What is Mount Elgon national park known for?

What is Mount Elgon national park known for?: Mount Elgon national park is located in Mbale district in the eastern part of Uganda. The national park is shared by Uganda which takes 1110 sq. km and Kenya 196 sq. km. You have heard of Mount Elgon national park and you are wondering why it’s so popular when it comes to tourism. Well, the national park is famous because of the different attractions found in Elgon.

Mount Elgon national park was gazetted in 1992 by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to protect the different attractions found there. Among the attractions include Mount Elgon, birds, animals, rocks, the largest caldera, lakes, and hot springs to mention but a few. Below are the major attractions that have helped in making Mount Elgon national park famous and known by tourists from different parts of the world.

Mount Elgon

The name Mount Elgon national park comes from a mountain that is situated inside the park. Mount Elgon is the mountain inside Mount Elgon national park and it’s where the park gets a name from. Mountain Elgon park happens to be the second tallest mountain in Uganda after Mount Rwenzori and it has attracted so many hikers from different parts of the world.

Hiking is the main activity carried out on Mountain Elgon park inside Mount Elgon national park. The mountain being the second tallest in Uganda attracts a lot of hikers from different parts of the world. These hikers have a dream of reaching the highest point of the mountain which is Wagagai peak at 4321 meters above sea level.

Hiking Mountain Elgon park is done every day throughout the year and the activity starts with a briefing from the park authorities. Here all hikers gather to learn the rules and regulations of hiking and later are drive to the starting point of hikers where they meet armed ranger guides. The role of armed ranger guides is to lead hikers to the summit guiding them on the right routes to use.

At the starting point of the hike, hikers will always find porters who help tourists carry excess luggage at a small fee. The hike is led by armed ranger guides and hiking is 7 to 8 hours every day. Getting to Mountain Elgon park summit takes 4 to 5 days and while hiking, the hikers get to see the different attractions on the mountain like animals, birds, water sources, and much more.

Hikers who get to the summit of Mountain Elgon park get to be at the second tallest point in Uganda which is Wagagai peak. They also get to see the largest caldera lake in the whole world and much more. Hikers are allowed to take photos and record videos of different things they find along the way as well as the surrounding areas.

Birds

Mount Elgon national park is one of the best birding destinations in eastern Uganda and also Uganda at large. Over 300 bird species have been recorded within this national park and birders can find them in different park areas if they participate in bird watching activities. Of the 300 bird species some are permanent while others are temporary.

Bird species that are making Mount Elgon national park famous include Nyanza swift, common scimitar bill, narina trogon, red-fronted parrot, African blue flycatcher, ring-necked dove, western crested guineafowl, augur buzzard, tambourine dove, blue spotted wood dove, red chested owlet, rufous necked wryneck, white stork, tropical boubou, hadada ibis, grey crowned crane, hunter’s cisticola, yellow-billed barbet, barn owl, double toothed barbet, crowned hornbill, pied cow.

Grey wagtail, red-rumped swallow, brown-capped weaver, red-eyed dove, northern double-collared sunbird, elgon francolin, Abyssinian crimsonwing, white-eyed slaty flycatcher, brimstone canary, pin tailed whydah, cinnamon black warbler, ayres’s hawk-eagle, white-browed robin chat, chubb’s cisticola, bronze sunbird, Abyssinian thrush, moorland chat, black-throated apalis, African emerald cuckoo, brown woodland warbler, spotted flycatcher.

Chestnut throated apalis, Eurasian blackcap, golden breasted bunting, yellow whiskered greenbul, kandt’s waxbill, waller’s starling, green-headed sunbird, red-capped robin chat, slender-billed greenbul, common bulbul, red-winged starling, red-billed oxpecker, buff throated apalis, variable sunbird, western yellow wagtail, streaky seedeater, African dusky flycatcher, and African black-headed oriole to mention but a few.

Mount Elgon caldera

Mount Elgon national park is also known for having the largest caldera in the whole world. The caldera on Mount Elgon covers a total area of 40 sq. km at the summit of the mountain. It’s believed that during the formation of the mountain, when magma was being drained from the chamber at some point it collapsed into a depression-like shape, and a caldera pool at the summit of the mountain was formed.

Hikers who get a chance to get to the summit of Mount Elgon national park and see the caldera get a great view of the area. The lakes and the hot springs on the eastern corner of the caldera are beautiful things to watch. Tourists are allowed to take pictures and record videos of the area for future memories.