Best time to hike the Rwenzori Central Circuit
Best: January–February and June–August. Also good: December.
The Rwenzori Central Circuit is 43 km long, in 6 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 2,999 m, the middle height of the trail (1,698–4,372 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16° | 6° | 65 | 12 | 12.1 |
| February | 17° | 7° | 62 | 12 | 12.1 |
| March | 16° | 7° | 154 | 21 | 12.1 |
| April | 15° | 7° | 149 | 24 | 12.1 |
| May | 15° | 6° | 123 | 22 | 12.1 |
| June | 15° | 6° | 94 | 17 | 12.1 |
| July | 15° | 6° | 78 | 15 | 12.1 |
| August | 16° | 6° | 118 | 19 | 12.1 |
| September | 16° | 6° | 156 | 25 | 12.1 |
| October | 15° | 7° | 186 | 26 | 12.1 |
| November | 14° | 6° | 178 | 26 | 12.1 |
| December | 15° | 6° | 118 | 20 | 12.1 |
Higher up it is colder: about 6 °C less for every 1,000 m of height. The highest point of the trail is 4,372 m.
Season notes from our guide
The Rwenzori are among the wettest mountains in Africa and it can rain on any day. The drier months are late December to February and June to August, and the busiest; March to May and September to November are wetter, with deeper mud. Nights at Bujuku and Kitandara drop below freezing and the passes can have snow or hail.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Rwenzori Central Circuit guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near 0.37, 29.89, adjusted to 2,999 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.