Margherita Peak – The highest Summit of the Rwenzori Mountains.
Margherita Peak which stands at 5109m on Mount Stanley in the Rwenzori mountains, ranks 3rd highest in Africa, and runs from the middle of Lake Albert towards the North, and Lake Edward to the south on the Congo-Uganda border. This summit, climbable between 6 to 8 days is the third highest in Africa following Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.
This peak was first climbed by an excursion headed by Luigi Amedeo Abruzzi in 1906 the Duke of Abruzzi, J. Petigax, C. Ollier, as well as J. Brocherel. and was named after Queen Margherita of Italy.
The margherita peak is the forerunner of the high-altitude Rwenzori loop that starts from the rich forests at the edge, before rising high beyond the clouds towards Margherita’s glacial summit.
Set beyond Africa’s immense ice layer, the hike continues up exceeding the Margherita Glacier, towards the rock scramble to Mount Stanley peak – Africa’s 3rd highest summit – in the Rwenzori ranges and hence the highest peak in Uganda.
The frequently used trail, that traverses via Elena Hut, is the same as the one that was used by pioneers long ago. Due to gradual ice melting over the past decades as a result of global warming, the glaciers in the Rwenzori mountains are rapidly recoiling, hence worth visiting.
