the rwenzori mountains

protects the highest parts of THE Rwenzori mountain range

RWENZORI MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Rwenzori Mountains National Park protects the highest parts of the 120km-long and 65km-wide Rwenzori mountain range. Located in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border, the equatorial snow peaks include Mt Stanley’s Margherita Peak the third highest point in Africa at an altitude 5,109m. The park hosts 70 mammals, 217 bird species (including 19 Albertine Rift endemics) as well as some of the world’s rarest vegetation. The lower slopes are blanketed in moorland, bamboo and rich moist montane forest. Huge tree-heathers and colorful mosses are draped across the mountainside with giant lobelias and “everlasting flowers”, creating an enchanting fairytale scene. The Rwenzoris are a world-class hiking and mountaineering destination. A nine to twelve day trek will get skilled climbers to the summit of Margherita though shorter, non-technical treks are possible to scale the surrounding peaks. With an area of 996km2, the park was gazetted in 1991 and was recognized as a World Heritage site in 1994 and Ramsar site in 2008. The Rwenzori is not volcanic like East Africa’s other major mountains but is a block of rock up faulted through the floor of the Western Rift Valley. The Rwenzoris were christened the “Mountains of the Moon” by the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy in AD 150. The explorer Henry Stanley placed the Rwenzori on the map on 24th May 1888. He labeled it ‘Ruwenzori’, a local name which he recorded as meaning “Rain-Maker” or “Cloud-King.”

learn more - uganda parks & reserves

the queen elizabeth national park

mgahinga gorilla national park

bwindi impenetrable national park

rwenzori mountains national park

the murchison falls national park

mount elgon national park

semuliki valley national park

kibale forest national park

kidepo valley national park

the lake mburo national park

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