Tips for hiking Mount Elgon

Tips for hiking Mount Elgon: It takes preparation and a good mindset to hike a mountain like Elgon. Congratulations, you have decided to hike Mount Elgon and you are asking yourself how you will make it to the summit. Are you a first-time hiker or an experienced hiker looking for different tips to help you reach your goal? Let’s give you some hiking tips to smoothen your activity and make the whole experience better.

Hiking Mount Elgon the second-tallest mountain in Uganda and the third-tallest mountain in Africa is breathtaking. The mountain is 4321 meters tall and getting to the summit has a lot of things to discover on the slopes and the summit which is at Wagagai peak. Hiking Mount Elgon is a very wonderful exercise full of surprises and giving you the tips will make this activity more enjoyable.

Tips for hiking Mount Elgon

Book with a tour operator

The fact that you don’t stay in Uganda makes you not be familiar with what takes place within the country. It’s from here that we ask you to always book your safaris including hiking safaris with the local tour operator. A local tour operator knows well the best service providers on Mount Elgon and will help you to do the bookings and in the end your hiking will be a successful one.

Booking the hiking safari in Advance

Hikers who are intending to visit Mount Elgon national park for Mount Elgon need to book early enough and have enough time to prepare for the safari. It’s better when one books 3 to 4 months in advance to allow tour operators to organize a perfect safari. Advance booking also enables the tourists to prepare the different things to pack, book air tickets, and do enough physical exercises.

Prepare physically

Hiking Mountain Elgon successfully is not about age or looks but physical fitness. Hikers out there should know that physical fitness is a must for one to complete the hike. After booking a hiking safari, we advise tourists to start training for the activity so that by the time the safari starts one is fit enough for the activity.

Physical training can be done by running up and down hills in the neighborhoods, going to the gym, skipping ropes, and doing a few exercises in your compound at home. Hikers should at least start their exercises about 2 months in advance and can always visit their doctors if their bodies are ready for hiking such a tall mountain.

Pace yourself

One of the tips armed ranger guides will tell you to enable you have a successful hiking is pacing yourself. You will be asked to move slowly and the rangers see that you are moving at a high speed to will tell you to go slow. Hiking to the summit of Mountain Elgon is a marathon but not a race in which you will win a medal.  Hikers need to take their time while hiking to avoid fatigue.

Hike in the right time

To make Mountain Elgon hiking successful you need to go for it during the dry season. The dry season is the best time to ascend and descend this mountain reason being the days are characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The hiking trails are dry and easy to walk through making the hikers get to the summit at the right time.

During the dry seasons, the vegetation on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon dries up and this gives hikers a good view of different attractions on the slopes and the surrounding areas. Lastly, the roads leading to the park are dry and easier to drive through which makes the tourists access the park as well as the mountain in time.

Pack the right gear

Packing the right gear for Mount Elgon hiking is very essential. When hiking the mountain, you will need different items to use and if you have them everything will be easy for you. First time hikers who do not know what to pack for Mount Elgon hiking can always ask their tour operators for a list of things to come along with or can even google to see such items.

Some of the items needed for Mountain Elgon hiking include a duffle bag, day backpack, walking stick, sleeping bag, rain jacket, long-sleeved pants, long-sleeved shirts, warm gloves, neck gaiters, ankle gaiters, long cotton stocks, umbrella, pair of gaiters, waterproof shoes, sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellents, flash torch, drinking water bottle, toiletries, a camera, a pair of binoculars, notebook and a pen, energy giving snacks, waterproof document bag to mention but a few.

Believe in yourself

If you believe that you can make it to the summit of Mount Elgon indeed you will make it. A positive mind while ascending the mountain can keep you going when doubts and fatigue arise. Every hiker can get tired on the way to the summit but if you believe that you can reach there then you will reach. If you get exhausted you can rest, take some water, have some snacks, and continue with the hiking.

Hikers should come for Mount Elgon hiking knowing that getting to the summit 4321 meters above sea level is a very challenging task. It needs a lot of preparation, time, and believing in yourself. We believe with all this, hikers can successfully get to Wagagai peak the highest point on Mount Elgon in 4 to 6 days depending on the hiking trail used.