The
fabled " Mountains of The Moon " lie in Western
Uganda on the Congolese border, with snow-covered, equatorial
peaks rising to height of 5110 m and lower slopes blanketed
in moorland and rich montane forest. Most of the park is accessible
to hikers with magnificent scenery and 19 Albertine Rift endemics,
amongst them;
Rwenzori
Turaco and Shelley's Crimsonwing,
would be ample reward for the intrepid, backpacking birder.
The Rwenzori Mountains
have been selected as one of the
World's Best Hikes by National Geographic!
Click here
for more details...
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN
 Districts
: South Western Uganda, on the edge of the western rift valley,
shared by Rukungiri, Kabale and Kisoro
Districts.
Size
: 996 Km-Sq.
Elevation
: 1700 metres to 5109 metres atop Margherita peak on Mount
Stanley.
Habitat
: Montane forest with bamboo ( Arundinaria ) on lower slopes,
heath and Afro-alpine moorland on
higher slopes.
Status
: National Park since 1991.
Timing
: January - February and July - August are the driest months
but rain is possible year round.
Time
required : 3 days for the shorter foothill hike and 6-7 days
for the usual mountain loop.
Birds
Recorded : 195 species.
BIRD
WATCHING
There
are many bird species to lookout for among which include:-
Albertine Rift endemics like; Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori
Turaco, Montane (Rwenzori) Nightjar, Dwarf Honeyguide, Archer's
Robin-Chat, Red-throated Alethe, Kivu Ground Thrush, Red-faced
Woodland Warbler, Montane Masked and Collared Apalises, Stripe-breast
Tit, Rwenzori Batis, (Grauer's Cuckoo-shrike ), Blue-headed,
Regal and Purple-breasted Sunbirds, Strange Weaver, Dusky
and Shelley's Crimsonwings.
Others
to lookout for are; Lammergeiger, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk,
Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Long-eared Owl, Western
Green Tinkerbird, Olive Woodpecker, Grey-chested Illadopsis,
Grey-winged Robin, Evergreen Forest and Bamboo Warblers, Lagden's
Bush-Shrike, Montane Sooty Boubou, Golden-winged and Scarlet-tufted
Malachite Sunbirds, White-collared Olive-back, Red-faced Crimsonwing,
Oriole-Finch.
ACCESS
Rwenzori
Mountains National Park is accessible from Kasese. All hikes
need to be arranged through the Rwenzori Mountain Service
( RMS ), an organisation that works in conjunction with the
Ugandan Wildlife Authority to control hiking in the area and
to maintain trails and huts.
|
