Itinerary

1. Day 1: Nyakalengijja - Nyabitaba hut

   • Meet your tour guide at the camp, you will go to RMS headquarters after breakfast where you will be briefed about the whole hike. 
   • Start the hike from Nyakalengija through the Bakonzo settlements to mount Rwenzori national park gate where you will be registered before entering the park. 
   • Start the central circuit trail trek through the thick tropical with high elephant grass and dense bushes.

   This forest is home to various animal species like forest elephant, chimpanzee, hyrax, black-and-white colobus, L'Hoest's monkeys, duiker, and three-horned chameleons among many more. Some of the bird species include; the Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Long-eared Owl, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Strange Weaver, Archers’ Robin-chat, Rwenzori Batis among many others as well as various tree and plant species. You will expect to see some of them.
   It’s about 8km from Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba hut.

   Dinner and overnight at Nyabitaba hut.

2. Day 2: Nyabitaba - John matte hut

   • Have breakfast at the hut and move through thick shrubs and forest for about 30 minutes to the Kurt Shafer bright, which is at the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers. 
   • Then move through the bamboo mixed with montane forests and slippery moss-covered rocks for a couple of hours. As you hike, you will also expect to see various bird species in the forest.
   • Continue to move up to Nyamulejju rock shelter, where the first hikers used to at times camp and spend the night, and you will have a stopover here for lunch. 
   • At this point, enjoy a view of Mount Stanley and Mount Speke if the weather is clear. 
   • Then continue to move through the alpine forest to John Matte hut, where you will have dinner and spend the night. The hut is near the river Bujuku, and most hikers take a bath there. The water is so cold but so refreshing as well. You will also view the Margherita glacier on mount Stanley between Alexandra and Margherita peaks. Nyabitaba to John Matte is about 11km.

3. Day 3: John matte - Bujuku hut

   • After breakfast at the hut, you will cross river Bujuku and through the forest to the lower bigo bog. This is a swampy area in a valley and is home to the giant lobelias. This area used to be the most challenging part of the Rwenzori since the area is so boggy. Jumping from one tussock to another was not easy for most hikers, but more so for females. Currently, there is a walk board up to the end of the boggy area, which makes the walk much easier for trekkers. 
   • See giant lobelias, everlasting flowers and groundsels. You will then take a steep hike along a ridge, leading you to the start of the upper bigo bog. There is also a boardwalk up to Lake Bujuku. After the boardwalk, you will try to move through the remaining small boggy area with no walk boards to Bujuku hut. 
   • At this point, enjoy a view of Lake Bujuku, Mount Speke, Mount Baker and Mount Stanley. At this point, you can ascend Mount Speke and Mount Stanley. The distance from john matte to Bujuku is about 5km. Dinner and overnight at Bujuku.

4. Day 4: Bujuku - Elena hut

   • Lakes on Mount Rwenzori Have breakfast at Bujuku hut, then continue with the hike to Elena hut, which is a 5-7 hours hike. You will move through the sides of the upper Bigo bog. 
   • You will then hike through the steep slopes of Lake Bujuku. While climbing LakBujuku's steep slopes on the west, the trail ascends to the 4372-meter Scott-Elliot pass, and you will pass through more swamps and the thrilling Ground gully. 
   • You will go over a steep section at the top of the gully using a metal ladder. The trail is then divided into two. The two trails, the left trail leads to Scott-Elliot pass descending to Kitandara Lakes, while the right trail heads to the Elena Hut and on a steep trail above large boulders to Mt Stanley. Elena hut is on the rocky part of Mount Stanley, and the area is too cold. 
   • At this point, enjoy a direct view of Mount Baker and Mount Speke from the highest mountain of the Rwenzori. Sometimes it is hard to view these two mountains because they are covered by fog. Have dinner aElena's'saElena's hut, then spend the night.

5. Day 5: Elena hut (4563m) - Kitandara (3979m)

   • Wake up as early as 2 am, Have breakfast at Elena hut, be ready in your warmest gear, put on your harness, warm hand gloves and headstock, have your headlamps and helmets and make sure you have sunglasses in the day pack on. 
   • Hike to the top of Mount Stanley, Magherita peak, through the Stanley plateau. You will use the ropes to help you move on steep rocky areas. The guide will teach you how to use the equipment while on the ice. You will be required to use your crampons and an ice axe on the glacial parts.
   • Reach the bottom of the Margherita glacier. This is the most challenging part of the entire hiking Rwenzori experience. You will hike through this glacier up to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita peak (5109m). At the top, you will view Ireen Lake, mount Speke and the surrounding environment. Then descend to Elena Hut for Lunch and later descend to Kitandara through the Scott Elliot pass. It is the most beautiful point of the Rwenzori. Have dinner at Kitandara, then spend the night. If the group is significant, you might spend another night at Elena's hut and continue the following day.
   • Combine days 4 and 5 into a single day by taking a different trail from the Bujuku Hut to Scott-Elliot Pass. There is a trail junction at the pass with one that goes up to the Elena Hut. The stretch of the trail just to the south of the pass is very rough, but after a short stretch, it becomes mellower and continues to Kitandara Lake Hut.

6. Day 6: Kitandara hut (3979m) - Guy Yeoman hut (3505m)

   • Have breakfast at Kitandara, then move through the base of Mount Baker, which can be slippery, so you will need to be so careful.
   • From Kitandara, it ascends steeply up the headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the south side of the Rwenzori Mountains to Fresh field pass.
   • Descend from the pass, passing the rock shelter at Bujangolo, the base camp for the historic expedition by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1906. 
   • This will take you around 5-7 hours. Then reach Guy Yeoman hut, located at the banks of river Mubuku, have dinner and spend the night.

7. Day 7: Guy Yeoman - Nyabitaba - Nyakalengija

   • Descend to Nyabitaba through the bamboo forests. The path down can be slippery and muddy with little to hold on to and requires careful balancing over the vertical mud or steep rock. After about 5 hours of trekking, you will reach Nyabitaba hut, where you will have a stopover for lunch. You will then continue to descend for more than 3 hours to Nyakalengija.
   • Drive back to Kampala or plan an overnight stay in Kasese town, or go for other safari add on like gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park