{"id":2321,"date":"2022-09-22T12:43:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T12:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebrahsales.com\/travelgorge\/?p=2321"},"modified":"2022-09-22T12:43:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T12:43:18","slug":"mount-elgon-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/?p=2321","title":{"rendered":"MOUNT ELGON NATIONAL PARK"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABOUT THE PARK<\/strong><\/p>\n

This extinct volcano is one of Uganda\u2019s oldest physical features, first erupting around 24 million years ago.<\/p>\n

Mt Elgon was\u00a0once Africa\u2019s highest mountain<\/strong>, far exceeding Kilimanjaro\u2019s current 5,895m. Millennia of erosion have reduced its height to 4,321m, relegating it to the 4th highest peak in East Africa\u00a0and 8th\u00a0<\/sup>on the continent.<\/p>\n

Mt Elgon is\u00a0home to two tribes<\/strong>, the Bagisu and the Sabiny, with the marginalized Ndorobos forced to dwell deep within the forest of Benet.<\/p>\n

The Bagisu, also known as the BaMasaba,\u00a0consider Mount Elgon to be the embodiment of their founding father Masaba\u00a0<\/strong>and refer to the mountain by this name.<\/p>\n

At 4,000km\u00b2 Mt. Elgon has the largest volcanic base in the world. Located on the Uganda-Kenya border it is also the oldest and largest solitary, volcanic mountain in East Africa. Its vast form, 80km in diameter, rises more than 3,000m above the surrounding plains. The mountain\u2019s cool heights offer respite from the hot plains below, with the higher altitudes providing a refuge for flora and fauna.<\/p>\n

Mount Elgon National Park is home to over 300 species of birds, including the endangered Lammergeyer.\u00a0\u00a0The higher slopes are protected by national parks in Uganda and Kenya, creating an extensive trans-boundary conservation area which has been declared a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve.<\/p>\n

A climb on Mt. Elgon\u2019s deserted moorlands unveils a magnificent and uncluttered wilderness without the summit-oriented approach common to many mountains: the ultimate goal on reaching the top of Mt. Elgon is not the final ascent to the 4321m Wagagai Peak, but the descent into the vast 40km\u00b2\u00a0caldera.<\/p>\n

The mammalian fauna of Mount Elgon is poorly known. The most common species or at least the most visible to hikers, are blue monkeys and black and white columbus. A small number of Elephants are residents of forests and several montane moorland endemics.<\/p>\n

ACTIVITIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Bird Watching<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mount Elgon National Park boasts over 300 birds<\/strong> with over 50 Afrotropical highland biome species living here, including the Moorland Francolin, Moustached Green Tinkerbird<\/strong> and the famous Alpine Chat<\/strong>. The Jackson\u2019s Francolin and Black-collared Apalis are bird species that you will only find in Mt Elgon National Park. Among those limited to just a few mountains in eastern Uganda are the Black-shouldered Kite and Tacazze Sunbird. Mount Elgon is also home to the endangered Lammergeyer<\/strong> which can be seen, soaring above the caldera and the Suam Gorge.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Summit Hikes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      There are 3 main trails to hike<\/strong> to the Mountain summit; The Sasa trailhead at Budadiri, Sipi trailhead at Forest Exploration center-Kapkwai and Piswa trailhead at Kapkwata. Mount Elgon is the prime trekking mountain<\/strong> in East Africa and it is a huge volcano with the largest crater of the major peaks in Africa with the caldera being one of the world\u2019s largest.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Nature Walks<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Nature walks in Mount Elgon National Park are an exciting activity experienced via different trails<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Khauka Cave Trail<\/li>\n
        • Bamboo Trail<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          The bamboo trail to Kapkwai Cave passes through tropical and bamboo forest. Along the trail are many primates, birds and rare trees such as Elgon teak and Elgon olive. The walk to the Chebonet Falls and the walk to the Kapkwai caves follow the ridge view trail.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Cave Visits<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Mt. Elgon is penetrated by highly-unusual caves. These include the larger caves of Kitum, Ngwarisha, Chepnyalil, and Makingeny. It\u2019s such an amazing stopover. Some other caves are small and link to Kenya however they are too dark to give you a proper direction to get to the border of Kenya.<\/p>\n

            Location<\/p>\n

            Mbale, Eastern Uganda<\/p>\n

            Size<\/p>\n

            1,121 km2<\/p>\n

            Altitude<\/p>\n

            4,321 m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            ABOUT THE PARK This extinct volcano is one of Uganda\u2019s oldest physical features, first erupting around 24 million years ago. Mt Elgon was\u00a0once Africa\u2019s highest mountain, far exceeding Kilimanjaro\u2019s current…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national_parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2321"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2323,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions\/2323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelgorgeug.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}