Rwenzori Mountains National Park

A beautiful wildlife haven and World Heritage Site


Rwenzori Mountains National Park was established in 1991. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 because of its outstanding natural beauty. Rebel militias occupied the Rwenzori Mountains from 1997 to June 2001. The park was inscribed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites in danger between 1999 and 2004 because of insecurity and a lack of resources in the park.

The Rwenzori National Park lies on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the forested slopes of the Mubuku Valley. It consists of six massifs, which, unlike many of the other mountains in the Great Rift Valley, are not volcanic.


The highest mountain is Mount Stanley, named after the British explorer, who was the first European to see it, in 1887. At 5109 m(16,762 ft), it is the third highest mountain in Africa. The other five massifs are Mount Speke, Mount Baker, Mount Emin, Mount Gessi and Mount Luigi di Savoia.



They are separated by deep gorges with lush vegetation, which ranges from tropical rainforest, through giant moss-covered heathers, alpine meadows and bogs, up to the snow capped peaks.

The rainforest's cushiony canopy shades ginger, tree ferns, begonias, aram lilies, balsam and hibiscus, which fill the air with heady aromas. Higher up are giant lobelias, groundsel and senecios.

Animals that visitors may see include bushbuck, forest elephants, gaint forest hogs, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys and chimpanzees, as well as massive pink and green worms. Birdlife includes purple-breasted and regal sunbirds, handsome francolins and Rwenzori turacos.

In common with Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, the Rwenzoris are losing their ice cover, with more than half of their glaciers disappearing in less than a century. The effect that this loss will have on the range's ecosystem is not yet known.