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Mount
RWENZORI CLIMB: ’’Mountains of the Moon“
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Kasese the foothills of
the Rwenzori Mountains.We will stop at the equator crossing enroute for
a photograph one feet in the South and one feet in Northern Hemisphere.We
will then head to Mbarara for Lunc an the Lake View Hotel before finally
driving to the foothills of the mountains of the Moon. We will Check in
at the Margarita Hotel for dinner and overnight.The rest of the day shall
be spent acclimatising to the climate.
Day 2: Morning, transfer
to Nyakalengija on to Ibanda and start your
5-6 hour Climb into the Mountains. You will climb through the thick
vegetation arriving at the Nyabitaba Hut(2650metres) in the late evening
for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Breakfast Early, then
start a morning hike through the Kurt
Sharfer Bridge to marvel at the Mobuku River Confluence. A Climb through
the Open Patches and Lobelia and the Heath Moss Forest before proceeding
up to the John Matte Hut for overnight.
Day 4: Depart early through the
Giant Lobelias and the Heath trees.
You ascend to the Bigo Bog and Scenic Landscape of Lobelias, Giant
Groundsels. Dinner and overnight at Bujuku Hut (3977) Hut.
Day 5: Leave the Valley in the
Beautiful Vegetation consisting of
Giant Groundsels and Lobelia and head on an ascent to Mount Victoria
Emanue l(Mount Speke 4890)
Day 6: Depart through the lovely
views of the Savoia and Elena
Glaciers. Scale further to through the Scott Elliot Pass(4372m) and
proceed through the Snow to the Elena Hut for Overnight.
Day 7: Final Ascent to the Alps
of Africa. Early morning ascend to
through the Snowy Alexander Peak (5092m) and the Highest Peak (5109m).
BRAVO!
Thereafter, descend to the beautiful Lake Kitandara for overnight at
the
Kitandara hut.(3900)
Day 8: Descend early after breakfast
and picnic lunches proceeding
to Guy yeoman Hut for dinner and Overnight.
Day 9: Descend to Nyabitaba and
proceed to Ibanda and check in at the
Margarita Hotel for Overnight.
Day 10: Break fast at leisure
and transfer back to Kampala / Entebbe.
INQUIRE ABOUT THIS TOUR
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU FOR THE MOUNTAIN:
-Sleeping bag
-Pair of crampons
-Rope
-Ice axe
-Hiking/rubber boots
-Hand gloves
-Snow goggles
-Walking stick/rod
-Day pack warm gear including jackets, hat, thermal under wear, cotton
stockings and any other from your hiking experience on snow.
ABOUT THE RWENZORI MOUNTAINS.
The 120km Rwenzori chain is regarded to be the
legendary snow-capped Mountains of the Moon, described by Ptolemy in
AD150. Reaching an elevation of 5,109m, it is also Africa's third mountain
after Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya,this mountain range, exceeded in altitude
only by the free-standing Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.
The distinctive glacial peaks are visible for
miles around, but the slopes above 1,600m are the preserve of hikers,
who rate the Rwenzoris to be the most challenging of all African mountains.
A variety of large mammals inhabits the lower
slopes, but the Rwenzoris are notable more for their majestic scenery
and varied vegetation. The trails lead through rainforest rattling with
monkeys and birds, then tall bamboo forest, before emerging on the high-altitude
moorland zone, a landscape of bizarre giant lobelias, towered over by
black rock and white snow, looking for all the world like the set of
a science fiction film.
VEGETATION
The Rwenzori are well known for their unusual flora which includes many
species endemic to the Albertine Rift in the higher altitude zones.
Of the 278 woody plant taxa found in the afro-alpine zone, 81% are endemic
to east Africa and 19% are found only in the afro-alpine belt (Herberg,
1961; Lush, 1993). Most stunning are the giant heathers, ground-sells,
ericas and lobelias of the tree heath and alpine zones (Butynski, 1992).
Vegetation depends largely on altitude, with five zones being distinguishable.
Below 2,400m, the vegetation is broken montane forest consisting of
species such as Symphonia globulifera, Prunus africana, Albizia spp.
and Dombeya spp. Few large trees occur and the canopy is consequently
broken except in valley-bottoms and ridge tops where the gradient is
slight. The montane forest zone merges into a bamboo forest zone (Arundinaria
alpina), which occurs in pure stands in many places up to an altitude
of 3,000m. Up to 3,800m, the bamboo zone is replaced on poorer soils
by a tree heath vegetation consisting of dense thickets of giant heathers,
Philippia trimera and Protea kingaensis, frequently over 10m in height.
