Overview

Mount Rwenzori is the Africa's tallest mountain range, exceeded in altitude only by the freestanding Mount Kilimanjaro and Kenya that is situated west of the country on the Congo border Close to Kasese and this park covers an area of 998 sq km. The 120 km Rwenzori chain is regarded to be the legendary snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, described by Ptolemy in AD 150. Reaching an elevation of 5,109 m.

The distinctive glacier peaks are visible for miles around, but the slopes above 1,600 m are the preserve of hikers, who rate the Rwenzoris to be the most challenging of all African mountains.

A variety of large mammals inhabit the lower slopes, but the Rwenzoris are notable more for their majestic scenery and varied vegetation. The trails lead through rainforest rattling with monkeys and birds, and then tall bamboo forest, before emerging on the high-altitude moorland zone, a landscape of bizarre giant lobelias, towered over by black rock and white snow, looking for the entire world like the set of a science fiction film.

Access: By road: from Kampala via mbarara to kasese, or from Kampala through fort portal and then 75 kilometers south on the fort kasese road. The park is 25 kilometers from kasese town.

By air: chartered planes are available from Entebbe / Kampala to kasese and then by road.

Accommodation: There are a variety of accommodation facilities in kasese town (both upper and lower market). RMS operates accommodation facilities-huts with bunk beds along the central circuit.