Mount Elgon National Park

Mount Elgon is an ancient extinct shield volcano straddling the border between Uganda and Kenya, rising to 4,321 metres at Wagagai Peak — Uganda's second-highest mountain. The mountain's caldera, 40 kilometres in diameter, is the largest ancient caldera in Africa. The park surrounding it contains some of Uganda's most distinctive terrain: montane forest giving way to moorland and alpine meadows, with natural salt caves — the Kitum, Chepnyalil, and Mackingeny caves — where elephants enter in darkness to mine salt with their tusks.

On the mountain's southern slopes above Kapchorwa town, the Sipi area contains three spectacular waterfalls: Sipi Falls (95 metres), Simba Falls (74 metres), and Ngasire Falls (85 metres), each cascading from the Elgon plateau into the valleys below. The Sipi area is also Uganda's finest Arabica coffee farming country, where Bagisu farmers have grown specialty coffee on the rich volcanic slopes for generations. A visit to Sipi combines waterfall hiking, coffee farm experiences, and one of the most scenic landscapes in eastern Uganda.

What to Do

• Sipi Falls hikes — guided walks to all three falls (Sipi, Simba, Ngasire). A walk behind Sipi Falls — where the path passes directly behind the curtain of water — is one of Uganda's most memorable short hikes.

• Coffee farm tours — visiting Bagisu family farms, picking beans, processing, and cupping fresh Arabica coffee on the slopes of Elgon. One of the best agritourism experiences in East Africa.

• Mount Elgon trekking — multi-day circuits to Wagagai Peak (4,321m) and across the giant caldera. The trail passes through bamboo, heather moorland, and alpine zones.

• Elephant cave visits — guided night visits to the natural salt caves where forest elephants enter to mine salt with their tusks. A rare wildlife experience unique to Elgon.

• Imbalu circumcision ceremony — held every even year (2026, 2028) in the Mbale area below the mountain, this major Bagisu initiation ceremony is one of Uganda's most significant cultural events.

Key Facts

• Wagagai Peak: 4,321 metres — Uganda's second-highest mountain.

• The caldera: 40 km in diameter — the largest ancient volcanic caldera in Africa.

• Sipi Falls: three waterfalls (95m, 74m, 85m) on the mountain's southern slopes above Kapchorwa.

• Wildlife: forest elephants (in the salt caves), buffaloes, colobus monkeys, baboons, duikers, and 300+ bird species.

• Getting there: 4–5 hours from Kampala to Mbale (215km). Sipi Falls is 55km north of Mbale.

• Best time: June–September and December–February for hiking. Sipi Falls is spectacular during the wet seasons when the falls are at full volume.