Visiting Mount Elgon national park in December

Visiting Mount Elgon national park in December: December marks the beginning of the green season in Mount Elgon national park. Mount Elgon national park is one of the top tourist destinations in the eastern part of Uganda. The national park harbors a number of wildlife species easy to spot during park activities, and the magnificent Mount Elgon is a destination that travelers can travel to when they are looking for holidays in December.

December in Mountain Elgon national park comes at a time of the year in the dry season when the park is receiving little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. The vegetation is short, scattered, and still green which offers a great photography opportunity. The hiking and walking trails are dry and easier to walk through which enables tourists to access different areas of the park.

Visiting Mount Elgon national park in December

How is the climate of Mount Elgon national park in December?

There is little rainfall during the month of December in Mountain Elgon national park. Tourists should expect some rainfall during December but it cannot be as heavy as that of March to May and October to November. The little rainfall does not affect the activities therefore the activities continue as planned. If it does rain, it rains for a short period of time and the skies become clear again.

The temperatures are very normal during the month are December. It’s either too hot or too cold in December because some days the area receives little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. It gets colder during the night, especially on the slopes of Mount Elgon which is situated inside the park. The normal temperature favors most of the activities within the park, especially hiking.

Best activities done in Mount Elgon national park in December

Mountain climbing

Hiking Mount Elgon is best done during the dry season and December being one of the months in the dry seasons becomes a perfect time for such an activity. During December, there is little rainfall and too much sunshine received and this is perfect weather for the hiking activity. The hiking trails are dry and easy to walk through while the vegetation is short giving clear views of the different attractions on the slopes of the mountain.

Hiking Mount Elgon is less challenging in the dry season but this should mean that the hikers should not be physically fit. Hikers must be fit enough to climb up the mountain and get to the summit at the right time. It takes 4 to 6 days to get to the summit where hikers go through different vegetation zones, meet animals, birds, lakes, rivers, and the caldera lake at the summit.

Nature walks

Nature walks in Mountain Elgon national park are well done at a time when there is little or no rainfall. Nature walks in December bring tourists closer to nature and their surroundings. On the days of no rainfall, the nature walks are not affected in any way so tourists will be able to access most of the park areas on foot in search of different attractions within the national park such as caves, rocks, birds, animals, and vegetation to mention but a few.

Bird watching in Mount Elgon

Bird watching in Mount Elgon offers a great opportunity for bidders to this park and December is a period when migratory birds are within Mount Elgon national park especially those from South America. These birds escape bad weather conditions back in their homes and come to Africa to look for good weather conditions. Birders who will visit Mount Elgon national park in December will see permanent birds and those from South America, Asia, and Europe countries.

Bird watching in Mount Elgon national park during December will give you an opportunity to see species such as Elgon francolin, black-tailed oriole, cassin’s hawk-eagle, grey-backed fiscal, common scimitarbill, barn owl, lanner falcon, tropical boubou, chubb’s cisticola, black-throated wattle eye, hunter’s cisticola, Angola swallow, white stork, rock martin, red chested owlet, Nyanza swift, western house martin, meyer’s parrot.

Rameron pigeon, grey apalis, double-toothed barbet, grey cuckoo shrike, chinspot batis, African black-headed oriole, doherty’s bushshrike, white-necked raven, yellow-rumped tinkerbird, mountain buzzard, cardinal woodpecker, crowned hornbill, African wood owl, red fronted parrot, tambourine dove, pied cow, variable sunbird, common bulbul, brown woodland warbler, bronze sunbird, and African paradise flycatcher to mention but a few.

When to book your December safari in Mount Elgon national park

Tourists need to book their safari in Mountain Elgon national park 3 to 4 months in advance. The period is enough for tour operators to plan your safari accordingly and you find everything perfect. Those who are going for Mount Elgon hiking have a perfect time to do physical exercise and prepare everything needed for hiking to be successful.

How to get to Mount Elgon national park in December

Tourists can access Mountain Elgon national park during December by using road transport. They can drive from Entebbe via Kampala, jinja, Iganga, and Mbale where the park is located. Mount Elgon national park is located about 240 km away from Entebbe and getting there takes 5 to 6 hours.