Mount Elgon Safari packages
“Sir Fredrick Jackson, former governor of Uganda protectorate, and keen ornithologist described the country as a “Hidden Eden…and wonderland for birds”
Mount Elgon National Park.
Mount Elgon is the eighth -highest mountain in Africa and it rises from the broadest base of any freestanding mountain in the world. Like most other major East African Massifs, Elgon is the relic of an extinct volcano, whose formation was associated with the tectonic activity that created the Rift Valley several million years ago. Elgon’s tallest peaks form a jagged circle around the more-or-less-intact caldera, which has a diameter of about 8km and is dotted with small crater lakes and hot springs created by Pleistocene glacial activity.
Hikers on Elgon are unlikely to encounter many large mammals aside from blue monkey and black-and –white colobus. A small number of elephants are resident on the mountains is a population of leopards, bushpigs, buffaloes, sitatunga and common duiker. The park is known to Harbour more than 24 mammal species and 305 bird species. Of which 20% are unconfirmed. Twelve of the species listed for Elgon occur in no other Ugandan National parks. For example the Jackson’s francolin, moorland francolin, red throated wryneck, Hunter’s cisticola, Alpine chat and many more. For less- serious hikers, Mount Elgon also offers plenty of alluring prospects such as the Lovely waterfall at Sipi, accessible from Mbale in less than an hour on a newly surfaced road.
Getting there and away
The national park can be explored only on foot, but most of the trailheads can be reached on public transport. The most established route up Elgon is the Sasa Route, the trailhead for which is at Budadiri on the western slopes. From Kampala to Mbale it takes about 4 hours and a 4WD is recommended.