Mountain Climbing: What You Need to Know

Some people collect fridge magnets. You collect bruises, calluses, and summit selfies. If the idea of dragging yourself up a mountain sounds like your idea of a vacation, then mountain climbing in Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo should be right up your alley.

Africa’s heartland doesn’t just hand you peaks on a silver platter, these mountains demand sweat, stubbornness, and a strong sense of humor. You’re going to need all three.

Mountain climbing can be a bit demanding physically and mentally but lucky for you, Friendly Gorillas Safaris is here with a guide to help you have a successful mountain climbing expedition and destination options you can choose from.

Hiking Mountain Rwenzori

Where to go mountain Climbing

Uganda

Mention mountain climbing in Uganda, and the Rwenzori Mountains immediately comes into the conversation. Also known as the “Mountains of the Moon,” the Rwenzori offers you a proper alpine experience, complete with glaciers, bogs, and a raincloud that follows you along the hike like a bad habit not wasting your time with gentle hills.

A hike to Rwenzori’s Margherita Peak, Africa’s third-highest mountain at 5,109 meters, is a serious challenge taking you through mud, cross rivers on shaky logs. However, once you’re standing on the summit looking across endless jagged peaks, your soggy socks will feel like a small price to pay.

Rwenzori climbs typically take 7 to 10 days which won’t be heavy on you with the help of a guide given the fact that it is not the kind of terrain where you “figure it out as you go.”

If you prefer something less intense, Mount Elgon on Uganda’s eastern border offers a softer experience. It has the largest volcanic base in the world and fewer crowds, meaning you can wheeze and complain in peace.

Another mountain for a wild hiking adventure in Uganda is Mountain Elgon with its highest peak, Wagagai standing at a height of 4,321 m. It is located in Eastern Uganda along the border with Kenya with its lower slopes inhabited by very animal species some including elephants, buffalos and different antelope species

Mountain Elgon

In contrast with other mountains like Rwenzori, Mountain Elgon’s hiking trails can be conquered by any one, no distinct skills required. With trails like Sipi, Piswa and Sasa, you get to enjoy the beautiful scenery without disruption from other people.

On the other note, the Virunga ranges forms a chain of 8 mountains located in the Albertine Rift Valley area along the Uganda, DRC and Rwanda border.

In Uganda, this range of mountains is hiked on three mountains with Muhavura coming in as the highest at 4127m, Gahinga at 3747m and Sabinyo at 3645m.

A hiking expedition on all three mountains starts t 7:30 am and only lasts a day with climbing services on all three starting at Ntebeko Visitors Center at the footprints of Mgahinga National Park in Kisoro district.

Rwanda

Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park offers something a little different. Here, the mountains are old volcanoes, draped in jungle, wrapped in mist, and buzzing with the low grunts of gorillas hidden nearby.

Mountain Bisoke is your best option if you want a mountain climbing experience that fits neatly into a single day with its 6-hour round trip to the crater lake at the top, which feels like cheating but in a good way.

If you’re feeling bold (or stubborn), Mountain Karisimbi waits for you. At 4,507 meters, Karisimbi is Rwanda’s highest point. The climb takes two days featuring a cold overnight stay on the mountain.

Mountain Karisimbi

There’s a lot of gasping, a lot of slipping, and an occasional moment where you wonder why you didn’t just stay at the lodge sipping coffee.

Guides are mandatory for both climbs, which is a polite way of saying someone has to pull you out of the mud.