Mount Elgon National Park
Mount Elgon National Park : Mountain Elgon is located 140kilometres in the North East of Lake Victoria. It is situated in two countries; the Kenyan part was gazetted in 1968 while the Ugandan was gazetted in 1992. The nearest city to Mountain Elgon national park is Mbale, Sironko, Bududa, Kapchorwa. It is governed by Kenya Wildlife Service and Uganda Wildlife Authority. Elgon is an important water catchment for the Nzoia River which flows to Lake Victoria and the Turkwel River commonly known as Saum River which flows Turkana. Its climate id moist to moderate dry. Elgon’s slopes support a rich variety vegetation, has wildlife like elephants and buffaloes, The national park is a home of 144 bird species like Tucazze sunbird, eastern bronze naped pigeon.
Attractions at Mount Elgon national park
Mount Elgon Caves: Elgon’s slopes are comprised of caves left by moving lava and erosion of soft volcanic that erupted many years ago. The common caves are Kapkwai caves, Khauka cave on wanale ridge. these caves provide manure in form of bat droppings to the livestock, they are used by climbers and porters as resting grounds while hiking the mountain, there is also hunters cave, siyo cave, mude cave, Tutum cave which is used for night expeditions
Jacksons pool and Jacksons peak: it is a natural pool occupied by shallow waters. the pool lies in the low land if 4165m high Jacksons peak, a volcanic plug rising from the western flank of the mountain. These features were named after the explorer Fredrick Jackson who was the first person to climb mt Elgon the peak has historical attachments that communicate to the locals about their ancestors who left way back.
Wildlife and birds: Birds spotted on the peaks of Mt Elgon national park include tucazze sunbird, Guinea fowls, sunbirds and more a bird lover will definitely love it at this park.
The cool admired peaks of Mt Elgon national park have various wildlife in their life which include red tailed monkeys, elephants, buffaloes, wildcat, elusive leopard among others.
The peaks and the caldera: The tallest peak at mt Elgon is Wagagi 4,321m, Sudek 4303m, koitoboa 4222m and Mubiyi 4210m. the caldera was formed as a result of magma .it collapsed into depression-like shape. There are hot springs in the eastern corner of the caldera at the start of Suam Gorge .in the northwest Simu Gorge was formed by sheer weight of water cutting into stream beds out of weak volcanic ash.
Sipi falls
Welcomed by a thunderous sound from the cascading waters ,lush vegetation and spectacular views ,Uganda has many waterfalls at Mt Elgon national park Sipi id one of the stunning falls situated in the Kapchorwa district at the edge of Mt Elgon national park close to the boarder of Kenya .Sipi is made of three waterfalls flowing from different altitudes .Hiking to visit these waterfalls involves 7km hike through steep muddy slopes .Sipi falls acts as the starting point to many hikes where you get to see Lake Kyoga ,Karamoja plains and more beautiful scenes .
Scenic view points
Mount Elgon is filled with peaks, cliffs, caves, waterfalls, gorges, calderas, hot springs, and that pull attention of tourists. The peaks of Elgon Mountain offer cool breeze to the people who come from hot plains.
Activities at mt Elgon national park
Hiking /mountain climbing: This is an adventurous and one of the major activities done at mt Elgon. While mountain climbing ,you follow different trails for example; Sasa trail is the shortest yet the most challenging ,it takes like four to six days passing through Mudangi cliffs, community gardens ,bamboo forests ,passing through Tatum caves which is famously known for its ancient cave painting .Piswa trail takes about 7 days offers beautiful views of Karamoja plains ,hot springs of Kapeguria and Nandi hills ,Mount Elgon offers day hikes for less experienced hikers and give them opportunity to enjoy views of beautiful scenery and wildlife species.
Bird watching: Mount Elgon is a habitat of over 300 bird species of which 50 are Afro tropical highland biome species. During this activity of bird watching, comes along an experienced bird guide to help out spot different bird species. the bird spotted include cinnamon bee eater, moustached green tinker bird, African blue flycatcher, moorland francolin among others.
Cultural encounters: Tourists are able to interact with sabiny and Bagisu people, they learn about the culture, their traditional dishes, visit their homesteads, listen to their historical stories, enjoy the traditional dances, songs etc.
Rock climbing: climbing tales places at side Sipi falls, there are 14 climbing requiring levels of rock scaling techniques and equipment are hired from sipi falls tourist guides association. the toughest climb is 35m while the easiest one is 15m. Both climbs give beautiful views of Karamoja plains and other falls at Mt Elgon.
Nature walks: Nature walks are exciting where tourists will be able to explore the park on foot with the help of an experienced guide. During the walking, tourists follow trails like the bamboo trails to Kapkwai cave which is about 4 hours. During the walk, tourists see tree and plant species enjoy the cool breeze listen to sweet sounds of different bird species.
Mountain biking: This is an exciting activity in Mountain Elgon national park that visitors can engage on a safari. Mountain biking was introduced in 2012 by Uganda wildlife Authority and the trails run from sipi town to Chema hill in Kapchorwa, it takes one to two hours .one gets to enjoy the great views of Karamoja plains, sipi falls, beautiful scenery, farms, rocks, Soroti plains etc.
Best time to visit Mt Elgon national Park
Mt Elgon can be visited all year through most especially for climbing activity but the suitable time to visit Mt Elgon national Park is during the dry seasons in the months of June -August and December to March. Mt Elgon has moderate dry climate and it is a water catchment area.
How to get to Mt Elgon national park.
It can be accessed by road transport by driving through Kampala via Jinja -Mbale and then to the park headquarters which takes 4-5-hour drive.
By air transport, tourists book domestic charter flights by bar aviation or Aero link Uganda from Entebbe international air port or Kajjansi airfield to Soroti and can pick a safari car to the destination.
There are accommodations like mt Elgon hotel, Kayegi hotel among others.
Conclusion.
In the Eastern region of Uganda, lies a very beautiful mountain Elgon national park commonly described as “family friendly hike mountain” and worth to be on the bucket list of a traveller while on Uganda safari.
