Rwenzori Mountains National Park

Rwenzori Mountains National Park protects the highest mountain range in Africa, the legendary Mountains of the Moon described by Ptolemy in the second century. Spanning 996 square kilometres along Uganda's western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the range rises to Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley at 5,109 metres, the third-highest summit on the continent after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. UNESCO inscribed the park as a World Heritage Site in 1994. The Rwenzori are unlike any other African mountain range. Permanently snow-capped peaks tower above six dramatic vegetation zones, including the famous Afro-alpine zone of giant lobelia, groundsel, and bearded everlastings that has been called one of the most surreal landscapes on Earth. The Central Circuit trail is the classic 7- to 9-day trek for fit hikers, while the Kilembe Trail offers a quieter alternative on the southern slopes. The mountains also shelter forest elephants, the rare Rwenzori turaco, and the endemic Rwenzori three-horned chameleon.