Newsletter Go ahead, sign up for the BootsnAll bi-monthly newsletter. It's entertainment and helps you keep up with what's going on around the world. Reaching a height of 4,320 metres and extending over 100 km in diameter, Mount Elgon is the largest, although not the highest of Kenya's mountains. The mountains invites exploration, as you wind your way through a mixed forest of deciduous and evergreen trees, including magnificent specimens of the East African Cedar and the Podo, both reaching upwards of 30 metres. Branches are frequently festooned with lichen and a tangle of wild orchids.
Many leopards inhabit the park as do buffalo and waterbuck.
A wide range of birds, including the rare Forest Francolin make Mount Elgon a bird watchers' delight. The flora of the forest floor are also interesting for botanists and many rare species of flower may be found. Hiking to the peak of the mountain, visitors pass through firstly forests, leading into glades of Montane Bamboo, open woodlands and finally open moorlands leading to the craggy summit. Mount Elgon is also well-known for its four explorable caves, formed by the action of water on ancient volcanic ash. These caves play a vital and unique role in the lives of forest animals.