Mount Elgon National Park is located at the Ugandan-Kenyan border and is bisected between the two countries. The park is a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve and covers an area of 1,279 square kilometres (494 square miles); with the Ugandan part of the park covering 1,110 square kilometres (430 square miles). The park is located in Eastern Uganda. It is 227 kilometres from Kampala City by road – 4 hours’ drive.
Mount Elgon National Park is named after Mount Elgon, an extinct shield volcano; the oldest volcanic mountain in East Africa. The mountain has the largest surface area of any extinct volcano in the world, with the 8th highest peak in Africa at 4,321m. It is also a water catchment area for Nzoia River which flows to Lake Victoria, and for the Suam (Turkwel) River, which flows into Lake Turkana in Kenya.
The most common activity at this park is hiking; with three main starting points or trails – The Salsa (Buddukiro) Trail, Pisa Trail and Sipi trail. The Salsa trail is the shortest trail, albeit very steep. Hiking takes between 4 to 6 days depending on the trail used.
The park has over 400 species of vegetation that are layered according to the altitude. The slopes have a rich variety of vegetation like montane forest and moorland with the giant lobelia, groundsel and heather plants. The mountain slopes have Elgon olive, wet montane forest. Higher altitudes have olive, Afrocarpus gracilior forest, Afrocarpus, bamboo Arundinaria alpina zone, heaths Erica arborea, Erica trimera among others. These offer a beautiful and serene environment.
At this calm and beautifully green environment, you will be able to view lots of bird species. The park is home to over 144 species of birds, including the endangered Lammergeyer, the eastern bronze-naped pigeon, Jackson’s spurfowl, the Tacazze sunbird, and Hartlaub’s turaco among others. The park also has half of the butterfly species in Uganda and the endangered dragonfly (Maathai’s long-leg). Mt. Elgon National Park is ideal for birdwatchers.
The park is also home to some mammals such as the leopard, elephant, hyena, buffalo, small antelope, duiker, forest monkeys, including the black-and-white colobus, blue monkey and red-tailed monkey. The elephants and other mammals have been known to mine the mountain for salt, developing caves such as Kitum, Chepnyali, Mackingeny, Chebbi, Kebenob-Teretit and the Kochonget caves. Some of these caves have ancient paintings that will give you a rich history of the area and its people.
Other attractions at this park include hot springs in the crater which boil at temperatures of up to 48°C, Jackson’s pool and Jackson’s peak. Jackson’s Pool, a natural pool with shallow waters stands at 4,050m. It lies in the shadow of the 4,165m high Jackson’s Peak, a free-standing volcanic plug rising from the western flank of the mountain.
If you visit during an even year (for example 2022, 2024 etc.), you may witness the famed male circumcision ritual; a transition to adulthood of the indignant male Bagisu people locally known as Impala. The beats, dances and thrill of the Imbalu ritual are something worth witnessing.