What are the most underrated mountain ranges?

On the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is Africa’s highest mountain range - the Rwenzori Mountains. While Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya stand taller, they are freestanding volcanoes not part of any range.

The highest peak in the range - Mount Stanley - is 5,109 metres above sea level, and covered in snow year-round. The Rwenzori Mountains are one of the only places in Africa where you can see glaciers, although many of these have shrunk at an alarming rate in the last century.

The Rwenzori Mountains are part of a larger area of mountainous terrain known as the Albertine Rift. This is the western arm of the Great Rift Valley, and contains more endemic species than almost anywhere in East Africa. Speaking of species, let’s look at the wildlife.

In the mountain range, you can see some bizarre, larger-than-life plants, such as the giant groundsel:

The giant lobelia:

And the giant heather. This 6 metre tall tree is the largest species of heather in the world, and forms forests which are usually festooned with heavy clumps of moss.

Amongst the strange plants live many large mammals, such as African forest elephants, chimpanzees, hyraxes, duiker antelope and several species of monkey. Due to the isolation created by the mountains, there are many animal species found only in the Albertine Rift. You can find 19 of the birds - and 4 of the mammals - endemic to the Albertine Rift in the Rwenzori Mountains .

The endemic fauna includes the Rwenzori turaco:

The Rwenzori red duiker:

The handsome spurfowl:

The Rwenzori nightjar:

And the strange weaver:

And, to top it all off, the scenery is simply breathtaking. A picture speaks a thousand words, so I’m going to leave the photos to do the talking:

Despite all this, the Rwenzori Mountains receive very little attention from tourists. For the conservation-minded, me among them of course, this is great, because it means that the countless precious endemics are unsullied by human activity.

Nevertheless, you’d wonder why they’re so rarely visited. Of course, travel in the DR Congo is unadvisable, but Uganda - where the eastern flank of the range is located - is a safe and secure country, perfect for tourism.