Ruboni Community Camp is a tourist accommodation in the beautiful foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, overlooking the high Portal Peaks. The camp is fully owned and operated by the local community. Ruboni Community Camp is the pioneer of Community tourism in the Rwenzori Mountains area. Over the last 15 years, the camp leads in providing accommodation and community tour services. Our location near to the gate of the National Park makes the camp, a perfect base to explore the surrounding villages and mountains. It is a quiet and natural setting, generously showcasing the beautiful landscape and culture to travelers who choose to visit Rwenzori. At the camp, you will find a range of one-day guided walks, serviced guest rooms, a restaurant, a bar and other local encounters. We also take interested trekkers on multi-day camping trips over the high peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains.
Accommodation At Ruboni Community Camp
Self Contained Bandas
Located at the base of the camp, the self-contained Banda is a brick wall house in good maintenance condition. Each Banda has one bedroom with options of double or twin beds, and with a private toilet and bathroom. It is surrounded by lush green vegetation high enough for privacy. This spacious room is furnished with sitting furniture, mosquito netting, and electricity with a socket for charging. It has running water and hot overhead showers where a towel, soap, and toilet paper are supplied.
The Bandas have a nice compound in front of the private balcony facing the Mountains. With seating furniture, the balcony is a good point to relax and enjoy the natural beauty while listening to the sound of the birds, insects, and the nearby creek that flows in the front bushes.
Self Contained Cabins
It is a wooden house with two separate bedrooms located on the hillside. Each bedroom has a private bathroom and toilet and has options of double or twin beds. This spacious room is furnished with sitting furniture, a wooden shelf for small stuff and cloth hangers, mosquito netting, and a towel for each guest. Soap and toilet paper are supplied, has running water and electricity with sockets for charging. The shower tank is refilled with hot water every evening.
It has a big window facing the mountains just behind the balcony. The balcony veranda has sitting furniture. You will like seating here to take an open view of the mountains and the extensive forest of Rwenzori Mountains National park in the Mubuku valley, below the portal peaks.
Non-self Contained Rooms
It is a wall building compartment of four separate rooms located on the hillside. It is accessed by properly landscaped wooden steps. Each room has two twin beds taking two people sleeping a night. The rooms have a beautiful local reed finishing, a papyrus mat, electricity with a socket for charging, and a wooden shelf for small stuff and cloth hangers. The beds have all beddings, towels, soap, bathroom sandals, and mosquito netting.
Shared flushing toilets and overhead showers are located just next to the rooms. at full capacity, every four people share one bathroom and one toilet. The house has a shared veranda balcony with seating furniture facing the Rwenzori Mountains and foothills.
Activities
The Overnight Hill Trek
The overnight hill trek tour organized by Ruboni Community Camp is a shortcut option to the long and costly Rwenzori trekking. In a few hours of walking and one night of outdoor camping, you will be able to take memories of the highest peak of the Rwenzori Mountains. The price is good too. Just a small budget of your trip covers everything on this trek. It is probably the cheapest trek you will find in Uganda that gives you an opportunity to experience Uganda’s highest point easily, cheaply, and affordably.
The trek involves spending a night on the community peak that is 2400 meters high. You trek through the villages, farms, and on the hills leading you to the scenic ridges, giving you one of the most rewarding views. These ridges overlook the Mountains and residential communities in the Mubuku valley. You will be amazed by this trail that is off the beaten path. The trekking is entirely clear, full of scenic picture moments. In the early morning and late evening, while on the top, you will have a chance to take a clear view of Margherita peak, if the day is clear.
Rwenzori Trekking Experience
Climbing Rwenzori Mountains through the Ibanda gate starts at Nyakalengijo headquarters (1615m). Through this trail (gate) one can do two optional treks. The first option is, trekking the Mahoma trail loop whose highest point is at 3515m and which takes three days two nights. The second option is trekking the central circuit that takes 7 days (central circuit) or 8 days (up to Margarita peak – 5109m)
Ruboni Community Camp will organize and provide porters, experienced interpretive guides on a trek to both the three days two nights trek on Mahoma trail or on the 7 days central circuit trail that can also go up to Margarita peak (8 days).
