Which district is Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Which district is Rwenzori Mountains National Park? Rwenzori Mountains National Park is one of the national parks in Uganda protected and managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Rwenzori Mountains national park covers 998 sq. km in the western part of Uganda. This national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect different attractions like animals, birds, vegetation, rivers, lakes, and Mount Rwenzori.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a 998 sq. km piece of land that spreads over three districts of western Uganda. The largest part of Rwenzori Mountains National Park is found in Kasese, the other parts are found Kabarole and Bundibugyo districts. Rwenzori Mountains National Park also spreads to the borders of Uganda with DR Congo joining Virunga national park.

Getting to Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Rwenzori Mountains National Park can be accessed by both air transport and road transport in a single day. The national park is located in western Uganda in Bundibugyo, Kabarole, and Kasese district about 400 km from Entebbe the main starting point for most safaris in Uganda.

Tourists who are okay with traveling for long distances can use road transport to get to Rwenzori Mountains National Park. The national park is about 400km from Entebbe and tourists take 5 to 6 hours to access the park depending on the number of stopovers along the way and the speed of the driver.

From Entebbe/Kampala, tourists can drive through Mityana, Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Bundibugyo which is in the north of the park. Tourists can also drive from Kampala/Entebbe via Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Ibanda, Kamwenge, and Kasese to the park in the south of the park.

Tourists can also access Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Kasese, Kabarole and Bundibudyo districts using air transport. The nearest airstrip to Mountain Rwenzori National Park is Kasese Airstrip and airline companies such as Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation have flights there.

Flights to Mountain Rwenzori National Park land at Kasese airstrip which is located in the south of the park. Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda have flights starting from Kajjansi Airstrip and Entebbe International Airport to Kasese Airstrip. From here tourists use road transport for a few hours and get to Rwenzori Mountains National Park.

What to do while in Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Mountain climbing

Inside Mountain Rwenzori National Park, we find Mount Rwenzori which is the tallest mountain in Uganda. Hiking is the most done activity on this mountain because tourists really love to get an opportunity to hike one of the tallest mountains in East Africa. Tourists hiking Mount Rwenzori hike to different levels depending on the time they have but every hiker gets great views of the surroundings and meets different attractions along the way.

Mount Rwenzori has different peaks but the luckiest are those that hike up to the highest peak which is Mount Stanley at 5109m above sea level. Hiking to the summit of Mount Stanely gives hikers an opportunity to see different attractions like rivers, lakes, and wildlife on the slopes of the mountain. Tourists also get an opportunity to take pictures and record videos on one of the tallest mountains in Africa.

Bird watching Rwenzori

There are over 217 bird species so far recorded in Rwenzori Mountains National Park. 19 of these bird species are said to be living in the Albertine rift region which means tourists can never see them anywhere else in the country. Birders in western Uganda normally want to try out Rwenzori Mountains National Park to see the different bird species recorded there.

On a bird watching exercise in Rwenzori Mountains National Park, birders will be able to see bird species such as the Rregal sunbird, rock martin, white wagtail, African thrush, red-chested cuckoo, western green tinkerbird, Red tufted sunbird, Rwenzori turaco, grey heron, lemon dove, black winged kite, black tailed oriole, little grebe, palm nut vulture, common sandpiper, glossy ibis, tambourine dove, grey cuckoo shrike, Rwenzori hill babbler, African shrike flycatcher.

other species to spot on Bird watching in Rwenzori are; White-browed coucal, Eurasian kestrel, marabou stork, malachite kingfisher, African wood owl, Albertine boubou, scarce swift, scaly throated honeyguide, African swift, little swift, lizard buzzard, yellow-fronted tinkerbird, African stonechat, crowned eagle, red knobbed coot, shikra, grey throated barbet, black goshawk, snowy crowned robin chat, ashy flycatcher, white chinned prinia, green crombec to mention but a few.

Nature walks

Tourists can carry out nature walk activities in Rwenzori Mountains National Park to get close to nature. Nature walks in Rwenzori Mountains National Park are led by armed ranger guides who take tourists around the park using different walking trails. During the nature walks, tourists are able to see different wildlife species and other attractions found in the park.

Best time to go Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Are you wondering what Best time to go Rwenzori Mountains? Tourists can go to Rwenzori Mountains National Park at any time of the year however the best period is the dry season which happens from June to September and December to February. This period is characterized by little or no rainfall that makes the trails dry and easier to walk through, the vegetation is short with good views of attractions and the roads leading to the park are passable.

Tourists can still visit Rwenzori Mountains National Park during the rainy season from March to May and October to November. This period favors budget travelers who want discounted accommodation facilities and tour packages. The rainy season has too much rainfall that makes the trails muddy and slippery, and it also has too much vegetation cover that give unclear views of wildlife.