Hiking Mount Elgon during the dry season

Hiking Mount Elgon during the dry season: The dry season from June to September and December to February is a great time of the year to visit Mount Elgon national park and hike Mount Elgon. We generally advise hikers to visit Mount Elgon in the dry season when the weather is very favorable with plenty of sunshine and little rainfall.

Mount Elgon is a volcanic mountain in the eastern part of Uganda between the Uganda Kenya borders. The mountain being the second tallest in Uganda and the eighth tallest in Africa attracts a lot of hikers from different parts of the world. Today we are going to look at hiking Mount Elgon in the dry season which is the best period of the year for this activity.

Hiking Mountain Elgon in the dry season

December to February and June to September are the best times to climb Mount Elgon so hikers should expect a wonderful hike during such as time. While there is some little rainfall in Mount Elgon national park, it’s not extreme. The sunshine is plenty and the hikers find the hiking trails dry and easier to walk through.

The plenty of sunshine during the dry season at times dries up the vegetation making it short and scatted and the hikers benefit from this. They get to have clear views of the different attractions along the way and those surrounding the mountain. The skies are more clear during the dry season because the skies are less dark and this allows hikers to see anything they can while hiking.

Hiking Mountain Elgon

Hiking Mountain Elgon is a dream come true for many hikers from different parts of the world. The activity is better done by hikers who are well-prepared, physically fit, and ready to conquer. On the first day of hiking, hikers are taught the rules and regulations of the activity to enable them to carry out the activity with ease and less difficulty.

Hikers are given armed ranger guides who are to lead them throughout the hike and they drive with these rangers to the starting point of the hike. At the starting point of hiking, armed ranger guides remind the hikers of the rules and regulations, and then the activity begins. At the starting point of the hike is where hikers who have excess luggage hire porters. Hikers are given hiking sticks at the start of the hiking activity to help them balance while hiking.

Armed ranger guides lead the hikers as they walk through the hiking trail used and while hiking different attractions like animals, vegetation, birds, rocks, water sources, and much more are spotted. Hiking is carried out during day for about 7 to 8 hours and then the hikers rest during the night. It takes hikers 5 to 7 days to get to the summit and here they get to see the largest caldera in the whole world and an opportunity to be at Wagagai peak the highest point of the mountain

How much is Mount Elgon hiking in the dry season

The price of Mount Elgon national park is the same all throughout the year unless if Uganda Wildlife Authority makes changes. As of now, hiking is done at a fee of $50 for foreign non-residents, $40 for foreign residents, and UGX50,000 citizens of East African member states. The hiking fee is for a day and this means that hikers pay a fee based on the number of days they would love to hike.

Getting to Mount Elgon in the dry season

The best way to get to Mount Elgon in Mount Elgon national park is by road transport. It’s only 5 to 6 hours from Entebbe the starting point of most safaris in Uganda. The time taken normally depends on the number of stopovers, the speed of the driver as well as the nature of the roads. From Entebbe, tourists drive through Kampala, Mukono, Jinja, Iganga, and Mbale where the park is located. In the dry season, the roads are very dry and in good condition and this doesn’t affect the time taken to get to the park.