mountain Elgon

Mountain Elgon is a high 4,321 extinct volcanic mountain with Wagagai as its peak. It is located near Mbale on the eastern border with Kenya. It’s a watershed with its slopes rich with a variety of vegetation zones ranging from montane forest to high open moorland that is home to the famous lobelia plant which the locals refer to as the love plant. Hikers prefer this mountain mostly because of its spectacular scenery. However, there is also a wide variety of other attractions like monkeys, antelope, elephant and buffalo. Elgon also boasts of 300 bird species that is not recorded elsewhere in Uganda. Researchers discovered ancient cave paintings at budadiri. The settlers around mountain elgon have occasionally visited the hot springs within the crater for medicinal purposes.


slopes of mountain of the moon
 

 

 

It has been recently discovered by the Uganda Wildlife Authority that encroachers are cutting down trees and poaching animals’ within Mountain Elgon National park. “The future of the mountain as a tourism site might be at stake following the relentless incursions by poachers” said Mr. Masereka John who is the chief warden at the park. Mr. Masereka said neighbouring residents have of late increased human activity into the protected wildlife zone mainly in search of game meat, lumbering and extraction of medicinal plants and establishing human settlement.

Tourism industry in Uganda is threatened and might decline due to the unchecked massive encroachment that has seen fancied birds and animals that have been the source of tourist attraction fleeing to Kenya and neighbouring countries where they can live peacefully.