Other trekking options are the one-day nature walks. These can be organized by the Ruboni community camp in partnership with the National Park rangers. There are several options to choose from. Each walk will take you into the park and you return to the base camp on the same day. For those willing to enjoy the Rwenzori without entering into the park, the Ruboni community camp has three interesting village guided tours that include a forest walk, a hill-climb trek up to 2400m on the community peak, and a village walk.
Cultural Festivals
The foothills of the RwenzoriMountains area have been the residence of the Bakonzo tribe for over 300 years.
Every evening in the Ruboni community, the time is to sing, dance and dine with the locals in their traditional style. This is suitable for guests who want to experience the unique culture of Uganda. You will be amazed by the opportunity to meet the local people and participate in their music, dances, food preparations, testing the local drinks, and get an insight into everything they do daily in their life.
Every evening, for two hours, starting from 5:00 to 7:00 pm the local people of all ages come together to celebrate their culture. A limited number of guests are welcome to join and practically participate in this traditional merry-making session. Here you can join the traditional workshops or just sit back to learn and appreciate the local Bakonzo culture as you view the sounds and moves of these mountain dances. During or after the function, you can shop souvenirs in the local gift shop, purchase local meals, or chat with the locals to learn more about Uganda, the Rwenzori Mountains and her people.
The Mahoma Trek
This 28km trail takes you to explore a cross-section of the lower slopes of the scenic Rwenzori Mountains. The trail is an alternative to longer treks that lead to the high peaks. On these three days two nights Mahoma trip, you will traverse the lower slopes of the mountains finishing at Lake Mahomato return to the park gate During this trip, you will explore some of the 70 mammals and 217 birds that are found in Rwenzori that include 19 species that are endemics to the Albertine Rift, such as the three-horned chameleon, as well as some of the world’s rarest plants. The plant life is a mixture of lush forest, bamboo forest, heather, everlasting flowers, giant lobelia, and a multitude of plant life endemic to this mountain.
Traditional Dance
This is the most joyful way of meeting people and learning their way of life. As with all other African tribes, music and dance among the Bakonzo people is for many life purposes, which include entertainment, education, healing and the transfer of cultural norms. Every evening, the elders meet the young generations to pass the cultural values through music and dance. At this time, we have a very rich display of local cultural dances. It is a selection of the different types of dances based on the different local events, such as harvesting, planting, weeding, funeral rights, circumcision ceremonies, hunting prayers, and cleansing. Along with the dances, the different musical instruments are played by the localmusicians. You will have an opportunity to attend this rich cultural dance performance. All guests are at liberty of joining the music and dancing arena. A workshop on how to play the different musical instruments will also be offered to every interested visitor. Here you can learn how to dress, play the drum, sing or dance like a local.
Village Tour
Meet the Bakonzo people in their village at their home or as they make their local trades. Our village walk gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a unique culture of the Rwenzori Mountains. Ruboni community is located at the end of the world where you can relax, roam and or unwind in a unique mountain setting as you wish.
On this tour, you will visit a number of homes and locations that showcase the local way of life, where you will be at liberty of participating yourself. The areas visited include the home of the traditional storyteller, who will share the educative stories with the guests and visitors to the area to help them internalize the local culture.
At the blacksmith workshop, you will see how the local household tools are made by hand with a hammer, on river rocks.
The crafts weaver will take you through the crafts weaving process to produce domestic items out of natural fibers.
The traditional healer will demonstrate how he uses local herbs and other natural products to cleanse the people of their misfortunes, heal simple ailments, and provide lunch portions that fix relationships and other misfortunes.
At the local farmer’s home, you will participate in farming bananas, coffee, vanilla, and other crops. You will also be shown how to process coffee and banana to add value to them. After participating in the farming, harvesting, and processing, you can also choose to buy some of the crop harvests and take them to your loved ones as a true gift from Rwenzori soils. You can also choose to buy some of the crop harvests and take them to your loved ones; as a true gift from Rwenzori soils.