Get the very best of our 10 days Rwenzori Mountain hiking expedition this season. This Rwenzori Mountain hiking expedition shall take you up to Margherita Peak as you traverse the Elena glacier to the Stanley Plateau where crampons may be required. You will then cross in a NW direction and follow the Margherita glacier.
Climb Mount Baker or Mount Luigi di Savoia and the peak Vittorio Sella, while enjoying the view of Mt. Luigi di Savoia. We invite you to join this 10 days Rwenzori Mountain hiking expedition and take home great memories of hiking Rwenzori Mountain in Uganda.
Rwenzori Mountain Hiking Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival Entebbe Airport
Upon arrival at the Entebbe International Airport, you will be greeted by a guide who will transfer you to Lake Heights Hotel in Entebbe, for a nap and refreshing. At your convenience, you will then leave the hotel to Kampala for dinner and an overnight stay at Lake Victoria Serena Hotel, Kampala. Meal Plan: L & D.
Day 2: Kampala – Mbarara – Kasese – Rwenzori Mountain Hiking
Our driver-guide picks you up from Lake Victoria Serena Hotel, then transfer to Kasese via Mbarara with a stopover at the Equator crossing in Masaka and lunch at Agip Motel Mbarara. The journey takes you along the Lake Victoria on a good road to Mbarara. From here, the landscape changes to a hilly and fertile area with various tea and banana plantations.
Dinner and overnight stay at the Equator Snow Lodge (luxury facility). Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner.
Day 3: Kasese – Nyakalengija: First Day – Nyakalengija 1600m – Nyabitaba Hut 2650m
From the Rwenzori Mountains National Park headqarters at Nyakalengija (1,646m), you will receive the briefing from the guides, with the possibility of hiring climbing equipment. The hike starts through the plantations and homes of the Bakonjo People, people of the mountain, gradually reaching garden plots and elephants grass. You will follow the Mobuku River and cross the Mahoma River.
The trail passes through an open bracken fern slopes and Podorcarpus Forest, up to Nyabitaba Hut, (2,652m), which is the arrival point for the day. This will take from 5 to 6 hours. From this location, you are facing the North of the portal peaks, 4.627m, that is in front of Mount Kyniangoma. During the day, you might see monkeys, the Rwenzori Turaco and hear the sounds of chimpanzees.
Day 4: Second Day Trek – Nyabitaba Hut 2650m – John Matte Hut 3380m
Descend the ridge to the Mubuku River then climb through bamboo forest toward John Matte Hut (3,380m). The afternoon is tiring boulder hopping ascending along the north side of the Bujuku river, through the giant heather forest (4.1/2-5.1/2 hours)
Day 5: Third Day Trek – John Matte Hut (3380m) – Bujuku Hut 3972m
Trek from John Matte Hut (3380m) to Bujuku Hut (3,977m). We encounter the first of notorious bogs for which the Uganda approach to the peaks is famous. Traverse around Bigo Bog and Lake Bujuku. Look for the ‘everlasting flower’ known to remain on the plants for 40 years.
Day 6: Fourth Day Trek – Bujuku Hut 3900m- Elena Hut 4541m
From Bujuku Hut you will climb through moss draped groundsel vegetation, to Scott Elliot Pass (4,372 m), between Mt. Baker and Stanley. Here you will divert to Elena Hut (4,540m), to spend the night, before climbing to Mt. Stanley.
Day 7: Fifth Day Trek – Mt. Stanley/Margherita Peak – 5109m
Elena Hut (4,541m) – Punta Margherita (5,109m) – Elena Hut (4,541m) – Kitandara Hut (4,023m). Elena Hut to Margherita Peak (5,109m) then down to Elena Hut (4,541m). Early morning traverse of the Elena glacier to the Stanley Plateau where crampons may be required.
You will then cross through NW direction and follow the Margherita glacier to the col and then to the summit, within 3 hours. You will then descend to Elena Hut and then to Upper Lake Kitandara and through the thick mud, to Lower Lake Kitandara where Kitandara Hut (4,023m) is located. Time to complete this hike is about 3 hours.
From Kitandara Hut, you can proceed to climb Mount Baker or Mount Luigi di Savoia and the peak of Vittorio Sella. As a result, you will enjoy the view of Mt. Luigi di Savoia, from this point.
Day 8: Sixth Day Trek – Kitandara Hut – Guy Yeoman Hut, 3.261m
From Lake Kitandara, you will climb to Freshfield Pass (4,282m), along the flat high alpine mossy glades, before descending the circuit among rocky and boggy areas. The panorama view here is dominated by glaciers of Mount Stanley, Baker and Savoy.
A muddy trail leads to Akendahi, Bujongolo and Kabamba rock shelters, where you will descend the Kabamba valley down to Guy Yeoman Hut (3,261m). This can take up to 6 hours, but worth it because the hut is surrounded by a beautiful views of landscape of mountains, vegetation and rivers.
Day 9: Seventh Day Trek Rwenzori Mountain Hiking – Guy Yeoman Hut – Nyabitaba hut.
From Guy Yeoman Hut you will head to Nyabitaba hut. Drop very steeply alongside the Mubuku River, past Kichuchu, another rocky shelter and join our original route near the confluence of the Bujuku River (3.1/2 hours).
Day 10: Eighth Day Trek Rwenzori Mountain Hiking – Nyabitaba- Nyakalengija
From Nyabitaba Hut, you will head to the Nyakalengija road, that is about 2 hours. Descend steeply off the ridge and enter the warm rain forest. Here, you can look for tropical forest birds and various monkey species.
On arrival at the base of Rwenzori mountain, you will be transferred back to Kampala and Entebbe for your late evening flight back home. Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch.
If time allows, you can also opt for a relaxing visit to ‘Amabeere Ga Nyinamwiru’ in Fort Portal or got for chimpanzee trekking in the nearby Kibale Forest National Park.
Rwenzori Mountain Hiking Expedition Inclusions and Exclusions
Includes
- Accommodation and meals during the hike
- Accommodation in Mountain huts and camps/Hotels
- Transfers from Kampala and return
- Park Entrance fees
- Professional Guide fees
- Porters 25kg per person
- Professional 2cook
- Gas fees for cooking
- Rescue fees in case of emergency rescue on Rwenzori Mountains
Excludes
- Flight fares
- Personal insurance
- Equipment for the hike
- Extra Luggage (extra 25kg per person)
- Any changes in the program itinerary while in the Rwenzori
Important Information for Rwenzori Mountain Hiking
Climbers must be prepared to walk for up to 8 hours every day via steep cliff and muddy paths.
Climbers must bring along their own climbing gear or hire it at the base camp.
Our porters carry 8 kg of personal climbing gear