Fort Portal
Located in western Uganda, Fort Portal is one of Uganda’s most well-known cities. Fort Portal was initially a town but recently received tourism city status in 2019. Fort Portal is a beautiful town with a relatively reasonable population that is steadily growing and with the new city status, the city is of course growing in terms of development. New buildings are being built, new businesses are opening up as well as development in the outskirts of the city.
Aside from the developments Fort Portal has always been known for its nature, history and culture. The town is historically situated in Tooro Kingdom with the “Omukama’s Palace” (King’s Palace) set on the Karuzika Hill overlooking the town. The palace offers one a 360 view of Fort Portal stretching further to views of the Rwenzori Mountains. Fort Portal is what one would consider a small town with friendly people, great weather and amazing attractions.
Things to do in Fort Portal
Fort Portal has a lot to offer a visitor both within the town and in what one would call the outskirts of the town. From breath-taking landscapes to perfect weather to culture to food, Fort Portal is a rewarding destination as there is always what to see and do.
Attractions and things to do in and near Fort Portal include;
Fort Portal Crater Lakes
Fort Portal has one of the highest number of crater lakes in Uganda making it a great place to spend time visiting and taking in the beauty of the stunning crater lakes. There is a total of 52 crater lakes in Fort Portal and the greater Kabarole district. The lakes are a great option as you get to visit the crater lakes, interact with the locals and also visit the villages. The main crater lakes in Fort Portal that you can visit on a day tour or excursion include Lake Lyatonde, Lake Kifuruka, Lake Nyinambuga, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Nkuruba and Lake Kasenda. Crater lakes hikes can always be arranged and these are based on one’s interests.You can hike the crater lakes spend time at the top and wait for the sunset or sunrise over the crater lakes, always a beautiful sight!
Lake Nyinambuga during a crater lakes hike
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest
Located an hour’s drive away from Fort Portal is Kibale National Park, one of the best places to track the chimpanzees in Uganda and chimpanzee tracking allows one to spend an hour with these primates in Kibale. The trek allows you see the chimpanzee feed, groom each other and exist in their natural habitat. Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale happens in the morning and afternoon so there are 2 sessions per day and only 8 people are allowed to trek as a group. One can choose to leave Fort Portal in the morning and track the chimpanzees in the afternoon or opt for a 2 day tour where you spend a night in one of the lodges near Kibale and then track the chimps the next morning.
A chimpanzee seen while on a chimp trek in Kibale
Mammal Watching in Kibale Forest
Mammal watching is an activity that is down by a few mammal watching enthusiasts from across the world who visit Kibale Forest specifically for mammal watching in the forest. This is one of the activities that one can consider while visiting Fort Portal and it’s easy to transfer from Fort Portal for the activity. Mammal watching involves walking along forest trails in Kibale and surrounding areas in search of mammals that include Golden cats, Eastern Pottos,Bush buck, Weyn’s Duiker, Thomas’s Galagos, Ethiopian Epauletted Fruit Bat, Angolan Fruitbats, Cusimanse, Giant Shrew, African Grass Rat, Large-eared Slit Faced Bat, Demidoff’s Prince Galago among others. Uganda is a rewarding mammal watching destination as 331 mammal species have been recorded, of these seven are endangered and seventeen are near threatened.
A bush baby in Kibale
Amabere Ga Nyinamwiru Caves
The Amabere caves located in Nyakasura are one of the top sites to visit while in Fort Portal, the caves have a rich history that highlights the life of the Bachwezi. The visit involves visiting the caves along a slippery trail where you learn about the caves, stop by a water fall along the trail and then end with a hike up to see the crater lakes. The view from the top treats one to the lush rolling hills of Fort Portal and the beauty of Tooro.
Fort Portal City Tour
A 1 day Fort Portal City tour is a great way to explore the town and visit the main attractions within the city. Places that you visit on the day tour include the “Omukama Palace” which is the King’s place, the Empaako monument, two local markets for an experience of the local life, River Mpanga, Gerald Portal monument and have lunch at a local food restaurant. Fort Portal is a vibrant city so a city tour is the best way to explore the city and immerse yourself in the life of the locals.
A stop at the King’s Palace during the Fort Portal city tour
Tooro Botanical Gardens
The Botanical gardens are located in Booma and a 5 minute drive away from the Central Business District (CBD), you can even take a 20 minute walk to the botanical gardens. On arrival you can take a forest walk through the gardens, and do some birding as you also see different types of trees. Tooro Botanical Gardens is a bio-diversity hub and is one of the largest tree nurseries in Uganda, over 117 indigenous trees are found at the botanical gardens and a variety of plant species. The nature walk is along different trails so with our guide depending on your interests you can choose to walk along the main trail or explore the side trails that lead deep into the botanical gardens, these trails are usually used by birders.
