Mountain Hiking and Trekking Safaris in East Africa

Mountain Hiking and Trekking Safaris in East Africa – Mount Rwenzori, Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro

For mountaineering activities, Uganda the pearl of Africa with various mountains and volcanoes is, therefore, the best destination for you, as it offers you the most adventurous hiking lifetime experience.

Joined by mountain gorilla tracking safaris, mountain hiking makes your Uganda safari completely a success.

Irrespective of your physical ability and fitness, safari vacations and travel services bring you both long and short hiking safaris aiming at making your expectations. In Uganda, the well-known hiking destinations are mountain Rwenzori, Sipi falls, mountain Sabinyo, mountain Elgon, mountain Muhabura, and mountain Gahinga.

Curiously, most of Uganda’s volcanoes are situated in National parks and this gives tourists an opportunity to fancy the adventure of wildlife animals more so mountain gorillas in Mgahinga gorilla national park.

The pinnacle of each mountain or volcano rewards travelers with breathtaking memorable views of the nearby mountain nearing places in Uganda, which include;

Mountain Rwenzori

“Mountains of the moon” Rwenzori is the highest peak in Uganda and is the third-highest in the whole world, located in Kasese district on the borderline of Uganda and Central Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo. Hiking the peak of mount Rwenzori is a long trek that lasts for around 8 days to reach Margarita which highest summit standing at an altitude of 5,109 meters above sea level.

T the peak of mountain Rwenzori is permanent snow, which most times melts down into different rivers flowing to the low land areas such as river Nsyamwamba and river Mubuku. Incidentally, various ranges have been formed which altogether form the Rwenzori chain of mountains, at the base of the mountain, is mountain Rwenzori national park masked with tropical rain forest and is home to various animals. Tourists do follow different trails subjected to their fitness and the endpoint. The central circuit is the longest trail which lasts for around 8 days and 7 nights to margarita while the  Mahoma loop is somehow easier lasting for three days and Kilembe trail is the shortest done only in a day.

Virunga volcanoes

These three cone-shaped exterminated volcanic mountains are situated in Mgahinga gorilla national park sharing borders with the neighboring democratic republic of Congo and Rwanda. these are part of their 8 volcanoes, and this makes up a chain of the Virunga volcanoes. And Mountain Muhabura is the highest peak standing at 4,127 meters above sea level, which takes around 5 hours to reach its apex, commonly known as Muhavura translated as “guide” in Kinyarwanda and the volcano is the third highest after Mikeno of DRC and Karisimbi in Rwanda, at the peak, is crater lake surrounded by a swamp rewarding the travelers with fascinating views adjoining Karisimbi and Mikeno.

Mountain Elgon

Located in Eastern Uganda bordering Uganda and Kenya, mountain Elgon is out rightly another interesting mountain to hike. The mountain stands at 4321m above sea level and is the 8^th highest summit in Africa but is the 4^th highest in East Africa.

Mountain Elgon was at one time one of Africa’s highest peaks but the continuous erosion has reduced its height to its current, and Wagagai is the highest peak of Mount Elgon whose peak shelters the world’s largest caldera measuring around 50-80 km.  And since it is a  national park, Mount Elgon is home to a variety of animals and it’s another added advantage for the hikers on the slopes, there are caves of different sizes, water polls, and falls among others.

Mount Sabyinyo

This is shared in the borderline of Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC, although these three countries share it, mountain Sabyinyo is excellently hiked from Uganda. The rough topography and the many crater lakes on the sides of Rwanda and Congo make it challenging to hike in these countries, and the volcano has three summits two in Rwanda and Congo, one in Uganda respectively but hiking to the summit is difficult hiking.

The name Sabyinyo is a Kinyarwanda word translated as “old man’s teeth” due to the shape of the peak in form of three spaced teeth of an old man. The slopes of the mountain are covered in the alpine forest home to famous golden monkeys providing travelers with an opportunity to see these endangered species and other wildlife that inhabit there.

Mountain Kilimanjaro

This mountain is situated in the northeast of Tanzania in Kilimanjaro national park, and is the highest mountain in Africa standing at the height of 5895 meters, and is Africa’s most climbed mountain. It is the peaks of a volcanic mountain that is Shira, Kibo, and Mawezi Kibo being the highest point, and the first people known to have reached the climax are Ludig prtscheller and Itans Meye in 1889.

There are 7 routes that mountaineers use to hike the mountain; Marangu, Lemosho, Rongai, Machame, Marangu, Umbwe, Mweka, and Shira routes, the Macame route is famous for the beautiful scenery it offers, Lemosho and the Northern circuit routes are even more scenic than the latter. The Rongai is the easiest and less scenic of the routes.

The Marangu is as well easy but can really be crowded both in ascending and descending also fairly easy though this route can also be very busy and the huts are to be shared with all other hikers. Due to iced and peaks, the mountains are a source of various rivers and streams with major rivers being Lumi and Pangani. The mountain has various vegetation areas and has thick vegetation that is home to various animals including; bushbucks, monkeys, buffalo, elephants, and many others and is also home to many bird species.

Mountain Kenya

Mountain Kenya is situated in central Kenya just on the south of the equator line, roughly 150 km that is 95 miles North East of Nairobi, Mount Kenya is a dead volcano with jugged summits rising to 5,199m / 17,057 feet.