On better soils the vegetation is characterised by a tangled undergrowth
punctuated by a mixture of small trees including Rapanea rhododendroides,
Hypericum lanceolatum, H. keniense and Hagenia abyssinica. Upwards to
4,400m, is a zone of Afro-alpine moorland (Howard, 1991). As a result
of most botanical effort having been directed to the high altitude flora,
only 75 tree species (18% of the country's total) have so far been recorded
in the montane forest zone; many more are expected from this zone. Two
trees are found only in the Rwenzori (Hypericum bequaertii and Schefflera
polysciadia), and seven others occur only here and in the other montane
forest zones of south-west Uganda, namely Senecio erici-rosenii, S.
adnivalis, Erica kingaensis, Philippia johnstonii, Vernonia adolfi-friderici,
Ficalhoa laurifolia and the nationally threatened Ocetea usambarensis
(V) (Howard, 1991).
FAUNA
Knowledge of the fauna is skewed in favour of the higher altitude species.
Overall, the mountains contain at least 89 species of forest bird (27%
of the country's total), 4 species of diurnal primate, and 15 species
of butterfly (22% of the country's total) (Howard, 1991). Although none
of these species are unique to the Rwenzori, many are endemic to the
Albertine Rift region (for instance 19 of the birds are Albertine Rift
endemics), and a high level of sub-specific endemism occurs, including
the Rwenzori colobus monkey, hyrax and leopard. A recent study of invertebrate
life forms listed 60 species in the alpine zone, 25 of which were new
to science (Salt, 1987). This is indicative of a much more extensive
fauna waiting to be discovered. Although in low numbers, the following
globally threatened speciesare found in the park: elephant Loxodonta
africana (V), chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (V), l'hoests monkey Cercopithecus
l'hoesti.
BIRDS
Over 199 species have been recorded on Mt Rwenzori. The bamboo zone
on the mountain may reward us with the Handsome Francolin, Archer's
Robin-Chat, Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler and Dusky
Crimson-wing., Rwenzori Turaco and Shelley's Crimsonwing, the rare Ruwenzori
Nightjar and African Wood-Owl, Red-chested Owlet and Fraser's Eagle-Owl
are also possibilities. Others may include:localised Grauer's Broadbill,
the Great Blue and Black-billed turacos, the spectacular Yellow-billed
Barbet, Black-tailed Oriole and mixed flocks of Slender-billed, Waller's,
Narrow-tailed and Stuhlmann's starlings.,African Hill Babbler, Black-faced,
Ruwenzori and Chestnut-throated apalises, Red-faced Woodland-Warbler
and Cameroon Scrub-Warbler, White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, Ruwenzori
Batis, Mountain Sooty Boubou, Lagden's and Doherty's bushshrikes, Sharpe's
Starling, Strange Weaver and Oriole Finch. Flowering trees attract the
incredible Purple-breasted Sunbird as well as Blue-headed and Regal
sunbirds, Cassin's Hawk-Eagle, Bronze-naped Pigeon, Cinnamon-chested
Bee-eater, Cassin's Honeyguide, Green-backed and Elliot's woodpeckers,
Petit's Cuckoo-shrike, Toro Olive-Greenbul, White-chinned Prinia, Cassin's
and the enigmatic Chapin's flycatchers, Mountain Wagtail…..
CONSERVATION VALUE
The Rwenzori mountains, which are known internationally as 'The Mountains
of the Moon', are a site of world-renowned aesthetic and scientific
value, the most permanent sources of the River Nile, and one of the
country's (and indeed region's)most vital water catchments on which
greater than 500,000 people directly depend. Due to their immense altitudinal
range, the mountains support an outstanding range of species, many of
which are endemic to the Albertine Rift region, especially in the higher
altitude zones. Also present are at least three globally threatened
mammals, plus a potentially large number of undocumented invertebrates
and plants. Because the park constitutes a small but significant element
of one of the most extensive conservation zones in Africa (the transnational
system of protected areas in the Albertine Rift region) conservation
of the Rwenzori offers a unique opportunity to maintain a sensitive
and extensive natural habitat intact (Howard, 1991).
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