MOUNT ELGON THE 4TH HIGHEST PEAK IN EAST AFRICA

Hey Active MCU Crew! Now that the rains have given us a break, we should go out there and venture into some hiking. Mount Elgon is said to be the fourth highest peak in East Africa, the 8th highest peak in Africa and the largest volcanic base in the world. Am keen on finding out if it’s true, do you feel the same? Then let’s go on a fact finding mission.

The plan is to leave Kampala on Friday the 6th of July and begin our ascent on the morning of Saturday the 7th of July. The duration spent hiking will be determined by the trails we choose. The sasa trail will need about 3 days, Sipi trail 4 days and the Piswa trail 5 days. Everyone is free to choose the trail of their choice.

The UWA (Ugand Wildlife Authority) Hiking fee for foreigners is USD 75 a day and UGX 75,000 a day for Ugandan nationals. A camping fee of UGX 20,000 per day, a porter fee of UGX 17,500 per day maximum luggage weight is 18kg. We are responsible for bringing along our own food and cooking utensils, a cook is available at a UGX 20,000 fee for every 8 people he cooks for using firewood, we can bring our own portable gas cookers if not comfortable with wood. We are all expected to bring our own tents and hiking gear but there is also an alternative of renting tents, sleeping bags and mats from UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority). I would highly recommend bringing along personal gear for hygiene purposes, gear can be cheaply purchased from the down town areas of Kampala and am willing to help with that. MCU members are always kind enough to lend some of their stuff if asked nicely on the MCU facebook page.

There is plenty of useful information on hiking mount Elgon on the internet which I would advise all interested to read about for a clearer idea of what to expect during the hike

Email me at pascqalorna@gmail.com if you are interested in coming along, a whatsapp group will be created to easen out communication and make more solid plans for the hike.

Pascqa Lorna Abur