Mountain Elgon National Park rotates around the Mountain Elgon a dormant volcano in the eastern part of Uganda, it is tucked on border with Kenya apart of it extending to this east African country, the area has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site, it is placed a few kilometers from Mbale city covering a total area of approximately 1145 square kilometers together with the volcano, the park gets its name from the volcano mount Elgon, this mountain is the second highest in Uganda although it was once the highest mountain in Africa, before eruption.it is one of oldest features found in Uganda. Mountain Elgon is comprised of four peaks and its highest is called Wagagai.
Mountain Elgon forms the largest foot base of the world, upon which are settlements of the Bantu speaking people also known as the Bagisu, and the Kalenjin of the eastern Uganda, they are farmers practicing small scale farming, growing coffee, potatoes, and bananas, they are the Ugandan race that practices circumsion of young male children at the age of 15 and above to transform they into adulthood. The park is home to a different kind of vegetation, the zones range from then farm lands, Montana, bamboo forest to an open moorland dotted with the giant lobelia, the shrubs, and flowers and under growth of the park attract a lot of attention and repeat visits.
Elgon is the key attraction of the conservation area, the mountain is the 4th highest in east Africa, it has four peaks shared between Uganda and Kenya, meaning the mountain can be accessed for Kenya of Uganda. The Sipi falls is one of the key attractions of the national park, found along the slopes of the mountain right after Kapteret town on the sloppy hill of mountain Elgon, the escalating three falls are worth a visit to the conservation area. The Kapkwai exploration center is the beginning point of adventure in the national park, the Uganda wildlife authority team will lead you into the forest for angelic views of the trees, plants, fruits. The park is home to wildlife species, including the mountain duikers, spotted hyenas, waterbucks, monkeys, squirrels, to mention and over 200 bird species example weaver, red throated wryneck, black collard apalis, sunbirds, African eagles to mention.
The presence of the key attractions of the conservation area presents an opportunity to do activities including hiking Sipi falls, across the three falls, the speed of the hike depends on the one of the last persons, the beauty of the landscape is overly wowing, hiking mountain is of those key things to do in the national park, there are well distributed trails in the park, that lead you to the summit of the park center, like the Sipi trail, the Sasa trail, piswa trail, suam trail, hiking to the top of Wagagai takes 4-7 days depending on the trail you have chosen to Hike. The guided nature walks begin at the Kapkwai exploration center. Visiting the local people will give you a great experience, depending on your time of travel, every even year is a time of traditional dance performances, each of the tribes does it in their own way.
Mountain Elgon national park is placed in eastern part of Uganda, approximately 6 hour drive from Kampala Uganda’s capital city, it can be visited all year round but best during the dry seasons of the year, there is available accommodation in the national park ranging from budget to the best luxury facilities available to offer travelers a supreme accommodation and meals, an example includes Sipi river lodge, Lacam lodge to mention.