Giant lobelias
Plants of the moorland.
Dixon099 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dixon099 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Josep M. Gracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Josep M. Gracia — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bethany Carter — CC BY 2.0
Mount Elgon National Park is a mountain park in eastern Uganda, shared with Kenya, about 140 km northeast of Lake Victoria. The Ugandan part covers 1,110 square kilometres and lies about 30 km in a straight line from Sipi Falls. The park is named after Mount Elgon, an extinct shield volcano on the Uganda–Kenya border, and the Ugandan part was gazetted in 1992. The mountain is an important water source, feeding rivers that flow into Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana. The vegetation changes with height, from dense montane forest of wild olive and African juniper to bamboo belts, then open moorland dotted with giant lobelias and heather. Giraffes, zebras, waterbuck and baboons live in the lower forests, and waterfalls spill from red cliffs on the mountain's edges. Climbing to the summit is a multi-day trek with guides and porters, and the weather is changeable, with rain possible at any time. The driest seasons run from June to August and December to March. Bring warm layers and rain gear.
Plants of the moorland.
Waterfalls on the mountain's edges.
Giraffes and zebras.
Eastern Uganda, on the Kenya border
Several days with guides and porters.
In the dry seasons, June to August and December to March.