What to do in Mount Elgon national park after hiking
Are you wondering about the things you can do in Mount Elgon national park after hiking? One of Uganda’s national parks is Mount Elgon national park on the eastern side of the country. Mountain Elgon national park is a 1110 sq. km piece of land that was gazetted in 1992 to protect different tourist attractions. In the eastern side of Uganda, the national park is found in Mbale district where it extends up to the eastern part of Kenya.
Mountain Elgon park is popularly known for hiking activities because it hoists the second tallest mountain in Uganda. Mount Elgon is the second tallest mountain in Uganda and it’s found inside Mount Elgon national park. The mountain has its highest peak at 4321 meters above sea level on Wagagai peak. Hikers from different parts of the world dream of hiking this famous mountain.
The main activity done in Mount Elgon national park is hiking which is carried out on Mount Elgon. Hiking to Wagagai peak usually takes 4 to 5 days and hikers are able to see most of the attractions on the Mountain slopes and surrounding areas. Hiking Mountain Elgon is the main activity done in the park however more activities are organized and can be done after hiking to enable tourists see more of what the park has to offer.
Things to do in Mount Elgon national park after hiking
Bird watching mount Elgon
Safaris to Mount Elgon national park rewards with encounters of over 300 bird species that have been so far recorded in the different areas of the park. After a successful hiking, bird lovers can stay in the park for a day or more and look out for the different birding species found there. Bird watching activities in Mount Elgon are organized in the park and armed ranger guides lead the hikers throughout the whole activity making sure that they are safe.
Bird watching activities in Mount Elgon are done on foot and tourists are able to move to different park areas looking out for different bird species. The bird species to look out for in Mount Elgon national park include Baglafectcht, African goshawk, Doherty’s bush shrike, African wood owl, tambourine dove, narina trogon, mountain buzzard, white stork, double-toothed barbet, Nyanza swift, cardinal woodpecker, barn owl, red chested owlet, hadada ibis, rufous necked wryneck, grey crowned crane, lanner falcon, ross’s turaco.
Black and white casqued hornbill, rameron pigeon, doherty’s bushshrike, African paradise flycatcher, grey cuckoo shrike, black-throated wattle eye, little bee-eater, cinnamon chested bee-eater, black-tailed oriole, crowned hornbill, augur buzzard, purple throated cuckoo shrike, red fronted parrot, white-headed wood hoopoe, tropical boubou, grey-backed fiscal, white-bellied tit, brown crowned tchagra, pied cow, northern fiscal.
Common scimitarbill, African blue flycatcher, northern crombec, hartlaub’s turaco, blue spotted wood dove, African penduline tit, black cuckoo, western crested guineafowl, black-throated apalis, green-backed camaroptera, mountain yellow warbler, ring-necked dove, African emerald cuckoo, rock martin.
African thrush, slender-billed greenbul, yellow whiskered greenbul, white-eyed slaty flycatcher, baglafecht weaver, hunter’s cisticola, pin-tailed whydah, chubb’s cisticola, cinnamon black warbler, western yellow wagtail, common bulbul, peregrine falcon, African dusky flycatcher, scaly spurfowl, bronze sunbird, brimstone canary, mountain illadopsis, white-browed robin chat, moorland chat.
Spotted flycatcher, African black-headed oriole, grey apalis, kandt’s waxbill, red-cheeked cordon bleu, red-billed oxpecker, variable sunbird, northern yellow white eye, cape robin chat, Abyssinian thrush, buff throated apalis, ayres’s hawk-eagle, chinspot batis, streaky seedeater, mosque swallow, red-rumped swallow, brown woodland warbler, white-necked raven, and green-headed sunbird to mention but a few.
Nature walks
Nature walks are other activities that can be done in Mount Elgon national park after Mount Elgon hiking. Nature walks are activities done on foot to enable tourists to explore different park areas that can not reached while carrying out other park activities. During nature walks, different walking trails are used such as Piswa trail, Sipi trail, Suam trail, and Sasa trail to mention but a few.
Nature walks in Mount Elgon national park after hiking will enable tourists to see attractions such as wild animals, birds, vegetation, rocks, water sources, and much more. Hikers who use the Sipi trail will be able to see the Sipi falls which flow on the northwestern slopes of Mount Elgon national park.
Visiting the Sipi falls
It’s hard to visit Mount Elgon national park and fail to visit Sipi falls in the village of Sipi. A hike to the magnificent Sipi trails takes you about 3 hours and while there you will forget the aching feet and mud-stained trousers because of what you will be seeing the falls in front of you. There are three waterfalls on Sipi falls with the tallest being 100 meters, the second tallest 85 meters, and the shortest at 65 meters.
The Sipi region is known for organic arabica coffee where farming is done by the Bagishu on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Tourists who love coffee and would like to see how it’s made can visit different homes of the farmers and see the whole coffee making experience.
When to visit Mount Elgon national park
Tourists can visit Mount Elgon national park at any time of the year however there are those months that are better than others. The dry season months from June to September and December to February are the best to visit this national park and explore the different attractions found there. These months are good because they are characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine.
During the dry seasons, the tourists will find the hiking/walking trails dry and easier to walk through. The vegetation will be short and scattered giving clear views of attractions in the park and the roads leading to the park are always in good condition. Mount Elgon national park is still open for park activities in the rainy season but tourists should know that that is the time the park is having too much rainfall.
During the rainy season, too much rainfall makes the hiking trails muddy and slippery slowing down the speed of hikers. The vegetation is tall with unclear views of some of the attractions in the park, the skies are dark which limits tourists from seeing some areas that are somehow far and lastly, the roads leading to the park are in poor conditions.
