Where does the name Mount Elgon come from?
Mount Elgon is named after the Elgonnyi tribe, who once lived in huge caves on the south side of the mountain. To both the Kenyan Masaai tribe and the Ugandan Masawa tribe, Mount Elgon is known as "Ol Doinyo llgoon" which means ‘breast mountain’. On the Ugandan side Mount Elgon was also known as the Masaba mountain. The Bagisu, living on the Western slopes of the mountain, consider Mount Elgon to be the embodiment of their founding father Masaba. The highest peak, Wagagai, was named after the wife of Masaba, named ‘Kakai’.