Activities in Mountain Rwenzori National Park
Activities in Rwenzori Mountain national Park: This park one of the little revealed and discovered wildness places in Uganda. It is the country’s most appealing destination for hikers, situated in the western region of the country at the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo stretching 120km South of Lake Albert and North of Lake Edward. Mountain Rwenzori was declared National Park in 1991 with an area of about 1000 square kilometers protecting the intimate glaciers peaks that go up to 5,109m high mountain rangers.
The park is incredible due to the splendid beautiful sceneries it offers that is unique in the region. Similarly, to Mountain Elgon National Park in Mbale district, the prime attraction offers is mountain climbing. Climbing mountain Rwenzori dubbed the mountain of the Moon is one the best adventure activities in Rwenzori national park that any traveler is interested in doing while in Uganda. This activity is mostly arranged by the Mountain Rwenzori services in conjunction with Uganda Wildlife Authority who is also responsible for the maintaining trails and accommodation at the top of the mountain
Travelers to this park expect a lot of other activities which include; nature walks, cultural tours, and sightseeing as well discussed below: –
Rwenzori Mountain/Volcano Climbing
Hiking mountain Rwenzori is one of the superlative experiences that hikers have gone through in untamed wildness of Rwenzori National Park. Hiking in Mountain Rwenzori is well organized to meet the international standards. For the first time hikers, they need to be extremely prepared to reach the tallest peak Margherita because it is so strenuous and it needs determination. H6owever less energetic trails can be organized for inexperienced hikers.
There are two hiking trails that visitors can follow while on hiking safaris in mountain Rwenzori National Park which include the central circuit trail and Kilembe trail. The central circuit begins at the trailhead at Mihunga and this can take a maximum of seven days climbing the Rwenzori Mountains. Climbers can scale the snow peaks though many consider the extraordinary scenery plentiful reward for their effort. It is only Rwenzori Mountaineering services th6at is responsible for organizing and arranging hiking for this route.
For travelers/visitors using the Kilembe trail that has been recently opened, their mountain climbing journey starts at Kilembe adjacent to Kasese town. This takes five days to reach one of the Rwenzori peaks however to fully exhaust the three peaks, the visitors need to prepare for nine days to reach one of the highest peaks. Climbing up to the highest summit Margherita is a marvelous opportunity to have a glance at snow-capped peaks and the undisputable vegetation. The U-turn descending route offers glorious views of the mighty Queen Elizabeth National Park and Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Further hikers are assured of glacier lakes and rivers high up in the mountain.
Bird watching
Rwenzori National park offers unsurpassed ranges of unlimited species of birds that go to over 217 bird species and it was because of this abundance of bird species that UNESCO categorized Rwenzori as the key birding area in Africa. There are very many species but the most common ones include; robins, bee-eaters, barbets, and sunbirds. Other known species that can be encountered include the Rwenzori Turaco, long-eared owl, olive woodpecker, handsome francolin, Rwenzori Batis, montane sooty boubou, Montane masked, African long-eared owl, strange weaver among others. visitors stepping at a high altitude will get an opportunity to interact with high altitude birds such as vulture, swifts, and black eagles hovering in the sky on both directions hunting for prey.
Robust cultural interactions/tours
Like other parks mountain, Rwenzori National Park is surrounded by different communities with diverse cultures and languages, the prominent being Bakonjo tribe. Visitors will have a chance to meet and greet the Bakonjo tribe that is located just at the foot of the giant mountain. In Ruboni Community, tourists can go and be entertained by the cultural performances of the Bakonjo as they are being informed and learn more about the lifestyles of Bakonko and their history. By following the BulimbaIhandilo-cultural trail, visitors can visit local traditional leaders and leads to Bakonjo traditional Museums which is the collection of different cultural items and traditional art of the Rwnzururu Kingdom.
Nature walks
Walking around in the wildness while feeling the imaginations of the self-loneliness with only nature sounds is very paramount. Mountain Rwenzori National Park Nature walks start near the boundaries and is arranged by the Rwenzori Mountain Services and Kilemebe Buck Packers. Those arranged by Mountaineering services pass via the central circuit used for mountain climbing. This tail is well forested and provides spectacular experiences of lake Mahooma and the chimpanzee forest of Buraro, this is indeed a stunning experience. Further, hiking would place you in a better position to view Becker and portal peaks of the mountain Rwenzori as well as an eye-attracting snow caped Margherita peak
This involves walking via the community villages of Kichwamba and hiking the Bundibugyo via Bwamba pass. A professional guide will help to explore and discover all these areas and therefore your free to ask anything you would like to know about what you observe and you cannot digest properly, frankly, you will get clarification from the guide.
Great forest and foothill hiking
This is designed specifically for first time hikers/climbers. As earlier seen climbing mountain Rwenzori up to the peak is so strenuous whereby inexperienced hikers may not reach and thus, this gives an opportunity to hike on slopes of the mountain while taking part in forest walks and other activities like hand fishing within several streams originating from the mountain. Amidst forest, visitors need to look out for the three-horned chameleons, a rare reptile only found in three East African countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.