Tooro Botanical Gardens
Birding Semuliki National Park
Birding in Uganda is a rewarding activity for the keen birding enthusiast and Semuliki National Park is a top birding destination. Semuliki is mainly visited to look for the 35 Guinea-Congo forest biome bird species which are only found in this park and nowhere else in East Africa. Bird species to look out for in the park while on a birding safari include Yellow-throated cuckoo, Brown-eared woodpecker, White-crested Hornbill, Yellow-throated nicator, Red-Tailed Greenbull, African crake, Abyssinian Ground hornbill among others. Semuliki National Park is located in Bundibugyo district and is a 2 hour drive from Fort Portal, the park can be visited in a day but for birding enthusiasts its best to spend a night or two to fully exhaust the trails in the park. Aside from birding one can engage in other activities like visit the Sempaya Hotsprings, do chimpanzee tracking and nature walks in the park.
Food Tour
You can spend the day on a food tour in Fort Portal where you basically visit a local’s home and spend the day cooking, tasting and participating in the food preparation of local Ugandan food. The food tour is a great way to experience the life of the locals and see what a typical food preparation process is for them. With the food tour you can choose to simply taste the food or participate in the food preparation, the choice on what you do is up to you. Local Ugandan Tooro food that you prepare and taste includes “Matoke” which is a staple food for most homes in Fort Portal, “Karo” and “Firinda” a cultural meal for the Batooro which is made of millet and un-husked beans, “Eteke” which is a cultural dish of the Batooro as well and other local foods. You will also get an opportunity to taste “Esande” a cultural drink made from ripe bananas and learn about the communal activity of preparing Esande that was done by the Batooro people in the olden times.
Local food preparation during the food tour
Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary
Located just outside Kibale Forest is Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary, a community run sanctuary that protects the Magombe Swamp. The sanctuary known for bird watching is also a habitat for primates and can be best experienced on a 1 Day tour from Fort Portal. 200 bird species have been recorded at Bigodi Wetland and the sanctuary protects six different species of primates. The Bigodi Wetland is known for the Great Blue Turaco which is the most sought after bird in the sanctuary. Primates that you can look out for while here include Red-tailed monkey, Vervet monkey, Black-and-white colobus monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Red-colobus and L’Hoest’s monkey. The activities that one can do at and around the sanctuary include the Bigodi swamp walk, birding in BEARC and KAFRED trail, community tours and nature walks.
A Great Blue Turaco in Bigodi Wetland
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day tours can be organized to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is one of Uganda’s diverse national parks. The park which is a two and a half hour drive from Fort Portal and easily accessible along Fort Portal – Kasese road. On arrival at the park you go on game drives in Kasenyi plains and the Kazinga Channel boat cruise, these are the 2 main activities at the park but given the diversity of Queen Elizabeth National Park there is much more to do especially if you have more days to spare. Other activities in the park include chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge, explosion crater lakes visit, Lake Katwe salt mines visit and birding. Wildlife to look out for while in the park include Lions, Elephants, Waterbucks, Topis, Leopard (rare sighting), Spotted Hyenas, Olive baboons, Hippos, Warthogs, Vervet monkeys, Buffaloes, tree climbing lions in Ishasha, Uganda Kobs among others.
Lion seen while on a game drive in Kasenyi plains
Hiking Mount Rwenzori
For the hiking enthusiasts while visiting Fort Portal you can choose to visit Rwenzori Mountains National Park and hike Mt. Rwenzori. Multi day hikes can be organized where you go hiking along mountain trails with stunning landscapes, giant lobelias and water falls. Tours that span from one day to eight days can be arranged.
Best Hotels in Fort Portal (Where to Stay)
Fort Portal has a number of hotels that one can consider for their stay in Fort Portal. Below are some of the hotels that we recommend, of course some of the hotels are old so the rooms can feel a bit run down. We usually recommend guests who want high-end lodges/good mid-range properties to consider lodges near Kibale.
Below are the hotels, you can read more on them here;
- Dutchess Hotel (Best rated hotel in Fort Portal)
- Mountains of the Moon Hotel (One of the oldest hotels in Fort Portal)
- Home Bliss Hotel (A recently opened mid-range hotel)
- Mandari Eco pods (A budget guest house that is small but works for the budget traveler)
- Nyaika Hotel (A mid-range hotel located a few minutes away from the main town)
- Ruwenzori View Guest House (One of the best budget properties in Fort Portal)
Getting There
Fort Portal is located in the western part of Uganda and is 311km away from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The drive takes 5 hours excluding stop overs along the way. The route is Kampala – Mityana – Mubende – Kyenjojo – Fort Portal. The town can also be accessed from Mbarara (3 hours away) and Kasese (2.5 hours away).
By air there are chartered flights from Entebbe International Airport and Kajjansi Airfields. Most of the flights land in Kasese and you then transfer by road to Fort Portal and spend less time on the road.
Best Time to Visit Fort Portal
Fort Portal can be visited throughout the year as the weather is great all year round. However the best time to visit especially for visitors who would like to do activities around is during the months of December – February and June – September. These are dry months and they work best for visitors who would like to do chimpanzee tracking and game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
