Why Margherita Peak is famous
Margherita Peak crowns Mount Stanley (also called Mount Ngaliema), the highest of the six glaciated massifs of the Rwenzori. The range, about 120 km long and 50–65 km wide, rises between Lake Albert and Lake Edward on the border of Uganda and the DR Congo. Its other massifs are Mount Speke (4,890 m), Mount Baker (4,843 m), Mount Emin (4,798 m), Mount Gessi (4,715 m) and Mount Luigi di Savoia (4,627 m). Next to Margherita, Mount Stanley carries Alexandra Peak (5,091 m) and Albert Peak (5,087 m), both over 5,000 m.
Margherita is usually counted as Africa's third highest summit after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya; if Mawenzi, Kilimanjaro's second summit, is counted separately, it becomes the fourth. Some sources give 5,110, 5,119 or 5,120 m instead of 5,109 m. More striking than the number is the setting: unlike Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya or Mount Elgon, the Rwenzori are not volcanic but a block of gneiss, amphibolite, granite and quartzite raised about three million years ago, and they have been described as the highest non-volcanic, non-orogenic mountains in the world. Their streams feed the Nile, which is why European explorers linked them with the "Mountains of the Moon" that the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy placed at the source of the Nile around AD 150.
Where it is and how to get there
The peak lies on the international border; the Ugandan side is protected by Rwenzori Mountains National Park (about 996 km², gazetted in 1991, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994 and a Ramsar wetland), the Congolese side by Virunga National Park. The routes described here start in Uganda. The gateway town is Kasese, about 437 km west of Kampala; international flights land at Entebbe. Two trailheads are used:
- Nyakalengija (about 1,615 m), the headquarters of Rwenzori Mountaineering Services, 17 km from Kasese off the Kasese–Fort Portal road: start of the Central Circuit.
- Kilembe, next to Kasese, where the Trekkers Hostel (about 1,450 m) of Rwenzori Trekking Services is the start of the Kilembe trail.
Routes to the summit
Two concessions operate in the Ugandan park, each with its own trail and huts.
The Central Circuit (Rwenzori Mountaineering Services), the classic route, takes seven days with Margherita:
- Day 1: Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba camp (2,651 m) through farmland and forest along the Mubuku River, 6–7 hours.
- Day 2: to John Matte camp (3,505 m) across the Kurt Shafer bridge, through bamboo and over slippery moss-covered rock into the zone of giant heather, lobelias and groundsels, 7–8 hours.
- Day 3: across the Lower and Upper Bigo bogs, jumping from tussock to tussock, past Lake Bujuku to Bujuku camp (3,962 m), 4–5 hours.
- Day 4: up Groundsel Gully to Elena hut (4,541 m), 5–6 hours.
- Day 5: summit day. Leaving before dawn, climbers cross the Stanley Plateau and three glaciers, then scramble up rock and ice to Margherita in about 4–5 hours; 2–3 hours back to Elena, then over Scott-Elliot Pass (4,372 m) down to the Kitandara lakes.
- Days 6–7: over Freshfield Pass (4,282 m), past the Bujongolo rock shelter, the Duke of the Abruzzi's base in 1906, to Guy Yeoman camp (3,261 m) and down to Nyakalengija.
The Kilembe trail (Rwenzori Trekking Services) climbs the southern valleys and usually takes eight days. It passes Sine camp (about 2,596 m), with wooden cabins near Enock's Falls, Kalalama (about 3,147 m) in the heather zone, Mutinda camp below the Mutinda Lookout (3,975 m), an acclimatisation hike with views to Lake George, Bugata (about 4,100 m) by glacial lakes, the Bamwanjarra Pass (4,450 m), Hunwick's camp (about 3,874 m) and Lake Kitandara, to Margherita camp (about 4,485 m) among boulders where the Duke of the Abruzzi camped. The descent leads over Oliver's Pass (4,505 m) and down the Nyamwamba valley past waterfalls; the whole round trip is about 74 km. Fit trekkers can add Mount Baker or Weismann's Peak (4,620 m).
The summit climb itself is no longer a walk. The Margherita glacier has thinned and steepened as it retreats, with a section of about 200 m of steep ice and caves forming under it, so crampons, harness, ropes, ascenders and a figure-of-eight descender are used, and guides teach clients on the way. Starts are at about 2:30 a.m., partly to avoid rockfall once the sun warms the ice, and one operator enforces a 10 a.m. turnaround because afternoon snowstorms now arrive even in the drier months. Less experienced trekkers can stop at a viewpoint on the Stanley glacier below Alexandra Peak. For those who do not want the peaks, there are shorter treks of one to six days to waterfalls, lookouts and camps such as John Matte or Mutinda.
Permits, guides and costs
Trekking in the park is only possible with a licensed operator: guides and porters are part of every package. Uganda Wildlife Authority park entrance fees are US$35 per person per day, and both concessions include them in their prices. In its price list published for 2026, Rwenzori Trekking Services charged US$1,450 in hiking fees plus US$35 per night in park fees for its eight-day Margherita trek, a total of US$1,695 per person including guides, porters, meals, hut accommodation and climbing equipment, with crampons available for an extra US$20. Rwenzori Mountaineering Services, a community NGO founded in 1987 with more than 1,600 members, holds a 30-year concession for the Central Circuit and also rents equipment at its office. Porters carry up to 12.5 kg of a client's luggage. Comprehensive mountaineering insurance that covers rescue and helicopter evacuation is required above 4,000 m, as rescue is not included in the trek price.
