Rwenzori Mountain National Park

Rwenzori Mountain National Park

The Rwenzori Mountain also known as Mountains of the Moon a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lie in western Uganda along the Uganda-Congo border. The equatorial snow peaks include the third highest point in Africa, while the lower slopes are blanketed in moorland, bamboo and rich, moist montane forest. The national park hosts 70 mammals and 217 bird species including 19 Albertine Rift endemics, as well as some of the world's rarest vegetation. Explore Rwenzori Mountain National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park is located in south-western Uganda on the east side of the western (Albertine) African rift valley. It lies along Uganda's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (DRC) and borders the DRC's Virunga National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for 50 km (31 mi). It is situated in the Bundibugyo, Kabarole, and Kasese districts, 25 km (16 mi) from the small city of Kasese. It is 996 square kilometers (385 sq mi) in size,] 70 percent of which exceeds an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,200 ft).[7] The park is 120 kilometers (75 mi) long and 48 kilometers (30 mi) wide. The park includes most of the center and eastern half of the Rwenzori Mountains, a mountain range rising above dry plains located just north of the equator. Those mountains are higher than the Alps and are ice-capped. Mount Stanley is located in the park. Margherita Peak, one of Mount Stanley's twin summits, is Africa's third highest peak with a height of 5,109 meters (16,762 ft). Africa's fourth and fifth highest peaks (Mount Speke and Mount Baker) are also located in the park The park has glaciers, snowfields, waterfalls, and lakes and is one of Africa's most beautiful mountain areas The park is owned by the Ugandan government through Uganda National Parks. It is protected, although extraction may be sanctioned by a board of trustees. Kasese, 437 km (260 mi) west of Uganda's capital Kampala, is the gateway to the park.