Things to see and do Rwenzori National Park

To discover the Central Circuit and Kilembe Trail in their entirety, including the ascent of Margherita Peak, you will need seven to eight days of walking: perfect to get back in shape while enjoying the geological, floristic and faunistic wonders (77 species of mammals, 177 birds and 78 butterflies) of the Rwenzori National Park and its 996 km2. For those who are put off by the price and the difficult conditions of progression (mud, unevenness, even altitude sickness), there are alternatives - less long (from a few hours to a few days), less expensive and less physically demanding - organized from Nyakalengija and Kilembe by the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services (RMS), the Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Alternatively, the more dedicated can add an extra day or two to climb the main peaks of the range; check with RTS and RMS for more information. You should also be aware that Rwenzori is one of the wettest ranges in the world. It rains about 350 days a year. Therefore, only two periods are really suitable for trekking: from mid-December to the end of January and, to a lesser extent, from mid-June to mid-July. Practically, if you are lucky, it can be fair weather in the morning, a good shower in the afternoon, and it clears in the evening.

Climbing Margherita Peak via the Central Circuit (with RMS)

To reach Nyakalengija, from where the RMS trek starts, you will have to take the national road from Kasese to Fort Portal for 12 km and then take a track, not far from the town of Mubuku, on the left side of the road. There are then more than ten kilometers to travel on a road that is passable in all seasons, although water flows from all sides during the rainy season.

Day 1: Nyakalengija (1615m) - Nyabitaba Hut (2650m): 6-7 hours. Departure in the morning from the RMS office. The first hour's walk is through cultivated land before arriving at the official park entrance where we start to follow the Mubuku River through the forest to its tributary, the Mahoma River. After fording the river, you start to climb a steep path through the ferns to Nyabitaba Hut on a ridge. You will certainly be accompanied by the call of chimpanzees, colobus, blue monkeys and the superb Rwenzori touraco.

Day 2: Nyabitaba Hut (2650m) - John Matte Hut (3505m): 7-8 hours. A long day of walking. We climb up the ridge to the junction of two trails and then descend through the ferns to the Bujuku River which we cross by a suspension bridge. We then enter the bamboo forest to climb a slippery and rocky path to the abandoned Nyamuleju hut, a good shelter for lunch. From here you are in an extraordinary heather forest and the first giant lobelias appear. From there, count another 2 hours to John Matte Hut.

Day 3: John Matte Hut (3 505 m) - Bujuku Hut (3 960 m): 5 hours. Behind the hut, we enter an area of high altitude swamp that we cross sometimes knee deep before fording the Bujuku River to bypass the lower Bigo swamp by the right bank. A 90-minute climb through the forest then leads to the upper swamp, which is easily crossed by a wooden footbridge. After a long walk, we reach the glacial valley of Bujuku Lake which, on a clear day, offers an enchanting panorama of Mount Stanley, Mount Speke and Mount Baker. You will then have to cross another swamp to reach, at the end of a grueling day, Bujuku Hut.

Day 4: Bujuku Hut (3,960 m) - Elena Hut (4,540 m): 5-6 hours. From Bujuku, we start again in the mud before climbing steeply through a forest of giant ragwort and climbing a fault with the help of a handrail. We then approach Scott Elliot Pass, which we cross on the fifth day. From here, the more adventurous climbers scramble along a slippery trail to Elena Hut, at 4540m, below Margherita Peak, Africa's third highest peak (509m).

Day 5: Elena Hut (4,540 m) - Margherita Peak (5,109 m) - Kitandara Hut (4,020 m): 9-12 hours (depending on weather conditions). Departure around 2h30-3h in the morning for an attempt to climb. It takes 4 to 5 hours of climbing through glaciers and slippery rocks to reach the peak, provided that your body is well acclimatized to the altitude and the (sometimes) extreme conditions (negative temperatures, wind, fog...). After the souvenir photo, we go back down to Elena Hut for a healthy lunch, and then descend to Kitandara Hut via the Scott Elliot Pass (4 372 m) and its spectacular views.

