Mt. Rungwe

Campsite

I hadn't actually heard of Mt. Rungwe until our friends suggested climbing it en route to Lake Nyasa/Lake Malawi for the Easter Holiday. The 2960m dormant volcano is located at the point where the eastern and western arms of the Rift Valley meet surrounded by lush forest and the picturesque rolling hills of the southern highlands.

As with many of the non-traditional tourist activities, information was hard to find though we lucked out when we heard one of our friends had recently hiked the mountain. We got in touch with the Forestry Office and arranged to pay our fees in Tukuyu and then meet a local ranger by the highway to show us the road to the forest. When we arrived at the Forestry Office we found out the forestry officer had gone to school with one of my co-workers! She was very friendly and explained the logistics of the hike and facilities available. We agreed to go to the campsite just inside the forestry reserve border, spend the night and then hike the next day.

The road from the highway to the trail-head wound through a diverse maze of crops. Rains had made the road difficult to pass in some places and it took about an hour to reach the trail-head. We met a crew of guys building a new office, which made us feel better about leaving the car there. We then hiked about 15 minutes into the forest and found the campsite which consisted of a few covered areas and a basic pit toilet. A small river passed to one side of the camp and we were greeted with a group of the endemic Kipunji Monkeys passing through feeding on fruiting trees. We set up camp and enjoyed a short walk before dark. In the evening we were excited to see a few galagos passing through camp, and I'm always excited to put our spotlight to good use!

The next morning we set off early in damp and cold conditions. The trail was well cleared and marked and the first part of the hike was relatively flat with a few steep sections. The canopy and forest was a bit disturbed but massive specimens of various types of trees remained. Along with the Kipunji Monkeys we also saw Angola Black and White Colobus and Blue Monkey groups. It was probably the highest concentration of monkeys that we've seen hiking the forests of Tanzania! The sun even began to peak through the clouds illuminating the moisture and green of the forest.

After a few hours we reached a second campsite with a simple toilet but no water source. We then crossed a steep gully and from then on the trail was quite steep. Unfortunately the weather also started to turn, though we decided to push on as far as we could. We eventually reached a grassy ridge-line that gave way to a bamboo forest. At this point the rain began to come down accompanied by thunder and lightening, so we decided to turn around. It was chilly up there and the slippery steep descent was a challenge with every member of our group taking a fall in the mud on the way down.

When we nearly reached the first camp the rain had slowed down and we met a local guide with two Asian tourists. We were shocked to see them starting their climb at that hour (around 1pm) though their guide seemed confident that there was no longer any rain towards the top. The tourists looked cheerful so we wished them luck and then made our way back to camp.

The hike was great and the accessibility and presence of walking trails was a huge bonus. We've visited several forest reserves in Tanzania and it's not always easy to find trails and figure out how to get there. Although the forest wasn't the most pristine we've seen, it was still a beautiful montane forest. Even the presence of the rain isn't as bad when you realize how much it fits the ecosystem and the vibe of a damp highland forest is one of my favorite natural settings. As long as you have a clean pair of clothes at your campsite or car, one can enjoy the rain!

Great light in the forest. 

Hiking up the trail