Top things to do in Mount Elgon national park
Top things to do in Mount Elgon national park: Mount Elgin national park was gazetted in 1992 and takes over 1279 square kilometers in the northeastern part of Uganda. Mount Elgon national park is famous for hosting the second tallest mountain in Uganda, Mount Elgon. The national park is also home to over 300 bird species, a few mammals, and primates.
Top things to do in Mount Elgon national park are those activities that tourists can engage in while on a visit to the park. With attractions such as Mount Elgon, birds, mammals, primates, water sources, and much more, Mount Elgon national park offers quite a wide range of activities enabling tourists to explore different attractions within the park.
Top things to do in Mount Elgon national park
Hiking Mount Elgon
Hiking is the main activity carried out in Mount Elgon national park and the activity is done on Mount Elgon. Mount Elgon is located inside the national park on the borders of Uganda and Kenya. Mount Elgon is 4321 meters tall making it the second tallest mountain in Uganda. Its highest peak is Wagagai peak and it is always a dream come true when hikers reach there.
Hiking Mount Elgon is done by tourists with hiking permits which are purchased at the park offices or Uganda Wildlife Authority offices. Each hiking permit lasts for a day and it costs $50 for foreign non-residents, $40 for foreign residents, and UGX50,000 citizens of East African member states. Hikers who book with the local tour operators find their hiking permits already bought.
On the day first day of hiking, hikers move to the park offices early in the morning after having breakfast. It’s here that they meet the park stuff who teach them the rules and regulations of hiking. After the briefing, armed ranger guides are assigned to help hikers ascending the mountain.
Armed ranger guides and hikers drive to the starting point of the hike of any hiking trails (Sasa, Piswa, Sipi). At the starting point of the hiking trails, there are porters who are ready to help hikers on carrying excess luggage at a very affordable fee. Hikers are given walking sticks to help them balance when going through bad terrain and the activity begins.
Hiking goes through one trail until you reach the summit. While hiking, there are opportunities to meet different attractions on the slopes for example animals, birds, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, vegetation, and much more. To reach the summit, one needs 4 to 6 days, and time taken depends on the trail used and nature of hiking trail used.
Hiking takes hikers to the summit of the mountain which is Wagagai peak at 4321 meters above sea level. Reaching the summit is never easy but for those who reach there the excitement is always seen on their faces. At the summit, one is able to see the largest caldera lake in the world, hot springs, and the beautiful surrounding areas.
Bird watching
Bird watching is the second most done activity in Mount Elgon national park. Over 300 bird species are said to be living in different areas of this park and 12 of these are not seen anywhere in the country. Bird watching is a guided activity done with armed ranger guides who make sure that you are safe all throughout the activity.
With your bird equipment, you move to different park areas in the morning or evening and search for different bird species. Birds to see include Grey wagtail, African stonechat, grey apalis, brown-capped weaver, white-headed sawing, Abyssinian crimsonwing, green-backed camaroptera, white-starred robin, western yellow wagtail, African penduline tit, red-capped robin chat, hartlaub’s turaco, black cuckoo.
Waller’s starling, western crested guineafowl, northern crombec, Abyssinian thrush, mountain illadopsis, white-necked raven, elgon francolin, red-billed oxpecker, streaky seedeater, chubb’s cisticola, sharpe’s starling, red-eyed dove, pale flycatcher, African dusky flycatcher, mosque swallow, blue spotted wood dove, white-browed robin chat, brimstone canary, yellow whiskered greenbul to mention but a few.
When to go to Mount Elgon national park
The driest months of the year are the best to visit Mount Elgon national park and they do happen from June to September and December to February. During these months the weather is so perfect for activities for it is characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The hiking trails are dry and easier to walk through, vegetation is shirt and scattered with good views of wildlife and the roads leading to the park are in good condition.
Tourists who get time in the rainy season and budget travelers can still visit the park in the rainy season for it’s always open. The rainy season occurs from March to May and October to November a time when the park is receiving heavy rainfall and little sunshine. Hiking trails are muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall with unclear views of some of the attractions, and roads leading to the park are in poor condition.
Getting to Mount Elgon national park
The commonest means of transport to Mount Elgon national park is road transport. Mount Elgon national park is located about 240 km away from Entebbe the starting point of most safaris in Uganda. It takes 5 to 6 hours to get to the national park and this time is determined by the number of stopovers and the speed of the driver. From Entebbe, tourists drive through Kampala, Mukono, Jinja, Iganga, and Mbale to the park.