Day 6: Kitandara Hut (4 020 m) - Guy Yeoman Hut (3 505 m): 6-7 hours. We start this day with an hour and a half of muddy crossing through the Fresh Field Pass plain (4 282 m), remarkable for its expanses of coloured moss. Then a long, slippery, steep and spongy descent allows us to emerge in the high valley of Mubuku. We will have noticed in passing the rock shelter of Bujongolo which served as a base camp for the Duke of Abruzzo's expedition in 1906.

Day 7: Guy Yeoman Hut (3 505 m) - Nyakalengija (1 615 m): 8 hours. This double stage allows you to stay within the 7 days/6 nights tour planned by the RMS if you have climbed a summit. Below Guy Yeoman, the trail descends steeply following the Kichuchu walls through a heather forest. You then have to cross the Mubuku River, once by fording it and again by a suspension bridge, to reach Nyabitaba, the hut of the first day. From there, you can choose to spend the night or directly attack the additional 3 hours of descent to Nyakalengija.

Climbing Margherita Peak via the Kilembe Trail (with RTS)

The trek to Margherita Peak takes 7-8 days. Although it can be done in 7 days, RTS recommends to its clients to do the tour in 8 days (see below) in order to facilitate the acclimatization to the altitude. The rates and itinerary are the same whether you opt for 7 or 8 days.

Day 1: Kilembe (1 450 m) - Sine Hut (2 600 m) : 7 hours. Regular ascent through the forest where birds, plethoric, and primates (colobus, samangos ...), whether seen, spotted or heard, should be at the rendezvous. Once at the Sine Hut, don't miss the Enock waterfall, set in a photogenic green setting.

Day 2: Sine Hut (2600m) - Mutinda Hut (3590m) : 6-7 hours. After the start, at about 8:30 am, expect a nice steep climb, sometimes quite muddy, through the bamboo (among other plants...). Then you will follow a ridge, go down and then up on a path where mosses, lichens, rivers, tree heathers and mist contribute to the fairy atmosphere of the place. From Mutinda Hut, you can climb Mutinda Lookout (3,975m) for spectacular views of Kasese, Lake George and the surrounding peaks.

Day 3: Mutinda Hut (3 590 m) - Bugata Hut (4 060 m) : 6 hours. Exhausting day in the mud and on the steep slopes leading to the Namusangi Valley. Jumping from tussock to tussock, admiring the waterfalls and being ecstatic in front of the giant lobelias will be the order of the day.

Day 4: Bugata Hut (4060m) - Hunwick's Hut (3970m) : 7-8 hours. During this stage, you will link, via the Bamwanjara Pass (4 450 m), the Bugata and Hunwick camps (the latter is named after John Hunwick, the Australian director of RTS). Along the way, you might spot the malachite sundew with its beautiful livery feasting on the lobelia flowers. Giant ragwort will also brighten your journey.

Day 5: Hunwick's Hut (3,970m) - Margherita Hut (4,485m) : 5-6 hours. This section of the trek is on a common trail with the Central Circuit and the Kilembe Trail. You will walk along the beautiful Kitandara Lake, set in an enchanting setting, before starting the ascent of the Scott Elliot Pass (4 372 m) and then reaching the Margherita Hut, known for its chilly nights and for being located at the very place where the Duke of Abruzzo, Luigi di Savoia, bivouacked during his expedition, in 1906.

Day 6: Margherita Hut (4,485 m) - Margherita Peak (5,109 m) - Hunwick's Hut (3,970 m) : 9-13 hours (depending on weather conditions). The day's schedule is similar to that of RMS (see above), except for the huts, which are different. The departure, several hours before dawn, is scheduled in order to avoid, as much as possible, the clouds piling up on the highest point of the park, generally announcing snow storms, from mid-morning. The glaciers of the Rwenzori, due to the melting caused by global warming, require more and more technical skills. Those who are not ready to tackle the 200m section at 60° angle on the Margherita Glacier will be able to fall back on a rocky eminence offering a superb panorama over the Democratic Republic of Congo and the ridges of the massif. This is the longest day of your trek.

