UKH

Anyone been there at all, lots of walking through mud by all accounts and a little bit of a glacier near the top I believe but is a part of the world I would like to see and makes a change from the Alps...

In reply to Chris Samuel: It's amazing with a capital A. Yes expect lots of mud but it's part of the challenge and far outweighed by the setting, flora, scenery, nice local people etc anyway. Plenty of scope for harder climbs too, though we just did the standard route at about PD.

In reply to Chris Samuel: i havent been but have been told its awesome. it will be a great adventure too- not something many poeple have done and it will be interesting to visit uganda aswell

In reply to Chris Samuel:

I went last year. It wasn't that special to be honest. Too cloudy, muddy and wet. Reached the summit with no view. Guides and porter were good though.

In reply to Chris Samuel:
Mount Stanley is a great mountain and I would highly the Rwenzoris. Great scenery and superb local guides, and the area certainly has an exploratory and adventurous feel. But it also has some really good good huts, well located for doing some superb peaks. I enjoyed Mount Speke and Baker as well as Stanley. If you go, try to get hold of the Guide to the Rwenzori by Henry Osmaston 2006.

In reply to Chris Samuel: Can anyone recommend a company to go with, seems a little too adventurous to organise it myself...

In reply to Chris Samuel:

Where's your spirit of adventure?

I'm sure Tilman didn't use a travel agent....

In reply to Chris Samuel:

Isn't Uganda a bit "murdery" right now.

In reply to Chris Samuel:

You can organise it yourself easily enough at the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services offices in Kampala. They only accept cash. It was about $1300 iirc. I needed to pay for gorilla viewing as well (another $500) and chimps (another $150) at the UWA whose offices are in the same building. I went to Barclays Bank where I got advances of $800 (the maximum allowed) on each of three credit cards and then headed back to RMS on the back of a motorbike with all the cash in my rucksack. I think RMS and UWA will accept Ugandan Shillings, but ATMs in Uganda won't let you withdraw anything like enough. You should be able to get advances in Shillings at Crane Bank and I think they charge a much lower commission than Barclays, but take a big rucksack for it all if that's what you're going to do. If you don't like the idea of carrying that much cash around then better book with an agent although then it will be more complicated to fit in gorilla and chimp viewing if you want to add that on.

In reply to Kid Spatula:

Here's the latest Foreign Office advice on travel to Uganda

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/...

Seems that terrorist attacks from extreme Islamist groups are the greatest danger.

In reply to Chris Samuel:

I arranged my trip directly with Rwenzori Mountaineering Services, who are a Ugandan company based in Kasese at the edge of the mountains. They supplied an excellent guide,a cook and porters, all were great company, everything went very well, and I'd recommend them. See - www.rwenzorimountaineeringservices.com This was about 8 years ago though, and I don't have any up to date information on the current situation in Uganda.

I spent 10 days in Uganda in October with time primarily spent in Kampala and the west / south-west of the country before heading into Rwanda. I was visiting and travelling with my partner who was working for an NGO for 2 months in Kampala.

Absolutely no reason not to go there, particularly if you're heading into the mountains. Not sure where "murdery" comes from. It's Africa, so normal precautions apply but I found the people, the vibe and the country as a whole very welcoming.

We used a very professional and helpful company for our travels, competitively priced too - http://www.rwandagorillatrekking.com/. I think they also organise trips to the Rwenzori.