Fort Portal

The main town of western Uganda and the capital of the Toro kingdom — around 60,000 people at the foot of the Rwenzori, Ptolemy's Mountains of the Moon, rising to 5,109 m. It is one of the most atmospheric towns in East Africa, thanks to the sixty-odd crater lakes around it, the tea plantations and the landscape. It is the gateway to the national parks of Kibale (chimpanzee trekking), Queen Elizabeth (tree-climbing lions), the Rwenzori (mountains) and Semuliki (hot springs).

Main sights

• Kibale National Park — the main draw, with chimpanzee trekking among the park's 1,500 chimpanzees; the permit costs $200. Thirteen primate species in all, the best concentration in Africa.
• The Toro King's Palace — the working palace of one of Uganda's four kingdoms; King Oyo was crowned at the age of three in 1995. Guided tours are available.
• The crater lakes — around sixty small crater lakes within 30 km. The main ones are Nyabikere, Nyinambuga (which appears on the 20,000 shilling note) and Saaka.
• Tea plantations — this is Uganda's principal tea region, and the country is among Africa's leading exporters; tours run through the plantations and a factory.
• Mount Stanley (Margherita Peak, 5,109 m) — the highest summit of the Rwenzori and the third highest in Africa. The climb takes 7-12 days and is technically demanding.
• Rwenzori Mountains National Park — a UNESCO site, with glaciers on the equator and giant lobelias and groundsels.
• Semuliki National Park — the Sempaya hot springs, and Uganda's only stretch of Congo Basin equatorial forest.
• Queen Elizabeth National Park — two hours away, with the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector, hippos and elephants.
• Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary — a community project on the edge of Kibale, with eight primate species and more than 200 kinds of bird.
• Amabere Caves (Amabere ga Nyina Mwiru) — caves of limestone formations with a waterfall.

Food and prices

The cooking is Ugandan: matoke, posho, the rolex (an omelette in chapati), and the coffee and tea of Toro. Lunch at a hotel café is $5-10, dinner at a lodge $15-30. The Kibale chimpanzee permit is $200 for an hour and a half to three hours with a group. A litre of petrol costs $1.30, a boda-boda $1-3, a taxi for the day $50-80, and a 4×4 hire $80-120 a day. Prices are as of 2026.

Getting there and getting around

Fort Portal has no airport; the nearest is Entebbe (EBB), 320 km away. From Kampala it is five hours by bus ($10-18), six by tourist shuttle ($50-80), or you can hire a car. Around the district there are boda-bodas and taxis, and the lodges run transfers. Kibale is 30 minutes from Fort Portal.

When to go

June to September and December to February are the dry seasons, at 15-25°C, and the best for trekking. The long rains (March to May) make it the cheapest season, but the trails are hard going. At 1,540 m the nights are cool. For the Rwenzori climb, December to February and June to September are best.