Day 7 : Hunwick's Hut (3 970 m) - Kiharo Hut (3 430 m) : 4-6 hours. The eleven kilometers separating the two huts will lead you to the Olivier Pass, at an altitude of nearly 4,500 meters. After the initial three kilometers of climbing, you will pass under the Weissmann peak (4,620 m) - which can be tackled by hikers still unaware of it for an extra US$20 - then reach the Nyamwamba, a capricious river flowing over Kasese, before descending to Kiharo Hut via moraine and peat bogs.

Day 8: Kiharo Hut (3 430 m) - Kilembe (1 450 m) : 5-8 hours. As on the first day of your trek, you will again cross the dense forest that adorns the deep valleys and frames the torrents where the tumultuous waters of the Rwenzori cascade. The trail is magnificent and will take you through streams, around waterfalls and over mossy rocks. For the record, it took the RTS team six years to find a way through this steep, watery and vegetated maze. The forest is teeming with life and visitors can see or guess at the presence ofduikers, damsels and monkeys. The park exit is 12 km from Kiharo Hut and the Rwenzori Trekkers Hostel in Kilembe is 15 km away.

The northern part of the Rwenzori massif also offers the possibility of hiking. Within or on the edge of the park, the hiking trails, which are shorter (1 to 3 days) and less difficult (good physical condition is however required) than those organized in the heart of the range, are not lacking in attractions. The most notorious itinerary is the one linking Kazingo (13 km west of Fort Portal) to Bundibugyo, at the foot of the western slope of the mountain. This crossing of 1 or 2 days (depending on whether or not you climb Karangura Peak) allows you to discover the local fauna, flora and culture. On a clear day, the perspectives on the Congo, Fort Portal and the Albertine Rift are spectacular. It is of course possible to climb the Karangura Peak (3,012 m) in a single day (7 to 8 hours of walking) by making a round trip from the locality of Kazingo. Three-day itineraries and tours are also available in this area, allowing you to sleep in local houses and discover the bakonzo way of life (Rwenzori National Park Boundary Trail) or to climb Karangura Peak via Chogho Ridge (Karangura Peak and Northern Spur Ridge Trail). Finally, at the northern end of Rwenzori, the Karugutu-Ntandi Trail allows hikers to reach the eponymous villages on the Fort Portal-Bundibugyo National Road in 6-7 hours. The trail is available through UWA, Kabarole Tours or the Abanya-Rwenzori Mountaineering Association (www.abanya-rwenzori-mountaineering.org).

If your time is short, if your wallet is not well stocked, if long-distance odysseys are not your cup of tea or if you simply want to walk off the beaten track, don't worry! Indeed, in addition to the Central Circuit and the Kilembe Trail, Nyakalengija, Kilembe and the adjacent valleys are all starting points for slightly forgotten hikes. The UWA thus offers outings to unveil waterfalls (such as Sebwe Falls) and to flush out chimpanzees (at Kinyampanika). The Rwenzori Ranges Hikers Association (www.rwenzorihikers.com), a very professional community organization based in the same complex as RMS in Kasese, is the best way to discover the trails of Bukurungu and Mahoma. The first one, which takes 5 days and allows extensions of one to two days, starts in Omukorukumi (5 km north of Ibanda), and ends in Nyakalengija. Very little frequented, it allows an intimate connection with nature, grandiose. During your trek, you will be able to admire the emblematic scenery of the massif. The second, which culminates in the Mahoma Lake, consists of a 3-day loop from Nyakalengija. In addition to chameleons and primates, you could, with a lot of luck, surprise an elephant. Finally, the inveterate botanists can take the Munyamubuli River Trail in Kilembe with RTS (7-8 hours walk) to discover the Afromontane forest.