Time to believe that it is Uganda you are seeing!

The Rwenzoris are the highest block of mountains on the African continent and the most ‘technical mountains’ on the continent.

The Rwenzoris are composed majorly of six peaks. The six peaks are Stanley – highest point is 5109m ( Margherita peak), followed by Speke 4890m, followed by Baker 4843m, followed by Gessi 4798m, then Emin 4793 then Luigi Di savoia 4627. All these are higher than mountain Elgon which summits at 4322m high.

The Rwenzoris have a vegetation that is unique to Equatorial Alpine Africa. It probably has plants and animals that are endemic to it as a mountain.

This cannot be compared to Kilimanjaro, for example, that is a ‘walking mountain’ with one single standing peak called the Kibo.

In terms of single peak, Kibo ( Kilimanjaro) is the highest, followed by Mountain Kenya then the Rwenzoris. One can take about five days to and from the other peaks – not the Rwenzoris, that are a different ball game.

In terms of business, the Rwenzoris can beat Kilimanjaro if we positioned it well because of its beauty, it’s challenge, it’s size, many peaks and many other advantages.

Kilimanjaro gets about 65,000 climbers a year and the Rwenzoris get less than 2,000 foreigners a year – plus another 2,000 Ugandans who all don’t summit it.

It’s estimated that each climber spends about $5,000 for the climb to Kibo Kilimanjaro and Tanapa earns $700 from each climber.

The $5,000 includes the tour operators fees, accommodations, transport, food, porters, guides etc. Mount Kilimanjaro actually contributes over $ 300m to the Tanzania economy.

The Rwenzoris, given a competent mountain climbing marketer, could easily make the same or even more.

Think about the jobs it could create, the demand for products across board……..and while at that, we also need to change the names of the various peaks into local names.

If Ugandans understood the above figures, we would never need to borrow or even have a poor Ugandan…… but again, what do I know?