Is Rwenzori Mountains national park worth visiting

Is Rwenzori Mountains national park worth visiting: Rwenzori Mountains national park is a protected area full of adventure and experiences that are worth visiting. It might not be as famous as other national parks, but Rwenzori Mountains national park is one Uganda’s national parks with beautiful attractions worth exploring. What some people don’t know is that Rwenzori Mountains national park is a place where we find the tallest mountain in Uganda and the third tallest mountain in Africa.

Rwenzori Mountains national park has unique and rare vegetation covers that are home to 70 mammals, 217 bird species, and 5 primates. A safari to Rwenzori Mountains national park is one of the things you should add to your travel inspiration list for next year; the trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a dream come true for most travelers, especially the hikers.

Whether you are a nature lover, wildlife lover, adventure lover, or a hiker, Rwenzori Mountains national park has got something for everyone. The following are some of the attractions in Rwenzori Mountains national park that make it worth visiting.

Mount Rwenzori

Rwenzori Mountains national park is worth visiting because that is where tourists can find the tallest mountain in Uganda. Rwenzori mountain has got its highest peak on Mount Stanley at Margherita peak which is about 5109 meters above sea level. Hikers who visit Mount Rwenzori get to hike the third tallest mountain in Africa and those who get to the summit find it worth it.

Hiking Mount Rwenzori takes 9 to 12 days and the time taken for one to get to the summit depends on their speed and the nature of hiking trails. Hiking Mountain Rwenzori is easier in the dry season when the hiking trails are not too slippery. The hiking starts with a briefing where park authorities teach hikers about the rules and regulations of the activity before armed ranger guides lead them to the starting points of hiking.

At the starting points for hiking in Rwenzori Mountains national park hikers are given hiking sticks to help them balance and easily go through slippery rocks. Hikers go through different vegetation zones where they meet different wild animals, birds and primates. Different rivers and lakes that get their waters from Rwenzori mountains are also spotted during the hiking. Hikers that get to the summit of Stanley which is at Margherita peak get an opportunity to be at the tallest point of the park. They are allowed to take pictures and record videos of surrounding areas for memories.

Bird watching Rwenzori

About 217 bird species live in different vegetation covers of Rwenzori Mountains national park. Birders visiting the western part of Uganda should visit Rwenzori Mountains national park to get a chance to see of these beautiful bird species. Birders to Rwenzori mountains national park will get an opportunity to see 19 species that are said to be endemic to the Albertine region.

Bird watching is one of the most activities carried out in Mountain Rwenzori national park because of the so many bird species recorded there. A birding activity is guided by armed ranger guides who protect birders with their guides. Birding is best done with a local guide who knows the best areas to find certain bird species.

Good birders will be able to see bird species such as Golden backed weaver, grey crowned crane, Rwenzori batis, red-headed bluebill, lapped-faced vulture, hadada ibis, great crested grebe, cattle egret, willow warbler, yellow-billed barbet, lemon dove, African black duck, cassin’s honeyguide, barn owl, little grebe, red-eyed dove, blue spotted wood dove, grey cuckoo shrike, rock martin, marabou stork, grey throated barbet, stout cisticola, African green pigeon.

Bird watching Rwenzori  offers a chance to spot Abyssinian ground hornbill, white-browed coucal, speckled tinkerbird, African penduline tit, African wood owl, little egret, African emerald cuckoo, ashy flycatcher, lunder’s bushshrike, speckled mousebird, Rwenzori hill babbler, tambourine dove, crowned eagle, yellow-rumped tinkerbird, cassin’s hawk-eagle, western tinkerbird, laughing dove, brown woodland warbler, common bulbul, peregrine falcon.

Stripe breasted tit, black-throated wattle eye, yellow longbill, little swift, olive woodpecker, white-necked raven, yellow-fronted tinkerbird, golden-crowned woodpecker, village weaver, grey-headed sunbird, dusky blue flycatcher, Baglafecht weaver, snowy crowned robin chat, chinspot batis, red-headed malimbe, green crombec, and blue shouldered robin chat to mention but a few.

Animals

There are 70 mammals and 5 primates so far living in Rwenzori Mountains national park. These animals are some of the attractions we say are found in the park and tourists can see them while taking part in different park activities. Nature walks are the best way tourists can see animals living in Rwenzori Mountains national park. These activities are guided and it’s the armed ranger guides who take the tourists around the national park.

Animals tourists are likely to see on their safari to Rwenzori Mountains national park include Elephants, giant forest hogs, leopards, bushbucks, rocky hyraxes, Rwenzori otters, black-fronted duikers, African civets, red duikers, chimpanzees, L’hoest’s monkeys, Rwenzori climbing mouses, Angola colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, and red colobuses to mention but a few among others.