Short safaris to Mount Elgon national park
Short safaris to Mount Elgon national park: These safaris are designed for tourists who have limited time on a safari or those who have a limited budget. Mount Elgon national park in the northeastern side of Uganda covering over 1110 sq. km with different tourist attractions like animals, birds, Mount Elgon, caves, and water sources to mention but a few.
A 3 or 4 days safari to Mount Elgon national park can be a short package where travelers get a chance to be in the park and participate in different activities but in a short time. Mount Elgon national park is one of the most visited places in northeastern Uganda with several tourist attractions. Mount Elgon is the main attraction in the park being the second tallest mountain in Uganda it attracts lots of travelers.
During a short safari to Mount Elgon national park, tourists will be able to take part in activities of their choice. These activities will enable you to explore the park and see the different attractions such as birds, animals, water sources, caves, and Mount Elgon among others. Below are some of the activities that can be done on short safaris to Mount Elgon national park.
What to do on a short safari to Mount Elgon national park
There are so many tourism activities organized in Mount Elgon national park that tourists can do while on a short safari. What to do depends on the choice of tourists and the number of days they have on a safari. Activities in the park include Elgon hiking, bird watching, nature walks, mountain biking, rock climbing, and many others.
Mount Elgon climbing
Climbing to the summit of Mount Elgon has never been a must for everyone. Hikers who have enough time are the ones who get an opportunity to reach the summit of the mountain. It requires 4 to 6 days to get to the summit but for hiking who have little time in the park, hiking can be done for a few days up to a certain level.
Hiking Mount Elgon can be done for a day, two, or even three if a hiker is in a hurry or has other programs. You will be required to pay for the number of days you will go hiking and you will be able to reach a certain level of the mountain and see a few attractions here and there.
Hikers who want a few days are still given armed ranger guides to lead them throughout the hike and guide them accordingly. While hiking, hikers get to meet different attractions like animals, birds, vegetation, rocks, and vegetation to mention but a few. At different levels of the mountain, hikers can still have a great view of the park and the surrounding areas.
Bird watching
Bird lovers who are interested in seeing the birds of Mount Elgon national park can pass by the park and see what it has for them. Over 300 bird species are found within the park and birders can spot some of them during bird watching activities with armed ranger guides and local birders.
Birds to see in Mount Elgon national park include Doherty’s bush-shrike, speckled mousebird, hadada ibis, golden-winged sunbird, cardinal woodpecker, rameron pigeon, grey cuckoo shrike, black-tailed oriole, red-fronted parrot, white-bellied tit, hartlaub’s turaco, western crested guineafowl, Chubb’s Cisticola, mountain yellow warbler, scaly spurfowl, Black Kite, and African emerald cuckoo.
African dusky flycatcher, waller’s starling, Abyssinian thrush, mountain illadopsis, oriole finch, Abyssinian crimsonwing, slender-billed greenbul, northern yellow white eye, pin-tailed whydah, Eurasian blackcap, chinspot batis, moorland chat, Elgon francolin, golden breasted bunting, Angola swallow, red-billed oxpecker, mountain wagtail, red-eyed dove, and cape robin chat to mention but a few.
Nature walks
While on a short safari in Mount Elgon national park, tourists who love nature can have a small time and go for nature walk activities. Nature walks are normally done after major activities like hiking and bird watching. Nature walks are done on foot and enable hikers to see attractions in the park some of which can not be seen while carrying out park activities.
Nature walks in Mount Elgon national park are carried out using different nature walk trails among which include bamboo trail, budadiri trail, khauka cave trail with each trail having its own unique sittings and time to complete. During nature walks, tourists see caves, birds, animals, falls, and vegetation among others.
When to have short safaris in Mount Elgon national park
Short tours to Mount Elgon national park are best done in the dry season when the weather is good for different tourism activities. Dry season we are talking about June to September and December to February when the park is receiving plenty of sunshine and little rainfall that favor all park activities.
When the weather is good, the hiking trails are dry and easier to walk through which makes it easy for hikers to reach a certain level of the mountain in time. The vegetation is short and scattered which gives tourists a clear view of different attractions in the park and lastly, the roads to the park are in very good condition.
Tourists who get time in the rainy seasons can still visit the peak even though it’s not the best time. There is too much rainfall from March to May and October to November which affects park activities, Hiking trails are muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall with unclear views of attractions, and roads to the park are in a poor state.
Getting to Mount Elgon national park for short safaris
Road transport is the common means of transport tourists use to get to Mount Elgon national park. The national park is about 240 km from Entebbe the starting point of most safaris in Uganda and it takes about 5 to 6 hours to get to the park. From Entebbe tourists drive through Kampala, Mukono, Jinja, Iganga, Kapchorwa, and Mbale to the park.
