Accessing Mount Elgon National Park by road transport

Accessing Mount Elgon National Park by road transport: All the national parks in Uganda can be accessed by road transport including Mount Elgon national park. Mount Elgon national park is Uganda’s national park in the eastern side of the country in Mbale district. The national park was gazetted in 1992 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority with the aim of protecting different attractions that were in the park at the time.

Mountain Elgon national park in Uganda covers a total area of 1110 sq. km and in Kenya, it covers about 169 sq. km. The protected area has lots of attractions among which include animals, birds, rocks, vegetation, Mountain Elgon, and water sources to mention but a few. Tourists from different parts of the world visit the national park to explore the different attractions that are found there.

Mount Elgon national park is found in the eastern part of Uganda in Mbale district and most tourists access the area using road transport. Entebbe International Airport is the main starting point of most trips in Uganda therefore we shall look at how to get to Mountain Elgon national Park from Entebbe using road transport.

Road transport is the most used means of transport to get tourists to different national parks in Uganda including Mount Elgon national park. Most safaris in Uganda start from Entebbe where we find the main airport of Uganda. It’s from Entebbe that tourists drive through Kampala, Mukono, Jinja, Iganga, and then Mbale where Mount Elgon national park is found.

Entebbe to Mount Elgon national park by road transport takes about 5 to 6 hours which is not a lot of time. The time taken normally depends on the number of stopovers as well as the speed of the driver which is determine by the nature of roads. Tourists on their way to Mountain Elgon national park will have great views of the different attractions along the way for example the Sipi falls.

When to travel to Mountain Elgon national park by road transport

Accessing Mount Elgon National Park by road transport is possible at any time of the year however there are those months that are better than others. The dry season months are the best times to travel to Mount Elgon national park since they are of good weather. There is little and sometimes no rainfall within the country which keeps the roads dry and easier to drive through.

Roads especially those off the main transportation routes in the country are of tarmac and in the dry season they are not affected as much as they are during the rainy season. In the dry season which happens from June to September and December to February, the roads are dry and easier to drive through but tourists should expect dust.

Tourists can still access Mount Elgon national park using road transport in the rainy season of March to May and October to November. Tourists should know that roads especially those off Mbale Kapchorwa main road to the park tend to be muddy and even slippery. Too much rainfall spoils the roads and this affects the speed of the driver.

Tourists especially those traveling in small vehicles should know that at some point the vehicles can get stuck in the mud and you will have to help each other. The time taken to get to the park does increase during the rainy season because of the nature of the roads. This is why tourists are advised to travel to Mount Elgon national park during the dry season when there is less rainfall and the roads are dry.