Mount Elgon National park is the one of the forested and mountainous park in Uganda located in Eastern Uganda along Uganda-Kenya border in the districts of Mbale, Kapchorwa, Budadiri, Manafa and Bududa. Mt Elgon national park was gazatted to protect one of the oldest and largest Volcanic Mountain in East Africa. Mount Elgon stands at an altitude of 4,231m and has the largest caldera in the world covering 40km² making which makes it one of the best hiking destinations. Mt Elgon forms an extensive transboundary conservation area which was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO covering a size of 1,121km². Mount Elgon’s highest peaks are formed by high points around a jagged rim enclosing one of the world’s largest calderas, which is 40km long and 8km wide. The tallest peak is Wagagai standing at 4,321m, followed by Sudek (4,303m), Koitobos (4,222m) and Mubiyi (4,210m).
Mt Elgon is an extinct volcano and is believed to be one of the Uganda’s oldest physical feature, and to have last erupted around 24 million years ago. It was once Africa’s highest mountain exceeding Kilimanjaro which stands currently at 5,895m. Due to continuous erosion, the mountain declined to 4,321m making it the 4th highest in East Africa and 8th in the world. In addition, the park is also a home to over 300 bird species including the endangered Lammergeyer.
The neighboring communities live on the foothills and is composed of the Bamasaba and the Sabiny who are both famers. most of the communities largely depend on the forest near the national park which has caused a lot of encroachments on the forest and thus massive erosion that has resulted into continuous land and mud slides. However, the government of Uganda has tried to resettle them in other parts of the country to reduce pressure on the mountain although some of the people are still resisting sighting the mountain as their ancestral home.
Some of the tourism activities include the following:
Volcano Climbing; Mount Elgon National Park provides a good hiking experience, and the clients’ ultimate goal is normally reaching the highest peak-Wagagai to see the biggest Caldera in the world. The climb does not require any technical experience or special equipment which makes it the most preferred hiking destinations in East Africa compared to other mountains. Hiking to the top normally takes you 4 to 5 days led by the UWA ranger guides. There is also need to hire cooks and porters while on this hike; cooks to assist in making meals and Poters to carry clients’ luggage and other essentials. There are 3 major trails which include; Sasa trail starting from Bumasola Village, Sipi trail starting from Kapkwai Exploration Centre and Piswa trail starting from Kapkwata. The trails lead you to caves, viewpoints and waterfalls, with the option of camping overnight on the mountain slopes. You need to prepare very comfortable hiking gears, and jackets since it gets colder as you climb up.
Cultural Encounters; The park is surrounded by the Bagisu and Sabiny who have a rich cultural history. The Bagisu have a man adult hood cultural initiation ceremony called Imbalu where boys above 15 years are locally circumcised to iniate them into manhood to be recognized in society. Every Mugisu Male is required to go through this wherever they are. If any adult male is discovered not to have been initiated, the Bagisu will initiate you without any negations. Even at death, they will not burry you unless you have been initiated. This is treated with a lot of cultural significance. It’s always done every eventh year during August and September. This cultural event attracts many travelers around the world. Also, the Sabiny another tribe used to practice female genital mutilation to reduce women’s libido, but the government of Uganda abolished it by passing the female Genital mutilation Act declaring it illegal. However, you can meet them for story telling about it.
Community walks; The neighbouring communities practice farming by growing Arabic coffee on the sides of Mt Elgon.it has rich volcanic fertile soils that supports Arabic coffee farming to flourish. The Bagisu are popularly known to be the ones producing the finest washed Arabic coffee in Kenya and Uganda. A community walk will lead you to coffee plantations where you will learn about coffee growing, and harvesting. You will also learn how coffee is locally processed into a fine product. You can also take a community walk along mountain slopes to enjoy the views of Sipi Falls, the Walls of Death and the African sunrise across the Karamoja plains
Mountain biking: You can embark on mountain biking through biking trails that run from Sipi trading center to Chema hill in Kapchorwa town. It takes between 1-2 hours and provide you with views of various waterfalls
Rock climbing: Rock climbing is also a community led activity that takes place outside the park at Sipi. There are over 14 routes which used for rock climbing but require various levels of rock scaling techniques. The toughest is a 35m climb while the easiest is 15m.
Visiting Sipi Falls: The northern and western sides of Mount Elgon rise in a series of massive basalt cliffs, often several kilometers in length, over which the mountain’s rivers plunge as beautiful waterfalls. The best known are the three waterfalls at Sipi on the Kapchorwa road. The lowest of these falls is the most spectacular as it cascades over a 100m cliff. The second, known as Simba, plunges 69m over the entrance to a cave. Visitors can stand in the cave and enjoy the views of the back of the water falls. The third waterfall, also known as Ngasire, gushes over an 87m high ridge. There are other easily accessible waterfalls found at Sisiyi, Bulago, Chebonet and Wanale and many more scattered across the mountain, offering spectacular views that offer a good tourism experience.
Its accessed by road approximately
Accessing Mount Elgon National park is approximately 235km from Kampala through Jinja via Mbale at the western base of Mount Elgon before accessing a climb to Kapchorwa -north west part of the mountain. The marram road that will lead you to Kapchorwa from Mbale town.
