8-Day Rwenzori Mountain Trek in Uganda via the Central Circuit Route

• You will be welcomed by an experienced and professional tour guide from Rwenzori Mountaineering Service and begin the journey to Kasese town, the nearest major town to Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
• Lunch will be en route, as advised by the safari guide. The journey is likely to take around 7-8 hours, and dinner and an overnight stay are planned at Ruboni Community Camp or Equator Snow Hotel.

• You will have an early morning breakfast and head to the briefing point for the Rwenzori mountain hiking tour, where experienced Rwenzori National Park rangers and the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services Team (RMS) will brief you. Later, you will start the hike at around 8 am through bamboo, high elephant grass, and dense bushes.
• You will climb over rocks and bluffs, cross River Mahoma, and continue to Nyabitaba Hut, where you will spend the night.
• Along this route, you can expect to see animals such as white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, the three-horned chameleon, and the Rwenzori turaco. The journey will take about 4-5 hours.

• You will move through the forest for about half an hour to Kurt Shafer Bridge, at the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers, and then continue through the bamboo forest over slippery moss-covered rocks for a couple of hours.
• Proceed to Nyamulenge Rock Shelter, where you will have a view of Mount Stanley and Mount Speke.
• Then, you will reach John Matte Hut, where you will spend the night. This place offers a beautiful view of Mount Stanley and Margherita Glacier.

• After breakfast, move from John Matte Hut across the Bujuku River to the lower Bigo bog. Your first real experience of jumping from tussock to tussock begins here. A steep section past the hut leads to the upper Bigo, and along part of this stretch a boardwalk has been constructed.
• You will have a lunch break by a beautiful narrow stream at the upper end of this bog. The southern end of the lake is set majestically, with Mt. Baker to the south, Mt. Stanley to the west, and Mt. Speke to the north.

Dinner and overnight stay at Bujuku Hut - 3962 m.

• Leave Bujuku Hut and follow a newer trail. This trail rises and falls twice before finally climbing steeply through magical moss-draped groundsel vegetation to Scott Elliot Pass at about 14,345 ft (4,372 m). At the steepest section, a short strong ladder leads to a right-hand branch that goes to Elena Hut at 14,700 ft (4,430 m). The steep rocky trail can be slippery when hot.
• You will then continue straight. A few steps below the pass, there is a sheltered spot for a very good break before Elena Hut. This is the base camp for climbing Margherita Peak in the Mt. Stanley Complex at 16,763 ft (5,109 m), which requires an additional day. In case the weather is bad, rain, snow, and wind can occur in any season.

• If you are aiming for Margherita Peak (5109 m), you will continue to the base of the Stanley Glacier. Reaching the summit of Margherita takes about 5-7 hours, depending on the weather conditions and your climbing pace. This tough walk takes you over three glaciers, slippery rock, ice, and very exposed areas that are open on many sides. Note that this climb is only for physically fit and technical climbers.
• Climb onto the glacier, cross the Stanley Plateau, and proceed with the ascent. Acclimatized to fog, altitude sickness, and cool weather, scramble up to the summit of Margherita, the highest peak of the Rwenzoris. Given the high altitude and tough conditions, do not be disappointed if you do not reach the peak.
• Prepare for your return through Scott-Elliot Pass, where there are spectacular views back to Bujuku Lake and Mount Speke, and down to the Kitandara Lakes.
• After following the trail through an alpine zone of sparse vegetation and rough boulders, descend past the Kitandara Lakes for dinner and an overnight stay at Kitandara Hut.

• Today, from Guy Yeoman, take the trail that ascends steeply up the headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the south side of the mountain to Freshfield Pass.
• At this point, you can view the Congo to the west and Mount Stanley to the north.
• From the pass, take the long trail passing the rock shelter at Bujongolo, the base camp for the historic expedition by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1906.

Overnight at Ruboni Community Camp.

• The guide will pick you up from the camp in the morning after breakfast and then drive you back to Kampala or to the airport for your flight back home.