The 1145 square kilometers Mount Elgon national park protects the higher slopes of Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano, on the Uganda-Kenya border. the mountain measures 80 km in diameter once towered above Kilimanjaro's current 5900 m. 

It reduced to 4321 m, still rises 3000 m above the hot, dusty plains of Karamoja to provide a cool respite for humans and a refuge for flora and fauna. Visitors can make extended hikes, requiring a minimum of 3 days to reach the summits which lie along the jagged rim on a giant caldera 8 km across.

Less demanding, visitors can take day or half day walk through the forest on the lower edge of the park  or simply relax in resorts overlooking a chain of delightful waterfalls just outside the park at Sipi.