If you choose to summit Margherita peak, we recommend choosing 8 – 9 full days. While it is possible to summit the peak of mount Rwenzori in 7 days, the risk of altitude sickness along the hike is higher and it is no cheaper than a 8 day trek.

Its possible to trek the Rwenzori Mountains all year round, for your trek at all times of the year you get to experience combination of sun, mud, fog, rainfall, ice and snow.

However, the dry seasons are the best times to for the Rwenzori Mountains Trekking, these run from Late December to mid-March and from June to October. The months of January to March are generally colder than June-October and there is a higher chance of encountering the snow on the summit of Mount Stanley.

These times of the year lower the likeliness of rain and in the muddy climate; the non-rainy days are highly desirable while on your mount Rwenzori Trek.

There are a various means to get to and Rwenzori Mountains National Park which lie along the Uganda-Congo border in western Uganda, in Kasese Town. The main trailheads are accessed from the tarmac Fort Portal-Kasese road. Kasese, is 375km from Kampala via Fort Portal (which is 300km from Kampala) and 450km passing via Mbarara.

The Kilembe Trailhead lies at the head of the Nyamwamba Valley, 15km west of Kasese. The Central Circuit Trailhead is located in the Mubuku Valley at Mihunga, 22km from the Fort Portal-Kasese road, 25km north of Kasese. For the Bukurungu Trail, turn off the main road at Nyakigumba, midway between Kasese and Fort Portal, and drive for 6km to the trailhead at Katebwa. To reach the shorter Kazingo Trail, follow the surfaced Bundibugo road out for Fort Portal for 9km, then turn left at Bukuku for 5km.

The Best way is to catch a flight on Aerolink Uganda from Entebbe to Kasese, this includes a morning flight that can easily allow you to start you trek that same morning if you are short on time.

Its also possible to get to the Mountain Rwenzori by road from Kampala on your Uganda safari. The road journey from Entebbe/Kampala, via Fort Portal takes 6 – 8 hours (370.2 km). Alternatively, you can take a public bus from Kampala which depart every hour and can go for about $14.

If you book with us your Rwenzori Trekking adventure, we shall have to arrange private transfers for you.

The Rwenzori mountains trekking vegetation zones are home to over 70 species of mammal and over 177 bird species. Of the mammals, these include forest elephants, chimpanzees, rwenzori otters and leopards. However, you be lucky to spot one due to the dense forests. The primates such as the colobus and blue monkeys are the most popular ones to sight while on your trail, as are the small antelopes such as bush-bucks and the Rwenzori three-horned chameleon for the unusual reptiles.

Rwenzori is home to 217 recorded bird species, most of which live in the forest zone close to the park boundary. Species of interest include the Ruwenzori turaco, Rwenzori batis, Rwenzori double collared sunbird, handsome francolin, strange weaver, Rwenzori nightjar, Archer’s robin-chat and red-throated alethe. Wildlife is scarce in the harsh environment higher up the mountain but watch for the scarlet-tufted malachite sunbird feeding on lobelia flowers and the endangered lammergeyer soaring overhead.

The main ‘wildlife’ attraction in Rwenzori Mountains National Park is its vegetation for, standing over 5000m high, this is prime habitat for the ‘botanical big game’ peculiar to East Africa’s highest mountains. The lowest of these zones, between the park boundary and the 2500m contour, is montane forest. This gives way to the bamboo (2,500-3,000m) followed by groves of Rapanea and giant heathers garlanded with lianas, epiphytes and lichens, and encased in garishly coloured mosses (3000- 4000m). Above 4000m, the mountainside opens out into moorland dotted with the emblematic –and in some cases endemic – species of giant lobelia and groundsel for which the Rwenzori Mountains Trekking is famous.

This is a strenuous hike which can be a technical or non-technical, depending on whether you do summit Mount Stanley or not. For those that choose to summit to the peak shall be fully roped and use crampons and ice axes to traverse the technical rock and ice. For every single day along the hike, you get to experience change in elevation and altitude sickness for this case can posse a real challenge as you summit Mountains Rwenzori.

Usually 3 – 4 days rwenzori mountains trekking are classified as low altitude treks, as the high altitude trek may start with a 5 day trek to the Weismann’s Peak. For those that wish to trek the technical summits of the margherita Peak (5,109m), Mount Speke (4,890m) and Mount Baker (4,844m) are high altitude treks.

