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Mount Elgon National Park.
The fourth largest Ugandan National park, MENP encompasses 1154sq.km
and stretches between 0052'-1025' N and 340 14' -340 44'E. The majority
of the park is situated above 2000m and extends up to the highest
peak (Wagagai at 4321m).
 In every region the colourful
dances, dress and the handicrafts of the people are well worth seeing.
The village markets bustle with life, and local craftsmen work as
they have done for generations. In this area visitors can discover
the infinitive variety our lifestyles and heritage which make Uganda
so special.
In the esternn most region of Uganda, along the border with Kenya,
towers the dramatic mass that is Mount Elgon.
Although Mt. Elgon was well know to Arab traders passing along
old slaving routes to it's East (Kenya), expoler Henry Morton Stanley
was the first to write about Mt. Elgon when he presumably saw it
while circumnavigating Lake Victoria in 1875.
Joseph Thompson, a British explorer and geographer was the first
European to visit Mt. Elgon in 1883. Thompson referred to the mountain
as "Masawa" or "Elgon" and generated curiosity
among the explorers.
In 1890, with a 400 men caravan, Frederick Jackson of the Imperial
British Exploration Association was the first European to visit
the Caldera and to climb any of the major peaks. Ironically, Jackson
climbed from the south and probably never even saw Masaba peak which
was later named Jackson's summit after him.
 Mt. Elgon has been called
a "Mountain of Illusion" partly because of the number
of hiking parties lost on its slopes in the past and because no
one could determine its highest point. Sudek and Koitobos peaks
(Kenya) were both proclaimed "the top of Elgon" at different
times. Wagagai, the highest peak (4321m), does not protrude markedly
above the caldera rim and conceals its height well. In fact, Wagagai
peak was overlooked by explorers until the early 20th century.
Location
The Mountain is positioned approximately 100 km northeast of Lake
Victoria and straddles the border of Uganda and Kenya. The International
boundary is marked by the Suam and Lwakaka Rivers, and the beacon
on Sudek Peak. Administratively, the Mountain falls in two districts
(in Uganda), Kapchowra District to the north and Mbale District
to the South. Measuring about 80 km, from north to south and 50km
east to West, more than half of Mt. Elgon (including the majority
of its Caldera) lies in Uganda. |
