cover attributed to the altitude factors and other factors like nature of the soil among the rest. The vegetation cover changes with the gain in the altitude, it’s like walking through different realms on the same universe.

 The Montane vegetation is one example of vegetation cover which starts from 1800meters, and from this upwards it’s very possible to recognize the different flora zones as they succeed each other with the increase in the altitude of the mystical mountain of the moon. Some vegetation cover is even  common with more conspicuous species of plant cover, for example; afro Montane Forest on the lower altitude of the  mountain at 1800- 2500metres, Bamboo Mimulopsis Zone at 2500- 3000metres, Heather – Rapanea Zone 3000- 4000meters and the Alpine Zone at 4000- 4500metres.

Rwenzori national park entrance is 35USD and the activities are charged according to the number of people and the number of the days; the tour packages or itineraries are made by the tour operators in Uganda. The Rwenzori hiking must be and organize trip by a tour company of your choice; the hiking tours vary from the easy three days hiking to the complex ten days tour. However it’s good to take caution that the Rwenzori Mountain hiking activity requires good body fitnessas some of the hills are so steep to climb and they are tiring.

During the Mountain Rwenzori hike you have a variety of mountain wildlife to enjoy seeing and some are so special and unique to only mountain Rwenzori in Uganda.  Mountain Rwenzori is an ecological community blessed with abundance of unique fauna like, the Rwenzori Golden Mole, the rwenzori water or otter hew, the Rousette Fruit Bat, monkeys; Uganda blue monkey(these are heavily poached primates in Rwenzori National Park), unique L’hoest’s Monkeys are rare and can be only found in isolated areas, Ruwenzori Colobus Monkey, long haired chimpanzees, clawless otter Serval Cats, golden cat, Rwenzori leopard, bush elephant, African buffaloes, the red forest duiker and the yellow-backed duiker among other interesting animals.

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Birding is unique along the Kilembe hiking trail; it a new established hiking trail. From Kilembe trek you can see a lot of birds like the Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori Nighjar, the Rwenzori double coloured sunbird. Arch’s Robinchat, the Mountain Black Boubou; found in the heather vegetation zone about 3000 to 4000 metres above the ground.

 Other birds like the malachite sunbird are seen at the Mutinda peak. To reach Mutinda peak, you have to book for a five or six day Rwenzori hiking tour. During this hike, you trek up the mountain across Kiharo camp where you can see the Fracolin birds and the Rwenzori Batis et cetera.

The vegetation of Mountain Rwenzori is unique and the succession in the altitude brings about new type of vegetation cover with unique plants and mountain flowers like the everlasting flower, the guide will tell you a good reason as to why this plant is called an everlasting flower. As you trek up into the higher altitudes, the sounds of the frogs and other animals make your journey musical, and you will not forget the sound other night at kiharo camping site. It a new world up in the mountain peaks, you can wallow in the snow and also take memorable peaks you, as they are the only souvenir you will get form up the peaks.

Rwenzori National Park is open throughout the year and the hiking packages as well. However, the best season to visit rwenzori national park for hiking activity up the Mountain Rwenzori ranges, is, the dry season during the months of,  December, January, February and March in the first dry period, and then from July, August and September. Hiking in the wet season is always interrupted by rain; the rain makes the rails slippery and also animals become rare to find, unlike the dry season.