The Rwenzori Mountains National Park, located in Uganda and bordering the DRC, is a world heritage site of outstanding natural beauty. These are the fabled, glacier topped ‘Mountains of the Moon’ that rise into almost permanent equatorial mists, their slopes covered with strange and giant vegetation.
Unlike East Africa’s other large mountains, the Rwenzoris are not volcanic, but were formed during the upheaval that created the Rift Valley. The tallest of them, Mt Stanley, is the third highest mountain in Africa and offers a formidable and hugely satisfying challenge to climbers.
The Ruwenzori Mountains National Park is only accessible to hikers. It offers superb trekking and climbing with fabulous views and unusual scenery. The most popular trek is the 7-day circuit route, accompanied by porters and guides and taking refuge in mountain huts overnight, only to wake up to mist-shrouded jagged mountains – a landscape impressively distinct from anywhere else in East Africa.