The park is named after Mount Elgon, an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya.
Mount Elgon National Park is uniquely split down the middle by the Kenyan-Ugandan border. Mount Elgon is an important water catchment for the Nzoia River, which flows to Lake Victoria, and for the Suam River in Uganda, which flows into Lake Turkana.
Elgon’s slopes support a rich variety of vegetation ranging from montane forest to high open moorland studded with the giant lobelia, groundsel and heather plants. The vegetation varies with elevation. The mountain slopes are covered with Elgon olive and wet montane forest.
At higher elevations, this changes to olive and Afrocarpus gracilior forest, and then an Afrocarpus and bamboo Yushania alpina zone. Higher still is a Hagenia abyssinica zone and then moorland with heaths Erica arborea and Erica trimera, tussock grasses such as Agrostis gracilifolia and Festuca pilgeri, herbs such as Alchemilla, Helichrysum, Lobelia, and the giant groundsels Senecio barbatipes and Senecio elgonensis.
The botanical diversity of the park includes giant Afrocarpus, Elgon olive , African juniper, pillarwood , elderberry, pure stands of Afrocarpus gracilior and many orchids.
Of the 400 species recorded for the area, the following are of particular note as they only occur in high elevation broadleaf montane forest: Ardisiandra wettsteinii, Carduus afromontanus, Echinops hoehnelii, Ranunculus keniensis previously thought to be endemic to Mount Kenya, and Romulea keniensis.
Elephants and buffalo frequent the lower slopes. The park is also home to a variety of small antelope and duiker, as well as forest monkeys, including the black-and-white colobus and blue monkey. Red-tailed monkey have been reported after being thought to be locally extinct. Both leopard and hyena exist there.
Mount Elgon is home to at least 144 bird species. Of particular interest are Jackson’s spurfowl, the eastern bronze-naped pigeon, Hartlaub’s turaco, the Tacazze sunbird and the endangered lammergeier, due to their restricted range.
Maathai’s longleg, an endangered dragonfly was discovered here in 2005 and named after Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai.
Half of Uganda’s butterfly species have been reported in Mt. Elgon.
Together with the fauna and flora, the park has a variety of scenery; this includes cliffs, caves, waterfalls, gorges, mesas, calderas, hot springs, and the mountain peaks. The most popular areas are the four explorable, vast caves where frequent night visitors such as elephants and buffaloes come to lick the natural salt found on the cave walls. Kitum cave, with overhanging crystalline walls, enters 200 m into the side of Mt. Elgon.
At the Endebess Bluff there a panoramic view of the areas’ escarpments, gorges, mesas, and rivers. The highest peak of Mt. Elgon on the Kenya side, Koitoboss, measures 4,155 m (13,632 ft), and is easily reached by hikers in about two hours from the road’s end. Activities include
- Vehicle circuits leading to animal viewing areas, the caves and Koitoboss peak.
- Self-guided walking trails
- Hiking to Endebess Bluff and Koitoboss Peak
- Primate and bird watching
- Cave explorations
- Camping photography
Recent studies have shown that elephants and other mammals are major contributors to the development of these unique natural phenomena. The animals frequently visit at night to ‘mine’ the natural salt by licking it from the cave walls. The caves are mapped and Kitum, Chepnyali, and Mackingeny can be explored by visitors to the park.
Cheworei family caves in Chesokwo area which includes Chebui caves, Kebenob-Teretit caves and the Kochonget.
Other attractions include ancient cave paintings near the trailhead at Budadiri, and hot springs in the former volcano’s crater which bubble at temperatures of up to 48 °C.
- Jackson’s Pool stands at 4,050m and is a natural pool with shallow waters. This pool lies in the shadow of the 4,165m high Jackson’s Peak, a free-standing volcanic plug rising from the western flank of the mountain. These features were named after the explorer Frederick Jackson, who in 1889 was the first European to climb Mount Elgon.
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