Uganda
The 'Mountains of the Moon' capped with equatorial glaciers, then the total calm of a crater lake
Uganda
A journey between two little-known sides of Uganda: the Rwenzori Mountains, nicknamed the 'Mountains of the Moon' by ancient geographers, whose peaks carry one of the world's last equatorial glaciers, then Lake Bunyonyi, one of Africa's deepest lakes, nestled among terraced hills where neither crocodiles nor hippos trouble the swimming.
When
June to Sept | Dec to Feb
Price
From 4 200€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
6 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-2
The first chapter unfolds in the Rwenzori massif, a range over one hundred kilometres long rising above five thousand metres, East Africa's only non-volcanic range and one of the continent's last places where glaciers survive, now retreating fast. The trek crosses five distinct climate zones within a few days, from rainforest to Afro-alpine moorland populated by giant lobelias and tree groundsels, endemic plants with surreal silhouettes.
Day 1
Entering the Rwenzori rainforest
The trek sets off through low-altitude rainforest, where waterfalls and vines accompany the gradual climb toward the first high-altitude moorlands, an overnight stay in a community-run hut.
Day 2
The Afro-alpine moorland and the glaciers
A climb through the Afro-alpine moorland, populated by giant lobelias with otherworldly shapes, to a viewpoint over the massif's summit glaciers, among the last remaining on the African continent.
Days 1-2
A descent to Lake Bunyonyi, whose name means "place of many little birds" in Kinyarwanda, a crater lake so deep that neither hippo nor crocodile can survive in it, making swimming possible in complete peace. Twenty-nine islands dot its waters, some carrying their own history, such as the so-called "Punishment Island," once used to banish unmarried pregnant women.
Day 1
Descent and canoeing on the lake
A transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, an outing in a traditional dugout canoe among the lake's twenty-nine islands, with a stop on one to learn its local history.
Day 2
A hike across the terraced hills
A hike along the terraced hills surrounding the lake, meeting local communities who practise centuries-old terrace farming, before one last swim at sunset.
Other trips built in the same spirit — more to draw inspiration from.