The summits offer a lively contrasting to the equatorial terrain on the approach aiming at taking an advantage of the weather conditions, we climb the Nelion in December and January and Batain in June. An escort trek is available for non-climbing friends and family to the neighboring Lenana summit as part and partial of both arrivals and departures.

The journey through the forest and moorland is for various highlights of the Mount Kenya expedition you will be charmed by the exotic equatorial flora and zones transitioning from wetland to alpine zones. We intentionally traverse the national park on our trek to and away from the mountain ensuring new terrain each day with the ascent of Mount Kenya being the geographical highlight in the middle of the journey. This outing features an array of African culture and scenery, providing a fabulous excuse to visit this wild continent.

Mountain Meru

Mountain hiking and trekking safaris in East Africa, Mount Meru, located East of the Great Rift valley and it is around 40 km southwest of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania’s Arusha national park, is taken to be an active volcano and it is the second-highest mountain and considered the fourth highest mountain in the entire of Africa.

The first being Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and Rwenzori aka the mountains of the moon – 500,000+ years back.

Mount Meru erupted in a tremendous explosion which destroyed its conical shape and created a horseshoe crater with the eastern side defaced. The resulting mountain has its peak on the western part with its inner walls rising over 1500 m from the crater floor, making them considered among the tallest cliffs in Africa.

In the last two years, eruptions have been reported as the ash conical continues to build inside the crater. The ascent is still in dispute and credited to either Fritz Jaeger in 1904 and Carl Whig in 1901.

Though this is an attractive mountain with amazing scenery and wildlife. Its location in East Africa makes most international travelers visit Mount Meru as a secondary trip jointly with their primary destination. Occasionally, Mount Kenya, Kilimanjaro, or the Ngorongoro crater for various reasons to do this summit include; (1) hiking along the crest of the crater rim (2) amazing views (3) summit crater and ash cone (4) the chance to escape the tourist crowds (5) for Americans, the opportunity to submit another peak taller than Mount Whitney (6) the ability to see a variety of wildlife on the lower slopes in the form of the walking safari.

The Arusha national park provides certificates for travelers who summit the little Meru sub-peak which is 3,820 m (12,533ft) or social peak aka. The Mount Meru summit. Though the name socialist peak is listed on the summit certificate, this name was rarely used, and given that the Tanzania government is moving more into capitalism, it will probably never be more than eager.

The 14 km (8-7 miles) or 19 km (11-8 miles) YDS class 2 Momella route is the primary and only official route to the summit today. This trail starts at the Momella gate (1,500m/4,921 ft). both a shorter 5m YDS class 1 route and a longer 10 km YDS Class 1 route allow one to see more wildlife, scenery including waterfalls and huts.

From the Miriakamba hut, you take a 4 km YDS 1 class trail through the forest up to the saddle hut (3,566m/11,700 feet). From saddle hut, you can either summit little Meru (3,820 M/12,533ft) or follow the trail another 5 km YDS Class 2 to the Mount Meru summit from saddle hut, the first identifiable bald area you will reach is the Rhino park where you can get the breathtaking views of the summit and the inner crater walls, providing without clouds, you will know you are at Rhino point because there is a hip of bones in the center of the clearing. The easy YDS class2 portion of the hike involves crossing two moderately long angle rock slabs above Rhino point. Also from the Rhino point to the summit, there are green blazers and arrows painted on the rocks to show you the way through these can be difficult to see at night. There is a flag of the United Republic of Tanzania on the summit as well as a wood box and summit register.

Pre mount Meru being included in Arusha national park in 1967 it was also double to reach the summit through the north and west slopes, even though the use of these routes to enter the park (and reach the summit) is now illegal and not advisable it is, however, legal to climb the inside ash cone but the park only recommends this for researchers and provides a special and unique permit for this activity.

What to bring for your mountain hiking

Things That Shouldn’t Miss On Your Hiking Agenda

• weather suitable clothing (thick moisture, layers, and wicking)
• plenty of water
• hiking backpack
• hiking shoes or boots
• multi-tool or a knife
• First aid kit
• And plenty of energy-giving food.

The rest of the mentioned above essentials are fitting for your hiking safari…

In the process of packing, you are advised to use the handy day hiking list to ensure that you don’t forget anything important on your hiking safari.

Let’s look at some notes on how best you can use the list.

Material is part of the top ten essentials manifested by a symbol or a sign, the exact items you take can be tailored to your trip basing on considerations such as; duration of the trip, difficulty, weather, distance, and assistance.

This list is strategically wide and intended for day hikes in the backcountry where being self-sufficient important to your well-being. It is encompassed of many items that you are likely to need for short treks, close or within developed areas, like city parks, but you can adapt it to your needs for these trips.

Best time for mountaineering activities

East Africa as a whole is wide open for mountain hiking throughout the year though drier months of June-September and from December-February are okay as they are taken to be receiving less or no rainfall in these months and months of march-may and October-November come with much rainfall.

Safari vacations and travel services provide you accurate and reliable detailed information about what to bring and what to prepare for mountain trekking and hiking in East Africa and obtaining trekking permits for your hiking and climbing experience.