Mount Elgon
National Park
was gazetted in
1968 and covers
a narrow
transect up the
North Eastern
slopes of the
mountain, from
lower montane
forest to the
caldera edge.
The remaining
forest and
moorland is part
of the Mount
Elgon Forest
Reserve. This
national park is
located on the
western border
of Kenya with
Uganda, in
Trans-nzoia
District of Rift
Valley Province.
The Ugandan side
of the mountain
is protected
within Uganda's
Mt Elgon
National Park.
Mount Elgon is
Kenya's second
highest mountain
after Mount
Kenya. Mount
Elgon lies
140km North East
of Lake Victoria
and is bisected
by the
Kenya-Uganda
border. It is an
ancient eroded
volcano with a
huge caldera
and, on its
summit, the
spectacular flat
topped basalt
column known as
Koitobos.
Another unique
feature of the
mountain is the
lava tube caves,
some over 60m
wide and
frequented by
elephants (and
other animals)
digging for
salts. The
mountain soils
are red laterite.
Mountt Elgon is
an important
water catchment
for the Nzoia
river which
flows into Lake
Victoria and for
the Turkwel
river which
flows into Lake
Turkana.
Major Attraction
in Elgon
National Park
Together with
the fauna and
flora, the park
is endowed with
variety and
breathtaking
scenery of
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.
The breathtaking
natural beauty
of the park can
be best
appreciated from
the Endebess
Bluff where one
gets a panoramic
view of the
areas'
escarpments,
gorges, mesas,
and rivers.
The highest peak
of Mt. Elgon on
the Kenya side,
Koitoboss,
measures 13,852
ft (4,155 m),
and is easily
reached by
hikers in about
two hours from
the road's end. |
