I can finally sit down and narrate how we hiked Mt. Rwenzori from the Base Camp to the Margherita Peak and back.
It all started when I decided to challenge myself to hike the highest mountain in Uganda as a way of celebrating my 25th birthday. Little did I know that what seemed like a dream could come true on 22nd Nov 2020 at 3:06 pm EAT.
After a 5-day trek through several camps as we ascended the mountain, we finally reached Rwenzori’s highest peak – Margherita which stands at 5109 meters Above Sea Level.
In this blog and the ones to come, I will share with you I, and a team of 15 hikers, with zero previous mountain climbing experience, hiked the most technical mountain in Africa. I will share the whole journey from how we got on the road from Kampala to Kasese to our final destination – The Margherita Peak.
How it all started
After about two months of hiking several hills in Kampala and Wakiso districts, we were finally ready to face our challenge. The scheduled day to go hike Mt. Rwenzori was 17th November 2020. We had to travel for eight hours from Kampala to Kasese where we could then set off to conquer this beautiful monster.
We were a team of 14 (seven men and seven ladies) though we were later joined by another team of two (a man and a lady) at Basecamp making it 16 people.
For some reason, we had somewhat bonded due to the previous hikes we made around the city and it’s surroundings. We were pumped, excited and super ready to go attack the most technical mountain in Africa. Yet we all carried with us zero climbing experience. This was going to be exciting, I thought to myself.
After our baggage, backpacks, gadgets and all the tech equipment were loaded into the van, we got in too and set off.
By this time, you must have all the necessary equipment you will need to hike up this mountain since after this point, there is no other means of getting such equipment. Crosscheck everything before you arrive at the basecamp. I’ll share with you in the coming blogs which equipment you must have with you and which you can hire when in Kasese.
The road to Base Camp
The fun started when we got on the road en route to Kasese. This is one of those moments you think over your decision on whether or not to hike this mountain.
The drive from Kampala to Kasese could take between seven to nine hours depending on traffic other factors. We drove through Mubende and Mityana districts, reached Fort Portal – Uganda’s tourism city, then headed to Kasese district.
En route, we made a stop over at Mubende to grab bites for ourselves; these were mostly the street delicacies like barbeque chicken, plantain (gonja) and soft drinks, whatever one wished.
The road from Kampala to Fort Portal is in good shape and comfortable. Along the way, you will sight some baboons as you go through Semiliki National Park.
After this long drive in the South Western part of Uganda, we finally arrived at Rwenzori Basecamp Tours Holiday Inn located in Ibanda, Kasese District, nearly 370km from Naalya Motel in Kampla, our set-off point.
Rwenzori Basecamp Tours Holiday Inn, Kasese.
Mt. Rwenzori has different trails you can use to ascend. Our team coordinator through the guides decided that we’d use the Rwenzori central circuit trail. The nearby and affordable hotel we used was Rwenzori Basecamp Tours Holiday Inn, which is 5km from Rwenzori Mountains National Park main gate. It is also the nearest to our trip organiser’s office, The Rwenzori Rangers Hikers Association (RRHA), I’ll tell you about these amazing people (guides and porters) in the coming blogs.
At 7:00 pm EAT, we checked into the Basecamp hotel. It had neat clean rooms, each with a water heater, single bed and a serene environment overlooking several Rwenzori ranges.
I have to mention that the staff at this hotel are very welcoming and hospitable. I remember how Justine, the manager, did all in her reach to make sure everyone felt at home despite our fatigue from the long drive. We were served dinner as the RRHA team gave us a welcome message and a briefing on how we were to get started the next morning and the days to come.
My night at Basecamp Holiday Inn was a bit cold, as it is for most people coming from Kampala or the central which is generally warmer. However, the more you stay in Kasese, the more your body adjusts to the cold weather. I remember the day I descended from the mountain, I could barely feel the coldness at basecamp since my body had grown accustomed to the coldness high up on the mountain.
After a night at Basecamp Holiday Inn, we woke up to a nicely prepared English breakfast and then got started with sorting our baggage and equipment to kickstart day one of hiking Mountain Rwenzori.
All in all, that’s how day 0 went. Look out for the next blog, hiking Mt. Rwenzori – Day 1 where I tell you about attacking the central circuit trail, the rains and the hustle with gumboots all day. It was fun.
Don’t forget to click on the bell at the bottom left so you don’t miss out on my next blog posts.
