Rare menu at Mt Elgon Park, once Africa’s highest peak

Ages ago, Mt Elgon was once Africa’s highest mountain, by far grander than Mt Kilimanjaro’s current 5,895 metres. That was then.

Millennia of erosion have reduced its height to 4,321 metres, relegating it to the fourth highest peak in East Africa and eighth on the continent. But anyone driving in the western part of Kenya is unlikely to miss it.

However, those looking for a reason to get nearer will find it in the Mount Elgon National Park, which derives its name from the extinct shield volcanic mountain.

From the capital, Nairobi, the park is 420 kilometres away, accessible by tarmac road from Kitale town in Trans Nzoia County, that ushers the visitor on to a murram road leading to the main entrance—Chorlim Gate.

More likely than not, the visitor will be greeted by the sight of zebra and bushbuck grazing in a field adjacent to the administration offices. The animals are used to humans, so one can stop to take pictures at ease.

Mt Elgon National Park was started largely to encourage tourism around the mountain. The park offers a rich menu of activities that include hiking, rock climbing, biking, horse riding and birdwatching. Bird watchers would be interested to learn that the park is home to at least 144 bird species. Of particular interest are Jackson’s francolin, the eastern bronze-napped pigeon, Hartlaub’s turaco, the Tacazze sunbird and the endangered lammergeyer.

Maathai’s longleg, an endangered dragonfly, was discovered at the park in 2005 and named after 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

The park offers great outdoors and adventures to fit varying temperaments, from the adrenaline pumping rock climbing to the more serene game watching. Don’t be surprised to spot a blue monkey high up in the trees or an elephant in the lower slopes. However, a guide is recommended for visitors as an encounter with a wandering buffalo could end tragically.

Anyone visiting the park should consider visiting the Kitum and Making’eny caves. These are among the three open to the public; the third being Chepnyali. You need a 4x4 vehicle to enter the park but one can walk from the gate to both Kitum and Making’eny if accompanied by a park ranger or tour guide.

According to Mr Philip Chepsoo, a tour guide at the park, of the three caves, Kitum is the most well known. It extends some 600 feet into the mountain and its walls are covered in salt. According to him, animals, especially elephants, turn up most nights to lick the salt.

At the Endebbes Bluff, there is a panoramic view of the area’s escarpments, gorges and rivers.

The mountain sits astride the Kenya-Uganda border, but its highest peak is on the Kenyan side. It is known as Koitoboss, and rises 13,852 feet. Hikers can easily scale it in about two hours from the road’s end.