Rwenzori Mountains Birding

Rwenzori Mountains Nature Tour- Birding safari guide.

The fabled “MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON” lie in the western Uganda on the Congolese border, with snow –covered, equatorial peaks rising to a height of 5110m and lower slopes blanketed in the moorland and the rich montane for magnificent scenery and 19 Albertine Rift endemics amongst the rwenzori Turaco and Shelley’s Crimsonwing, would be ample reward for the intrepid back packing birder.

District; Kasese , Bundibugyo and Kabarole

Size; 996km2

Elevations; 1700 to 5109m atop Margherita peak on mount Stanley

Status; national park since 1991.

Bird species; 195species

Timing; January – February and July – August are the driest months but rain is possible all year around.

Time required; 3 days for the shorter foothill hike and 6-7 days for the usual mountain loop

Key Species;
Albertine rift endemic Handsome Francolin , Rwenzori Turaco , Montane (Rwenzori ) Nightjar , Dwarf Honey guide , Archer;s Ribon –Chat , Red- Throated Alethe , kivu Ground thrush, Red faced woodland warbler , Montane masked and collared epalises , stripe –breasted ,tit, Rwenzori Batis , <Grauer’s cuckoos-shrike> , Blue headed , regal and purple -breasted sunbirds ,Strange weaver , dusky and Shelley’s crimson wings .

Other –lammergeier , Red thighed Sparrowhawk , barred Long –tailed cuckoo , African Long-eared owl , Western green Tinkerbird , olive woodpecker , Grey –chested Illadopsis, Grey winged ribbon, Evergreen forest and Bamboo Warblers ,Lagden’s Bush –shrike, Montane sooty Boubou, Golden –winged and scarlet-tufted malachite. Sunbirds, white –collared olive –back, red faced Crimsonwing, Oriole-Finch.

How do I Access Facilities in the Rwenzori Mountains?

Access and facilities.
Rwenzori national park is accessible from Kasese.
All hikes need to be arranged through the Rwenzori Mountain service (RMS), an organization that works in conjunction with the Ugandan Wildlife Authority to control hiking in the area and to maintain trails and huts. They will arrange guides porters, access to the hikers’ huts amongst others.

Please note that on your birding trip, you may need birding binoculars, an othinology book for better indentification of Uganda birds. We also encourage you to participate in efforts that encourage avian conservation of Uganda tourism.