For those that would not want to undertake all that is involved to summit Mountain Rwenzori, there is good news of a non-technical hike on our short trips. These are shorter rwenzori treks are available and still give you  a chance to experience the marvels and beauty of the Rwenzori Mountains without the ice axes, crampons and the technical terrain.

There has been serious erosion of the glaciers from climate change which has resulted into the summiting of Mt. Stanley much more technical than before. You will have to need the crampons taken on and off at several erosion points and the use of harnesses, ropes and ice axes along the trek.

Even still, the conditions may seem tricky as you maneuver across the rocky, ice craggy shelves to the top – receding glaciers which too left behind a lot of loose, unconsolidated rock that is unstable and dangerous.

The Bakonzo people have lives on the slopes of the Rwenzori for generations and the mountain is central to their culture and cosmology. The peaks are the home of their principal god, Kitasamba, whose name may not be spoken on the mountain. Eighteen sacred Konzo sites on the mountain have been identified, mapped and protected as worship areas.

You will stay in mountain huts each night while on your Rwenzori Trekking adventure, these are basic with bunk beds accommodating between 4-8 people per hut. In a few huts, you get huts with 1-3 beds for other parties of if someone needed to be alone. You have to carry along with you warm clothes, sleeping bag and ear plugs.

You can also choose to hire a sleeping bar at a cost of $15, although they are not new. Carrying sleeping liner to use inside your sleeping bag will have a good rest for the night.

Since the Rwenzori Mountains Trekking is a guided one, your guides and porters will have to cook breakfast and dinner and provide packed lunch each day’s hike. The guides are mindful of the special dietary requirements.

Packing for the Rwenzori Mountains trekking will be simpler with an equipment list. We shall share with you a comprehensive checklist of what to carry for the hike as soon as you confirm your trek.

Along the Mountain of the moon trek, you will require to have a broad range of clothing and gear to beat the vast array of conditions you’ll encounter, from wet / muddy tropical rain forest to the high alpine glaciers. For those that will summit Mount Stanley, you will need to carry along crampons, trekking poles, harness, ice axes, rubber boots, etc. that will help you trek along the technical rock, technical ice and the high alpine glaciers terrain at over 5000m (16,000 ft).

A normal day trek in the Rwenzori Mountain trekking takes about 7 to 8 hours, which covers a distance of about 7 km – 9.5 km per day depending of the distance between the camps. The final push on the Mount Stanley summit hike take significantly longer as you do both the ascend and descend, with average hike likely to take about 10-14 hours to reach the summit.

The experience with at least one high-altitude hike before taking any of the high-altitude routes in the Rwenzori is generally recommended. Most trekkers with decent fitness and some experience hiking at altitude will be comfortable on the low altitude treks. The Rwenzori mountains trekking takes long routes, this enables you to acclimatize as you trek (slowly). In contrast, people can summit Mount Kilimanjaro of over 5,895m in 5 days, starting from at height of 1,000 meters increasing the risk of altitude sickness.

If you’re planning to hit the Mountain Margherita peak while on your mountains of the moon hike, you got to have good fitness and ideally some technical hike experience with ice/technical climbing, including the use of ropes, belays,  crampons, ice axe, etc. However, a lot it comes down to the trekkers mindset and determination, and while the mountains Rwenzori trekking is challenging, good determination and fitness shall see you fine on the mountain.

Alternatively, for those with no climbing experience and would rather skip the technical climbs, you could choose to hike up to the Stanley viewpoint at 4,908 meters. From here, you get to experience the scenery views over Congo and the mountain ridges including Mount Speke, Mount Baker and the Margherita Peak.

Whatever your trekking option could be, once you hit the Rwenzori Mountains trekking trail you get to experience the incredible unique habitats and landscapes.

Since the Rwenzori Mountains are located along the Uganda – DRC border. There are frequent patrols in the mountains by the UWA rangers, and the boarder is also heavily guarded by the UPDF.

The Mountain Rwenzori guides have been skillfully trained by several international mountaineering instructors and are good to go for a memorable experience in the mountain. There is constant orientation and study programs from guiding, customer care, birding, product development, nature interpretation, wilderness first aid, rock climbing and belaying.

The standard of our climbing equipment and training are top-class in the Rwenzori. Our team is also constantly on the move in search of new trekking routes in the mountains of the moon and at the same time preserving the existing one open.

