11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari

11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour

11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour starts and ends in Kampala City with a City tour. This safari takes you for hiking at the Rwenzori Mountains where you will spend 9 days will do the hiking activity in Rwenzori Mountains National Park. On day 10, you go for a game drive in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park to adventure the tree-climbing lions and a boat ride at the Kazinga Channel where you sight large numbers of Hippo Pods.

Safari Details of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour

Day 1: Transfer from Kampala/Entebbe to Kasese

Our tour guide will pick you in the morning from either your hotel in Entebbe or from the airport and drive to Kasese which is the nearest town to Rwenzori Mountain National park. The drive journey will take you approximately 8 hours with a lunch stopover in the fort portal and then proceed with your journey to Kasese.

You will have dinner and overnight stay at Margherita Hotel

Day 2 of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour: Hike from Nyakalengijja to Nyabitaba hut

After breakfast, you will be taken to Rwenzori Mountaineering Services headquarters where you will be briefed about the whole hike. You will start the hike from Nyakalengija through the Bakonzo settlements to mount Rwenzori national park gate where you will be registered before entering the park. You will start the trail through the thick tropical with high elephant grass and dense bushes.

This forest is home to various animal species like forest elephant, chimpanzee, hyrax, black-and-white colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys, duiker, and three-horned chameleon among many more. It is also home to some of the bird species which include; the handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Long-eared Owl, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Strange Weaver, Archers’ Robin-chat and the Rwenzori Batis among many others as well as various tree and plant species. You will expect to see some of them.

11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari

Rwenzori Mountains National Park

It’s about 8km from Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba hut.

Dinner and overnight at Nyabitaba hut.

Day 3 of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour: Hike from Nyabitaba to John matte hut

After having breakfast at the hut, you will move through thick shrubs and forest for about 30 minutes to the Kurt Shafer bright which is at the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers. You will then move through the bamboo mixed with montane forests and slippery moss-covered rocks for a couple of hours. As you hike you will also expect to see various bird species which live in the forest.

You will continue to move up to Nyamulejju rock shelter where you will have a stopover for lunch. At this point, you will have a view of Mount Stanley and Mount Speke if the weather is clear. You will then continue to move through the alpine forest to John Matte hut where you will have dinner and spend the night. The hut is near river Bujuku and most hikers take a bath there, the water is very cold but refreshing as well. You will also have a view of the Margherita glacier which is on mount Stanley between Alexandra and Margherita peaks. Nyabitaba to John Matte is about 11km.

Dinner and overnight stay at John Matte hut

Day 4 of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour: Trail from John matte to Bujuku hut

After breakfast, you will cross the river Bujuku and through the forest to the lower big bog. This is a swampy area in a valley and a home to the giant lobelias. This area used to be the hardest part of the Rwenzori since the area is so boggy. Currently, there is a walk board up to the end of the boggy area which makes the walk much easier for trekkers. As you move you will expect to see giant lobelias, everlasting flowers, and groundsels. You will then take a steep hike along a ridge which will lead you to the start of the upper big bog. There is also a boardwalk up to Lake Bujuku. After the boardwalk, you will try to move through the remaining small boggy area with no walk boards to Bujuku hut. At this point, you will have a view of Lake Bujuku, Mount Speke, Mount Baker, and mount Stanley. At this point, you are able to ascend mount Speke and Mount Stanley. Distance from john matte to Bujuku is about 5km.

Dinner and overnight at Bujuku Hut.

Day 5 of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour: Hike from Bujuku to Elena hut

After breakfast at Bujuku hut, you will continue with the hike to Elena hut, which is 5-7 hours hike. You will move through the sides of the upper Bigo bog. You will then hike through the steep slopes of Lake Bujuku. While climbing Lake Bujuku’s steep slopes on the west, the trail ascends to the 4372-meter Scott-Elliot pass, and you will pass through more swamps and the thrilling ground gully. You will go over a steep section at the top of the gully using a metal ladder.

The trail is then divided into two. The two trails, the left trail leads to Scott-Elliot pass descending to Kitandara Lakes while the right trailheads to the Elena Hut and on a steep trail above large boulders to Mt Stanley.

Elena hut is at the rocky part of Mount Stanley and the area is too cold. At this point, you are at the highest mountain of the Rwenzori and you will have a direct view of Mount Baker and Mount Speke. Sometimes it may be hard to view these two mountains because they are covered by fog.

Dinner and overnight stay at Elena hut.

Day 6 of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour: Hike from Elena hut (4563m) – Kitandara (3979m)

This day you will have to wake up as early as 2 am, have breakfast at Elena hut, be ready in your warmest gear, put on your harness, warm hand gloves and headstock, have your headlamps and helmets and make sure you have sunglasses in the day pack on. Hike to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita peak, through the Stanley plateau. On steep rocky areas, you will use the ropes to help you move. The guide will teach you how to use the equipment while on the ice. On the glacial parts, you will be required to use you, crampons, and ice ax.

After moving for a couple of hours after the Stanley plateau glacier, you will reach the bottom of the Margherita glacier. This is the most challenging part of the entire hiking Rwenzori experience. You will hike through this glacier up to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita peak (5109m). At the top, you will have a view of Ireen Lake, mount Speke, and the surrounding environment. Then descend to Elena Hut for Lunch and later proceed to descend to Kitandara through the Scott Elliot pass to Kitandara, it is the most beautiful point of the Rwenzori.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Dinner and overnight stay at Kitandara hut.

Day 7: Descending from Kitandara hut (3979m) – Guy Yeoman hut (3505m)

After breakfast, you will move through the base of Mount Baker, which can be slippery so you will need to be so careful. From Kitandara, the trail ascends steeply up the headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the south side of the Rwenzori Mountain to Fresh field pass. From the pass, the long muddy descent continues, passing the rock shelter at Bujangolo, the base camp for the historic expedition by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1906. This will take you around 5-7 hours then reach Guy Yeoman hut which is located at the banks of river Mubuku, have dinner and spend the night.

Dinner and overnight stay at Guy Yeoman hut

Day 8: Descend from Guy Yeoman to Nyabitaba to Nyakalengija – Transfer to Queen Elizabeth N. Park

From Guy Yeoman, you will descend to Nyabitaba through the bamboo forests. The path down can be slippery and muddy with little to hold on to and requires careful balancing over the vertical mud or steep rock. After about 5 hours of trekking, you will reach Nyabitaba hut where you will have a stopover for lunch. You will then continue to descend for more than 3 hours to Nyakalengija.

Upon arrival at Nyakalengija, you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth National park.

Dinner and overnight stay at Parkview Safari Lodge

Day 9: Game Drives and Boat Ride

You will have an early morning breakfast and will embark on an early morning Game drive in Kasenyi sector of the park where you may have an opportunity to see the lions, leopard, giant forest hog, Cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kob, topi and bushbuck among others.

You will have lunch at the lodge and will be taken for a boat cruise in the afternoon along the Kazinga channel, where you will have an opportunity to see a variety of birds such as the kingfisher, herons, blue Turaco and many more. You will also see many hippos, crocodiles, buffalos, and swimming elephants. You will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Dinner and overnight stay at Parkview Safari Lodge

Day 10: Game Drives in Ishasha and visit to the crater lakes

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Ishasha sector of the park in search of tree climbing lions and other animals. You will have lunch and later be taken for a tour of the beautiful crater lakes.

You will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Dinner and overnight stay at Park View Safari lodge

Day 11: Transfer to Kampala/Entebbe

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Entebbe for departure.

End of the 11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari Uganda Wildlife Tour

11 Days Rwenzori Mountains Hiking Safari