The
Rwenzori Mountains National Park recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site now
has four trails and two nature walks, with the creation of the Muhoma trail,
which is targeted at tourists interested in shorter trails.
While the Rwenzori Mountains are a
sight to behold, not many tour operators put them on their itinerary because it
usually takes more than a week to enjoy a trail walk on any of the slopes.
However, with the new Muhoma trail, tourists can enjoy a bit of the mountains
in one to three days only.
“I want to say that I’m just
discovering Uganda, but this is a place I have to come back to,” said Rebecca
Carter, who works with USAID/Uganda. She added, “It is good the communities are
benefiting from the tourism industry as they are taught to conserve the
environment.”
Carter was talking about a new short
trail, the Muhoma and the Geolodges’ Equator Snow lodge at Rwenzori Mountains
National Park in Kasese District.
Getting to the trail
Sounds of River Nyamwamba greet your
ears at this new tourist attraction that opened in August. Cater was excited
after she trekked through the new trail.
The place can be reached about 10kms
on Kasese-Fort Portal road, after which one branches left at Kasanyarazi and
ascends 12kms on a dirt road, which is still under rehabilitation.
Muhoma Nature Trail was built by
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) using funds from USAID Sustainable Tourism in
the Albertine Rift (Star) project and is the latest product in the national
park.
The trail, that lets visitors enjoy
one-to-three-day walks, traverses the lower slopes of the mountains up to Lake
Muhoma, where the trail joins the existing Central Circuit trail.
About the trail
This is the fourth trail and the
second nature walk in the national park tucked in western Uganda. The other
trails include the Central Circuit, run by Rwenzori Mountaineering Services
(RMS), Kilembe, run by Rwenzori Trekking Services (RTS), and Kazingo Nature
Walk trail, which has been the only trail open to all tour operators since the
other trails are privately run. UWA manages the new trail and is open to all
tour operators.
“The concessional trails are limited
to contracted companies, but the new trail is open to anybody. You don’t need
to go through a third party to use it,” said Fredrick Kizza, the park’s senior
warden.
“This shorter trail is an opportunity
for those clients with limited time. Because of the long time needed to climb
the mountain, most tourist operators leave out Rwenzori,” he added.
The Rwenzori are a world-class
hiking and mountaineering destination, which were recently voted among the
world’s best hiking sites. The world heritage site is well known for its
extraordinary flora and different vegetation zones. However, the mountain
continues to struggle to attract tourists.
According to Kizza, in 2000, the
park attracted a paltry 600 visitors. This number has since grown to 2,300,
according to last year’s statistics. Kizza says the park has already attracted
2,285 visitors since January, a figure that is expected to shoot to 3,000 by
the end of the year.
Attractions beyond the trail
With better facilities, the numbers
are bound to go even higher. Geolodges have opened up their fourth lodge, the
Equator Snow Lodge in Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
“We hope that the addition of these
new tourism facilities and the trail will help to boost tourism to the
mountains, increasing revenues for the people of the region as well as
supporting UWA and Eco trust in their ongoing conservation efforts.
USAID-Star with support from US
Forest Service, and in partnership with Eco trust, UWA and Geolodges, also
boosted the lodge with the construction of an information centre at a cost of
$100,000 (approximately Shs260m).
The centre is a multi-function
facility next to the park, providing information and services for visitors to
be able to learn more about the park and the mountain, its people and their
culture.
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