The conditions in the Rwenzori Mountains are too cold and this does not favor there breading, so there are no mosques. But feel free to carry a mosquito/insect repellent.

For more questions or concerns about altitude sickness in the mountains of the moon trek, feel free to reach out.

No, there is no electricity. The camps are lightened by solar power,  which further assist clients to recharge there cameras or phones. Alternatively, you can choose to come along with a power bank for your Mountain Rwenzori Trek.

The Rwenzori Mountain trekking adventure is undertaken by the help of a local guide, depending on your trip duration? You have to select your preferred peaks that you would wish to explore as you take on the mighty Mountains of the Moon trek – the Rwenzori;

1. Mount Stanley (16,762 feet/ 5,109 m) – Home to Africa’s biggest glaciers, including the Stanley Plateau which, at over one (1) kilometer long, is the largest glacier in the Rwenzori Mountain range.
2. Mount Speke (16,043 feet/ 4,890m) – These were famous for the huge glaciers on the north side of Mt Speke, but they have all melted. You still get to see glaciers on the south side of Mt. Speke as they still do exist, albeit much smaller. There are also smaller glaciers near Ensonga Peak.
3. Mount Baker (15,889 feet/ 4,843 m) – There are no glaciers on the way to the peak.
4. Mount Emin (15,741 feet/ 4,798 m) – There are no longer glaciers on this massif.
5. Mount Gessi 915,470 feet/ 4,715m) – The once ice-covered massif, has seen all glaciers melt.
6. Mount Luigi Di Savoia (15,328 feet/ 4,627 m) – This was the first of the mountain peaks to lose its glacial ice.

Mount Trekking

Three routes ascend onto the high Rwenzori. Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS) operates the Kilembe Trail which enables nine-day expeditions to summit Mount Stanley and a shorter, six day option to the more accessible, but equally scenic, Mt. Luigi da Savoia. The Nyakalengijabased Rwenzori Mountaineering Services runs the Central Circuit which reaches and returns from Mount Stanley in seven days. The Bukurungu Trail ascends from Kitumba to Mount Gessi.

Peak climbing

The highest peaks on the six mountains that form the high Rwenzori can all be climbed. The most popular is the 5109m Margherita, the highest point on Mount Stanley and the roof of the Rwenzori. Be aware that summiting on Stanley, Speke, and Baker is a physically demanding activity, frequently in bad weather, and for which specialist equipment and technical experience is required. An ascent of Mount Stanley requires a minimum of seven days on the mountain.

Hiking

The real appeal of the Rwenzori lies, arguably, not in thejoy of reaching the top, but in the opportunity to hike through superb mountain scenery enlivened by equatorial snow and outlandish vegetation. With this in mind, shorter hikes to lesser peaks are becoming increasingly popular.
A popular destination on the Kilembe Trail is the 4627m Mt. Luigi da Savoia which offers afroalpine vegetation, patches of equatorial snow and, weather permitting, grandstand views towards Mount Stanley, the summit of which lies three days distant. Nyakalengija Trailhead offers a two-day hike to the scenic Lake Mahoma in the bamboo forest. The Kazingo Trail enables a day-long traverse of the north Rwenzori ridge between the Fort Portal plateau and Bundibugyo town in the Semliki Valley on the west side of the mountain.

Forest Walks and Birding

The forest zone, which occupies the lower contours of the national park, can be visited as a day walk from the Kilembe and Nyakalengija trailheads. Happily for birders, this relatively accessible area is where the park’s birdlife is concentrated. Look out for the Rwenzori turaco and Rwenzori double collared sunbird and other localized rarities such as the three horned chameleon and Rwenzori colobus.

The cost of your Mount Rwenzori trekking safari will depend on a number of factors and key focus is the preferred route of the hike, number of travelers and the number of days you are looking to spend in the mountains.

Roughly a day trek in the Rwenzori cost US$50 based on two pax and US$35 for three pax excluding the park entrance fee. You’ll need to pay $35 per day for your permit in the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. A 7 Days trek to the Magherita peak costs from around US$ 1200 per person excluding the park entrance fees paid to Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Alternatively, if you would like to add more adventure to your Rwenzori Mountains trek. You can choose to do a wildlife safari experience or a gorilla trekking trip, the price for this ranges from US$3000 – US$4500 per person including primate trekking  permits i.e. Gorilla and Chimpanzee permits.