Rangers and Porters on Mount Elgon
Unlike other mountains elsewhere, rangers and porters on Mount Elgon are guaranteed to give you a once-in-a-lifetime adventure experience amidst incredible beauty of nature and diversity of Mount Elgon National Park. These porters on Mount Elgon do an incredible and excellent service to all mountain climbers.
All hiking tours on Mount Elgon entail up a ranger guide from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), who is an expert in mountain climbing and have also been extensively trained in how to read and mitigate risky situations. Above all, their first and foremost priority is to keep you safe and make the best decisions in difficult situations. Local porters make your trip even easier by carrying up to 18kg of supplies in backpacks, in addition to collecting water, cooking and preparing the camping grounds. Trained ranger guides and porters on Mount Elgon are available at the park headquarters at Budadiri or on each trailhead.
Before climbing to the top of the mountain ‘wagagai peak’, hikers need to report to Uganda Wildlife Authority offices outside of the park, where briefing is done.
Climbing Mount Elgon costs about $75 per day for international visitors, which includes park entrance fees. This amount also covers ranger guide fees. Hikers will also need to hire porters and cooks to escort them and help them set up the camping grounds. It is a good practice to give extra tip to the guides, porters, cooks and even park rangers.
The guides know the terrain well so they will take you through the safest areas and zones. If you are heading out into the backcountry, whether it is a snowshoeing trip or mountaineering expedition, having rangers and porters on Mount Elgon is always for the best. Even if you have years of experience in your respective sport and have taken safety training courses, such as avalanche and self-rescue, rangers and porters of mount Elgon are still important because of the in-depth knowledge they have ability to guide you safely through the terrain.
Guides generally work together with porters to make the most of your limited time and take you to the spots with the best conditions. So, when you have rangers and porters on Mount Elgon, you are tapping into a much larger collective knowledge. This can help you figure out where the best powder is on any given day or whether a trail on a mountain slope has become impassable, all of which will prevent you from wasting your precious free time on Mount Elgon. Because guides spend most of their time on the mountain, they also know the best spots to see wild animals and they can also help you to improve your climbing skills.
Hiring porters on Mount Elgon, is another way of supporting the local community and contribute to the overall conservation of the park and wild animals. When communities realize the benefits of tourism to the community, they are less inclined to poach such wild animals like forest elephants, antelopes, and monkeys among others.
Rangers and porters on Mount Elgon are certified and trained in first aid treatment.
Using rangers and porters of Mount Elgon puts you in a great position to know the history and culture of the area and also take part in activities like wildlife viewing and camping. This can be enriching when visiting a more off-the-beaten-path of Mount Elgon.
Besides climbing Mount Elgon, many visitors also spare some time to hike Sipi falls, visit Pian Upe Game Reserve which is approximately 92km from Mount Elgon National Park, visit Kidepo Valley National Park or Murchison falls National Park for an amazing wildlife game drive.
The best time to visit Mount Elgon National Park is during the dry season of June, July and August and then November, December and January. It is important to note that hiking to the top of the Mount Elgon and Rwenzori mountain and all other national park activities continue even during wet or rainy seasons. It is also important to note that the mountain receives rainfall almost throughout the year, so, expect rain even during the dry seasons in Uganda.
