7-Day Rwenzori Central Circuit Trek with Margherita Peak Summit

• Meet your tour guide at the camp. After breakfast, head to RMS headquarters, where you will be briefed about the whole hike.
• Start the hike from Nyakalengija through the Bakonzo settlements to the Mount Rwenzori National Park gate, where you will be registered before entering the park.
• Begin the Central Circuit trail trek through thick tropical forest with high elephant grass and dense bushes.

This forest is home to various animal species such as 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, Archer's Robin-chat, and Rwenzori Batis, as well as various tree and plant species. You can expect to see some of them.

It is about 8 km from Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba Hut.

Dinner and overnight at Nyabitaba Hut.

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

• After breakfast at the hut, cross the Bujuku River and continue through the forest to the lower Bigo Bog. This swampy area in a valley is home to the giant lobelias. It used to be the most challenging part of the Rwenzori because the area was so boggy. Jumping from one tussock to another was not easy for most hikers, especially for females. Currently, there is a boardwalk 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 to the start of the upper Bigo Bog. There is also a boardwalk up to Lake Bujuku. After the boardwalk, you will continue through the remaining small boggy area without boardwalks to Bujuku Hut.
• At this point, enjoy views of Lake Bujuku, Mount Speke, Mount Baker, and Mount Stanley. From here, you can ascend Mount Speke and Mount Stanley. The distance from John Matte to Bujuku is about 5 km. Dinner and overnight at Bujuku.

• Have breakfast at Bujuku Hut, then continue the hike to Elena Hut, a 5-7 hour trek. You will move along the sides of the upper Bigo Bog.
• You will then hike through the steep slopes above Lake Bujuku. While climbing the steep western slopes of Lake Bujuku, the trail ascends to the 4,372-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 then divides into two. The left trail leads to Scott-Elliot Pass and descends to Kitandara Lakes, while the right trail heads to Elena Hut and continues on a steep trail above large boulders to Mount Stanley. Elena Hut is on the rocky part of Mount Stanley, and the area is very 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 at Elena Hut, then spend the night.

• Wake up as early as 2 am. Have breakfast at Elena Hut and get ready in your warmest gear. Put on your harness, warm gloves, and headstock, and make sure you have your headlamps and helmets, as well as sunglasses in your day pack.
• Hike to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita Peak, through the Stanley Plateau. You will use ropes to help you move across 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 sections.
• Reach the bottom of the Margherita glacier. This is the most challenging part of the entire Rwenzori hiking experience. You will hike through this glacier up to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita Peak (5,109 m). At the top, you will view Ireen Lake, Mount Speke, and the surrounding environment. Then descend to Elena Hut for lunch and later continue down 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 large, you might spend another night at Elena Hut and continue the following day.
• It is also possible to combine days 4 and 5 into a single day by taking a different trail from Bujuku Hut to Scott-Elliot Pass. There is a trail junction at the pass with one route going up to Elena Hut. The stretch of trail just south of the pass is very rough, but after a short section it becomes gentler and continues to Kitandara Lake Hut.

• Have breakfast at Kitandara, then move through the base of Mount Baker, which can be slippery, so you will need to be very careful.
• From Kitandara, the trail ascends steeply up the headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the south side of the Rwenzori Mountains to Freshfield 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 around 5-7 hours. Then reach Guy Yeoman Hut, located on the banks of the Mubuku River, have dinner, and spend the night.

• 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 vertical mud or steep rock. After about 5 hours of trekking, you will reach Nyabitaba Hut, where you will stop for lunch. You will then continue descending for more than 3 hours to Nyakalengija.
• Drive back to Kampala, plan an overnight stay in Kasese town, or go for another safari add-on such as gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.