RWENZORI MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a World Heritage Site of outstanding beauty. Here the magnificent ‘Mountains of the Moon' rise from tropical rainforest into glacial peaks over 5000m high.

With near permanent mists enveloping the highest peaks and bizarre vegetation dotting its slopes, Rwenzori offers superb trekking and incredible scenery. Many climbers consider this to be the most challenging mountaineering in Africa.

RWENZORI NATIONAL PARK

The Rwenzoris are Africa’s tallest mountain range and lie on the Uganda – D.R.C. border. They are thought to be the legendary ‘Mountains of the Moon’ described by Ptolemy and are beaten in altitude by only the free standing Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.

They consist of six massifs that range up to 5,109m above sea level, in a 120km long range: Mount Stanley (5,109m), Mount Speke (4,890m), Mount Baker (4,843m), Mount Emin (4,798m), Mount Gessi (4,715m) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627m).

They offer excellent hiking but also significant bird life and incredible fauna.

RWENZORI FLORA AND FAUNA

Rwenzori is home to 70 species of mammal, although many are not commonly sighted. These include elephant, chimpanzees and tree hyrax.
Most likely to be encountered are blue monkeys and colobus monkeys.
The park is also home to the Angolan colobus, found in no other Ugandan park.
177 bird species are present including several Albertine Rift endemics.
Keep an eye open for Rwenzori turaco, handsome francolin, Archer’s ground robin, Rwenzori batis and long-eared owls.
Vegaetation zones change from forest to bamboo and to heather and alpine fauna above 3000m. Spectacular and weird giant groundsel, giant heather and giant lobelia up to 6m high can be found.

Activities

There are several hiking trails ranging from 3 – 7 days and all are relatively strenuous. We recommend these for serious hikers only. Climbing the peaks is for experienced mountaineers only.

When

Hiking is possible in the Rwenzoris all year round. But remember the dry seasons run from December - February and June - August.

Further information