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Mount Elgon National Park - Kenya Safaris
Mount Elgon, whose peaks reach 4320 meter, lies astride the Kenya-Uganda border. Like most of the other great mountains of East Africa, Mount Elgon represents the remains of an immense volcano. There is no permanent snow on the mountain but its bleak and craggy peaks are surrounded with the typical afro-alpine vegetation of the high mountains of the equator. The giant groundsel and lobelia grow over the 3650-meter level, and for much of the year everlasting flowers like the Helichrysum cover the moorlands as far as the eye can see. At lower levels of Mount Elgon, giant heath, bamboo and montane forest prevail and in these areas there are elephant and plenty of buffalo.
Part of the eastern aspect is set aside as the Mount Elgon National Park stretching from the peaks to the boundary of the forest and the heavily cultivated country of the Luhya people. Within the Mount Elgon National Park, is a wondrous multitude of wildlife and wild flowers and some exciting oddities, among them the celebrated Kitum and Makingeny caves where elephants probe deep in the dark interiors to sample mineral salts from the cave walls. Mount Elgon has been called Kenya's least visited park but it is much more than that. It is an eye feast for the visitor with scenic beauty in mind and an unusual experience for the discerning guest.
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