Size of Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Size of Rwenzori Mountains National Park: Located in the western part of Uganda on the borders of Uganda and DR Congo, Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a 998 sq. km piece of land. Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a big piece of land protected by Uganda Wildlife Authority a government body protecting and managing all national parks in Uganda. The 998 sq. km piece of land is found in three districts which are Kasese, Bundibugyo, and Kabarole.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park was a big piece of land but the locals kept reducing it until it was gazetted as a national park. In 1991, the Uganda Wildlife Authority decided to gazette the area as a national park, and all the locals that were living inside were evicted. Local people were taught the importance of the area to the country and the community UWA agreed to give a certain percentage of money collected back to the people around the park.

Size of Rwenzori Mountains National Park

What is found in Rwenzori Mountains National Park?

Mountain Rwenzori

Rwenzori Mountain is found inside Rwenzori Mountains National Park and in fact that is where the park got its name. Rwenzori Mountains is found on the western part of Rwenzori Mountains National Park where it extends to DR Congo. Rwenzori Mountains is about 120km long and 65km wide inside Rwenzori Mountains National Park.

Mount Rwenzori has the highest point in Rwenzori Mountains National Park and that is Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley. It is true Mount Rwenzori is the third tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest mountain in Uganda. Tourists who happen to visit Rwenzori Mountains National Park do get an opportunity to see and even hiking Rwenzori mountains.

Animals in Rwenzori Mountains

Rwenzori Mountains National Park hosts 70 mammals, and 5 primates which tourists can see when they visit the park. Most of these animals are seen during nature walks, and hiking activities carried out inside the national park. There are no game drives carried out in Rwenzori Mountains National Park but nature walks are available to help tourists get so close to nature in different areas of the park.

Animals tourists can see in Rwenzori Mountains National Park include Elephant, bushbuck, leopard, giant forest hog, Rwenzori otter, rocky hyrax, black-fronted duiker, African civet, chimpanzee, L’hoest’s monkey, red duiker, Rwenzori climbing mouse, giant forest hog, black and white colobus monkey, Angola colobus monkey, olive baboon, blue monkey, and red colobus to mention but a few among others.

Birds in Rwenzori Mountains

Over 217 bird species have been so far recorded in Mount Rwenzori which means that they have been able to find a home within the park. Of the 217 bird species, 19 are endemic to the Albertine region. Birds of Rwenzori Mountains National Park are seen when birders take part in bird watching activities around the park where different birding trails are used.

Birds living in Rwenzori mountains national park include Rwenzori turaco, kivu ground thrush, African scared ibis, narrow-tailed starling, red-headed bluebill, mountain yellow warbler, mountain illadopsis, hadada ibis, European bee-eater, western green tinkerbird, singing cisticola, grey heron, Rwenzori apalis, grey crowned crane, cassin’s honeyguide, afed pigeon, red-eyed dove, grey-headed kingfisher.

African hobby, Rwenzori hill babbler, brown woodland warbler, marabou stork, African shrike flycatcher, African green pigeon, Abyssinian ground hornbill, laughing dove, eastern plantain eater, white-browed coucal, common sandpiper, grey tit flycatcher, malachite kingfisher, African penduline tit, levaillant’s cuckoo, African emerald cuckoo, tambourine dove, rameron pigeon, speckled mousebird.

Yellow-rumped tinkerbird, peregrine falcon, scaly throated honeyguide, black-throated wattle eye, little swift, lizard buzzard, yellow-fronted tinkerbird, dusky kit, golden-crowned woodpecker, northern black flycatcher, grey-headed sunbird, shikra, black goshawk, Baglafecht weaver, snowy crowned robin chat, cardinal woodpecker, white-browed crombec, African dusky flycatcher among others.

Accessing Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Rwenzori Mountains National Park can be accessed by either road transport or air transport. Road transport is the most common means of transport used to access the park fact that it’s affordable to all kinds of tourists. By road transport, tourists can access Rwenzori Mountains National Park in 6 to 7 hours and the time taken depends on the speed of the driver as well as the number of stopovers along the way.

Accessing Rwenzori Mountains National Park by road: Tourists from Kampala/Entebbe can drive through Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Bundibugyo in the north of the park. Tourists can also travel through Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ibanda, Kamwenge, and Kasese which is in the south of the park.

Accessing Rwenzori Mountains National Park by Air: Luxury travelers can access Rwenzori Mountains National Park by air transport using some of the airline companies within the country. Bar Aviation Uganda and Aerolink Uganda are some of the airline companies that have flights to Kasese airstrip the nearest to the park. Flights to Rwenzori Mountains National Park start from Kajjansi Airstrip or Entebbe International Airport to Kasese Airstrip where tourists use road transport for a few hours to get to the park.