Mount Elgon National Park is a protected area located in Kenya and Uganda. It is situated 140 kilometers (87 miles) northeast of Lake Victoria. The total area of the park is 1,279 square kilometers (494 square miles). The part of the park in Uganda covers 1,110 square kilometers (430 square miles), while the part in Kenya covers 169 square kilometers (65 square miles). The Kenyan section of the park was officially established in 1968, and the Ugandan section was officially established in 1992.

Location

Mount Elgon National Park is divided by the border between Kenya and Uganda. Mount Elgon is an important source of water for the Nzoia River, which flows into Lake Victoria, and for the Turkwel River (called the Suam River in Uganda), which flows into Lake Turkana.

Climate

The climate ranges from moist to moderately dry. Annual rainfall is more than 1,270 millimetres (50 inches). The dry seasons occur during two periods: June to August and December to March. However, rain can occur at any time.

Vegetation

Elgon's slopes have a wide range of plant life, from mountain forests to high open moorland covered with giant lobelia, groundsel, and heather. The types of plants change depending on the height above sea level. Lower slopes are covered with Elgon olive (Olea capensis subsp. macrocarpa) and Aningeria adolfi-friederici wet mountain forest. At higher elevations, this becomes olive and Afrocarpus gracilior forest, followed by a zone with Afrocarpus and bamboo (Yushania alpina). Even higher, the area has Hagenia abyssinica forest, then moorland with heaths like Erica arborea and Erica trimera, tussock grasses such as Agrostis gracilifolia and Festuca pilgeri, and herbs like Alchemilla, Helichrysum, Lobelia, and giant groundsels Dendrosenecio barbatipes and Dendrosenecio elgonensis.

The park's plant life also includes African juniper (Juniperus procera), pillarwood (Cassipourea malosana), elderberry (Sambucus adnata), and many orchids.

Out of 400 recorded species in the area, some are especially important because they only grow in high elevation broadleaf mountain forests. These include Ardisiandra wettsteinii, Carduus afromontanus, Echinops hoehnelii, Ranunculus keniensis (once believed to be found only on Mount Kenya), and Romulea keniensis.

Wildlife

Elephants and buffalo can be found on the lower slopes. The park has many small antelope and duiker, as well as forest monkeys like the black-and-white colobus and blue monkey. Red-tailed monkeys were once thought to no longer live there but have been seen again. Both leopard and hyena live in the area.

Mount Elgon is home to at least 144 bird species. Some important birds include Jackson's spurfowl, the eastern bronze-naped pigeon, Hartlaub's turaco, the Tacazze sunbird, and the endangered lammergeier, because they live in only a few places.

Maathai's longleg, an endangered dragonfly, was discovered here in 2005 and named in honor of Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

More than half of Uganda's butterfly species have been found on Mount Elgon.

Conservation management

Before colonial rule, the area around Mount Elgon was managed by local traditions and rules that protected natural resources on the mountain’s higher slopes. These rules limited overuse of resources, and the small population in the area ensured that needs were met without harming the environment.

In 1929, the Uganda Protectorate officially set aside part of Mount Elgon as a Forest Reserve, managed by the Forestry Department. A survey to define the boundaries was completed in 1937, but parts of the reserve were later removed to allow land for local people. In 1940, the area became Mount Elgon Crown Forest, and in 1951, it was designated a Central Forest Reserve.

In 1983, the Ugandan government allowed 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of the reserve to be used for settlement by the Benet-Ndorobo people. An additional 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) were settled without permission. This land remained part of the reserve until 2002, when it was officially removed from protected status. Management of the area became unstable during the civil wars. In January 1994, the reserve was officially turned into a national park, though some areas continued to allow timber harvesting.

Attractions

The park has a wide range of natural features, including cliffs, caves, waterfalls, gorges, mesas, calderas, hot springs, and mountain peaks. The most popular areas are four large caves that visitors can explore. These caves are frequently visited at night by animals such as elephants and buffaloes, who come to lick natural salt found on the cave walls. Kitum Cave, which has walls covered in sparkling crystals, extends 200 meters into the side of Mt. Elgon.

At Endebess Bluff, visitors can enjoy a wide view of the surrounding escarpments, gorges, mesas, and rivers. The highest peak of Mt. Elgon on the Kenya side, Koitoboss, reaches 4,155 meters (13,632 feet) and can be reached by hikers in about two hours from the end of the road. Activities available in the park include:

• Driving tours to areas where animals can be seen, caves, and Koitoboss Peak
• Self-guided walking trails
• Hiking to Endebess Bluff and Koitoboss Peak
• Observing primates and birds
• Exploring caves
• Camping and photography

Recent studies show that elephants and other mammals play a major role in creating these natural features. These animals often visit the caves at night to gather salt by licking it from the walls. The caves are mapped, and visitors can explore Kitum, Chepnyali, and Mackingeny caves.

The Cheworei family caves in the Chesokwo area include Chebui caves, Kebenob-Teretit caves, and the Kochonget. Other attractions are ancient cave paintings near the trailhead at Budadiri and hot springs in the crater of a former volcano, which can reach temperatures up to 48°C.

Jackson's Pool, located at 4,050 meters, is a natural pool with shallow water. It lies in the shadow of Jackson's Peak, a tall volcanic rock rising from the western side of the mountain. These features are named after Frederick Jackson, the first European to climb Mount Elgon in 1889.

Popular culture

The park is a location in parts of Richard Preston's book The Hot Zone. Kitum Cave is also a location in the same book. Henry Rider Haggard's famous novel King Solomon's Mines may have been inspired by the Mt Elgon Caves.