The greatest mistake that most tour guides, operators and visitors to Uganda make, according to Julian Wrights (33), a Professional Mountaineer, Lead Guide and proprietor of African Ascents Limited, is not allocating enough time to discover, the country.
In a recent media interview, soon after ascending 8 out of 10 of Mount Rwenzori peaks in 7 days, Julian said Uganda has so much to offer both in quantity and quality and similarly, everyone seeking to visit Uganda ought to prepare accordingly.
“My message to other guides and visitors coming to the Rwenzoris is to plan your trips, so you have lots of time so that you can really get a sense of the mountains. You can acclimatize well, which then allows you to enjoy the mountain a lot more,” he told journalists at the Mt. base camp.
“ And then plan it so that you have a bit of time after your trip so that you can see some of the other national parks lower down and enjoy some of the wildlife. There’s just so much to do here, I think you need to allow for enough time to be able to see some of it,” smitten Julian confessed.
And Julian no ordinary mountaineer. He is one of a few human beings to multiple severally summit all the three highest points on Mt. Kenya, East Africa’s second-highest mountain as well as repeatedly summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain. He has also been an expedition leader to Mt. Everest and the Himalayas in 2017 and 2019. The proprietor of African Ascents Ltd, Julian has severally summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as been to several other mountains in South Africa, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Canada, the Alps, Southeast Asia and most recently the Rwenzoris.
But Julian is not alone- several visitors to Uganda have all described Uganda as a destination that keeps giving. It is, therefore, not surprising that a 2019 Uganda Tourist Expenditure And Motivation Survey (TEMS) 2019 found that 51% of the visitors to Uganda repeat visitors and more than 6 in 10 visitors to Uganda were most likely to return shortly, while more than 8 in 10 visitors reported a high likelihood of recommending Uganda to their friends and family as a place to visit.
Visitors were also satisfied with the Historical and Cultural Sites, with Nyero Rock Paintings receiving the highest satisfaction score of 5 out of 5.
The Big Five + 2; Africa’s botanical big game and so much more
Visitors to Uganda, according to the study, were amongst other factors, blown away by the sheer vastness of Uganda’s attractions especially the wildlife and birds, gorilla tracking and the breathtaking sceneries and landscapes such as the Source of the Nile and the various lakes and rivers accentuated by the numerous thunderous waterfalls. Visitors were also swept off their feet by our food, hospitality, as well as the nightlife and freedom of movement.
Specifically, for our national parks, visitors were impressed by the richness and diversity in both plant and animal attractions as well as the natural attractions such as the mountains as well as lakes and rivers— that are equally packed with marine life.
Uganda is home to more than half the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas (53.9% to be exact)- that reside in two of Uganda’s most beautiful locations — Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park! Safari opportunities abound in the savanna, forest, and wetland settings throughout the parks where visitors can come face to face with “The Big Five + 2 ” – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo, chimpanzee and mountain gorilla– as well as giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus, crocodile, and more than half of all bird species found in Africa.
It is no wonder that our national parks were rated on average 4.8 out of 5.
Uganda has 10 national parks; 12 wildlife reserves; 5 community wildlife management areas; and 13 wildlife sanctuaries, each of which has their own allure- right from wild savanna game rides, boat rides, forest hikes, mountain climbing, wildlife research and more. Uganda is an unrivalled bird-watching destination with over 1,000 species of birds – several of which are found nowhere else on the planet as well as home to the rate in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. For the adrenaline junkies and mountain climbers, you can hike up the Virunga Volcanoes (3 of the 5 ranges are in Uganda i.e. Mt. Sabinyo (3,669m) Mt. Gahinga (3,474m) and Mt. Muhavura) as well as snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains.
Christened the “Mountains of the Moon” by the Alexandrine geographer Ptolemy in AD 150, the fabled Mountains of the Moon is part of a larger 120km-long and 65km-wide Rwenzori Mountain range, on the western Uganda border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The range consists of six massifs separated by deep gorges, namely: Mount Stanley (5,109 metres (16,762 ft)); Mount Speke (4,890 metres (16,040 ft)); Mount Baker (4,843 metres (15,889 ft)); Mount Emin (4,798 metres (15,741 ft)); Mount Gessi (4,715 metres (15,469 ft)) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627 metres (15,180 ft)). Mount Stanley has several subsidiary summits, with Margherita Peak being the highest point.
With its five overlapping vegetation zones― the evergreen forest zone (up to 2,800 metres (9,200 ft)); the bamboo zone (2,800 to 3,300 metres (9,200 to 10,800 ft)); the heather zone (3,000 to 3,800 metres (9,800 to 12,500 ft)); the alpine zone (3,500 to 4,500 metres (11,500 to 14,800 ft)); and, the nival zone (4,400 to 5,000 metres (14,400 to 16,400 ft)), the Rwenzoris, offer tourists a better nature experience, consisting of 99,600 ha of alpine vegetation, most of it rare and or unique to the Rwenzoris.
At higher elevations, some plants reach an enormous size, such as the giant lobelia and groundsels, thus the term “Africa’s botanical big game.” The spectacular snow-capped peaks and glaciers, melt into fast-flowing rivers, that squeeze into V-shaped valleys and narrow gorges, emerging as magnificent waterfalls that feed the clear blue lakes that dot the surreal, boggy Afro-alpine moorlands downstream.
The montane forests that form the lower part of the mountains are also home to threatened species such as the African forest elephant, eastern chimpanzee, l’Hoest’s monkey and the very rare and endangered Rwenzori black-fronted duiker. The entire Rwenzori Mountains National Park- an expanse of nearly 100,000 ha is home to 70 mammals and 217 birds; 19 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift.
Describing the Rwenzoris- Julian Wright, said the mountain was an “incredible resource” whose “sheer diversity” is “mind-blowing” and “breathtaking.”
“The glaciers on the Rwenzoris are very unique. They are a lot bigger than any other glaciers in East Africa.”
“The sheer ecological diversity is mind-blowing,” he said, adding: “Everything here seems to be three times as big. The leaves are bigger, the plants are bigger, everything is so lush, there’s so much life, and it is truly unique.”
“I’ve been guiding and hiking, and I’ve been in the outdoors business for a very long time, but the vastness of the Rwenzoris is just breathtaking,” Julian reiterated.
To arrange customised staycations and or an adventure/holiday to any part of Uganda or East Africa, reach out to Executive Destinations and Experiences Limited (EDXTravel) today.
Contacts:
Phone: +256 751 395 326/ +256 775 716 808
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