When to go and weather
The Rwenzori receive 2.5–3 m of rain a year, and the range is wrapped in cloud on some 300 days a year. Treks run all year, but the driest months are June to August and late December to February; April–May and September–October are wetter, with more snow on the peaks. Between 3,000 and 4,000 m daytime temperatures are around 10–15 °C and nights 2–6 °C; at the high camps nights fall to between −5 and +3 °C, and on the summit the temperature ranges from about −2 to +10 °C, with strong wind. Weather changes very fast: clouds rising from the Congo rainforest can bring snow within 10–15 minutes, typically in the early afternoon.
Water
Water is not a problem in the Rwenzori: streams, waterfalls and lakes are everywhere, and most camps are close to a stream or lake. Operators boil water for drinking and provide unlimited tea, coffee and boiled water for your bottle. If you fill up from streams yourself, treat or filter the water. Carry about 1.5–2 litres while walking, more on summit day, and keep a bottle insulated, as it can freeze at the high camps. Waterproof boots or rubber boots matter more than water bottles: in the bogs your feet will sink into freezing mud more than once, although boardwalks now cross some of the worst sections.
Mobile coverage and internet
Expect a mobile signal in Kasese and near the trailheads, but do not count on one in the deep forested valleys or at the high camps. Ask your operator how the guides communicate in an emergency, and consider carrying a satellite messenger. The emergency number in Uganda is 999.
Altitude, dangers and safety
Altitude sickness is the main medical risk: the huts above 4,400 m and the 5,109 m summit are high, and the circuit gains height quickly. Spend the acclimatisation days well; on the Kilembe trail the hike to the Mutinda Lookout helps. Cold rain, wet clothing and wind make hypothermia a real danger even near the equator. On summit day the hazards are steep ice, thinning glaciers with hidden caves, rockfall after sunrise and sudden snowstorms: follow the guides' line and turnaround times. Check security advice before travelling: militias occupied the mountains from 1997 to 2001, when the park was placed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger (1999–2004), elements of the Allied Democratic Forces moved into the range in 2020, and in 2023 attacks killed tourists in nearby Queen Elizabeth National Park and pupils at a school in Kasese District.
History and name
The name Rwenzori is usually translated as "rain-maker" or "cloud king". Samuel Baker reported "Blue Mountains" in the distance in 1864, and on 24 May 1888 Henry Morton Stanley saw the snow peaks and recorded the name "Ruwenzori"; in 1889 his officer W. G. Stairs climbed to about 3,254 m. In 1906 Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, led an Italian expedition that climbed sixteen summits, including the six principal peaks. He reached the highest point on 18 June 1906 with the Alpine guides J. Petigax, C. Ollier and J. Brocherel, and named it after Queen Margherita of Italy; Mount Luigi di Savoia was later named after him. The expedition photographer Vittorio Sella took pictures whose glaciers and moraines already showed signs of retreat. In 1975 Polish climbers made the first traverse of all six massifs in 18 days.
Glacier retreat
In 1906 the Rwenzori had 43 named glaciers on six mountains, about 7.5 km² in all, half the glacier area of Africa. By 2005 fewer than half survived, on only three mountains, covering about 1.5 km². A drone survey by the charity Project Pressure found that the Stanley Plateau glacier shrank by 29.5% between 2020 and 2024. As the ice recedes, vegetation creeps upwards, and the climbing route to Margherita has become steeper and more technical.
Interesting facts
- The Rwenzori have five vegetation zones: forest up to about 2,800 m, bamboo (2,800–3,300 m), heather (3,000–3,800 m), alpine (3,500–4,500 m) and the nival zone above 4,400 m. Giant groundsels, giant lobelias and tree heathers up to 6 m tall grow here.
- The park protects over 70 mammal species, including forest elephants, chimpanzees and the Rwenzori duiker, and 217 bird species, among them the Rwenzori turaco; the malachite sunbird feeds on lobelia flowers near the Bamwanjarra Pass.
- In 2010 Beryl Park, aged 78, became the oldest recorded climber to reach Margherita Peak.
- Mount Stanley is named after Henry Morton Stanley, and the Kilembe trail's Hunwick's camp after John Hunwick, who cut the trail from 2009.
FAQ
How high is Margherita Peak? 5,109 m, the highest point of the Rwenzori, Uganda and the DR Congo. Some sources give up to 5,120 m.
How long does it take to climb Margherita Peak? Seven days on the Central Circuit from Nyakalengija, eight on the Kilembe trail from Kasese. The Uganda Wildlife Authority describes a summit ascent as 9–12 days. Summit day itself is about 4–5 hours up from the high camp and several hours back.
How difficult is it? The trek is long, muddy and strenuous; the final climb is technical, with steep glacier ice, crampons, ropes and rock scrambling. Guides can take fit beginners up, but some mountaineering experience is a great advantage.
How much does it cost and what permits are needed? Park entrance fees are US$35 per day, paid through the operator. As an example, an eight-day guided trek cost US$1,695 per person in 2026. Guides and porters are compulsory and included; rescue insurance is required above 4,000 m.
Is there water on the trail? Plenty: there is a stream or lake near almost every camp, and operators supply boiled water. Treat any water you collect yourself.
Is there mobile phone coverage? Expect it in Kasese and near the trailheads, not in the valleys or at the high camps. Emergency number: 999.
When is the best time to climb? June to August and late December to February are the driest months. April–May and September–October bring more rain and snow.
Is it the third or fourth highest mountain in Africa? Third, after Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, unless Mawenzi on Kilimanjaro is counted as a separate mountain.