MOUNTAIN RWENZORI

It is also called Mountains of the Moon, a series of mountains situated in western Uganda at the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  Mountain Rwenzori is endowed with the highest peak known as Margherita Peak, at 5109 meters and the highest peak in Uganda and the third highest in Africa after Mountain Kilimanjaro and Mountain Kenya.

The mountains of the moon are amazing with permanent snow-capped and glaciated. Mountain Rwenzori consists of six massifs separated by deep gorges: Mount Stanley (5,109 metres (16,762 ft)), Mountain Speke (4,890 metres (16,040 ft)), Mountain Baker (4,843 metres (15,889 ft)), Mountain Emin (4,798 metres (15,741 ft)), Mountain Gessi (4,715 metres (15,469 ft)) and Mountain Luigi di Savoia (4,627 metres (15,180 ft)). Mount Stanley has several subsidiary summits, with Margherita Peak being the highest point.

Mountain Rwenzori is made up of a national park called Mountain Rwenzori National Park.  Mt Rwenzori National Park was established in 1991. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage. Later in 1999, the park was listed as a UNESCO heritage site in danger between 1999 and 2004 because of insecurity and lack of resources in the park.

Mountain Rwenzori National Park covers 988 square Kilometres stretching in the districts of Kabarole, Kasese and Bundibugyo. It connects to Virunga National Park in DRC. Mountain Rwenzori gives distinctive and untouched scenery of alpine undergrowth dotted with fascinating massive groundsels, lobelias and heathers baptized as ‘Africa’s botanical big game’. The combination of remarkable snow-capped mountaintops, glaciers, V-shaped valleys, loose-flowing rivers with glorious waterfalls, pure blue lakes and inimitable flora add a lot to the area’s incomparable natural magnificence.

Tourist attraction in Mountain Rwenzori National Park

Wildlife – over 70 mammal species are found in a dense vegetation cover in Mountain Rwenzori National Park. The animals include elephants, Rwenzori Otter, leopard duiker, hyrax bushbucks, primates include chimpanzees, Angola black and white colobus, blue monkey, and I’hoest monkey among others.

Birds- Mountain Rwenzori National Park protects about 217 bird species with various endemic to the park. Such birds include Rwenzori Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Long-eared Owl, Handsome Francolin, Cinnamon-Chested Bee-eater, Archers’ Robin-chat, Rwenzori batis, and Headed Sunbird among others.

Lakes – Over 20 beautiful scenic Lakes are found in Mountain Rwenzori National Park. Some of the lakes can be seen while on the hike to the peaks. Some of the lakes include Kitandara Lake, Lake Mahoma, and Lake Bujuku among others.

Snow peak – Permanent snow-capped peaks attract a large number of tourists. The most interesting snow-capped peaks include Mount Stanley, Mount Speke and Barker among others.

Bulemba House – They are historical sites in Mountain Rwenzori National Park sheltering the remains of the first King of the Rwenzururu Kingdom and other historical leaders among them include Mukirania Kibanzanga is the most prominent of all who believe and appreciated for his efforts in saving the Bakonzo tribe from Batooro oppression.

Mount Rwenzori Lakes: Rwenzori Mountains National Park contains about 20 Lakes namely; Lake Mahoma (at 2651m) along the central circuit can easily be reached, while the Bujuku Lake lies at the Apex of the deep glacier-curved Bujuku valley, in the shadow of Mountain Stanley, Mountain Speke and Mount Baker. In the Nyamwamba valley, the ascent through the Kilembe trail where the glacial moraine deposited in the man-made dam, which has for a long time formed a series of 8 enjoyable lakes.

Rwenzori Safari Packages