Fort Portal

Fort Portal a town in Western Uganda.

Get in

Take the Kampala Mubende Fort Portal road which was tarmaced in 2007 and is in excelent condition. Fort Portal is 311 kilometres (193 mi) by road from Kampala and takes about 4 hours to arrive. Mubende is found about half way between Kampala and Fort Portal, here you can fill up on petrol and buy food and drink. The Uganda Post also runs a very reliable daily bus to Fort Portal which departs from Kampala at 7:30 am, and costs 18 000 UGX (as of July 2012) per person. The Linkbus currently runs for 25,000UGX (2018) and is quite comfortable. A special hire taxi can be gotten from Entebbe airport to Fort Portal for around 500,000UGX (2018).

Get around

As there isn't much traffic in Fort Portal it's safe to take the Boda boda's which you will find at just about every corner in Fort Portal. For 1000 ugx (30 euro cents) You can travel about 2 - 3 kilometers.

Otherwise you can also take a private hire (taxi) which you can find on the corner of the rounderbout found at the centre of Fort Portal leadning on to the bundibugyo road.

See

Fort Portal on the edge of Uganda’s equatorial rainforest. is an enchanting land full of lakes, grasslands, marshes and forests on the lower slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda.

There are many wonderful lodges within Kibale forest where you can spend a night or two in a tree house experiencing the sounds of the forests inhabitants including 8 species of monkey, chimpanzees, the forst elephant, bush pig, giant forest hog and much more.

Do

Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park [4] which is less than an hours drive from Fort Portal on the way to Mbarara. The wide bio-diversity of habitats means that Queen Elizabeth National Park contains the most astonishing number of species - almost 100 types of mammal and 606 different birds! The Kazinga Channel alone is said to contain the world's largest concentration of hippos, but interestingly enough not many crocodiles! Other wildlife includes warthogs, buffalo, rare aquatic sitatunga antelope, giant forest hog, beautifully horned Uganda kob, topi, waterbuck, elephant and leopard.

This is a wonderful national park, sometimes dubbed 'the Pearl of Africa or Switzerland of Africa'. Quite simply this fertile equatorial area is especially scenic, with two lakes connected by a channel overlooked by a high peninsula. You will also find volcanic craters, grassy plains and tropical forest. As a result it has one of the highest biodiversity ratings in the world. Hunting exhibits such as stuffed lions, leopard skins, deer heads and elephants tusks may still be found adorning some hotels and lodges, but the emphasis is certainly more on shooting with a camera these days. Much of Uganda Safaris were poached out in the past, especially elephants, but now the area is protected and elephants numbers are boosted by those entering the park from the Congo, where poaching is still a problem.

Buy

Fort Portal is Famous for its tea. This area is gifted by nature with a cool climate which ensures a relatively slow plant growth rate This naturally makes the tea a high grown, high quality tea.

The consumption of this tea is associated with many health benefits. These include anti-allergy, anti-oxidation, anti-hypertension, anti-viral, anti-obese, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, enzyme inhibition and many other human health problems. You can buy the tea in any local shop or even better visit one of Fort Portal's tea plantations/

Eat

• Terrace Restaurant at Fort Motel, Plot 2 Lugard Rd (Located 400 m (2 minutes drive) from Fort Portal Town Centre, Close to the Fort Portal Golf Club.), ☎ +256 483422052, [1]. 6:00 am - 11: 00 pm. The restaurant serves continental cuisine in a serene Restaurant and Barenvironment by the pool. We support the community and ensure freshness by sourcing locally whenever possible. Buying food from local farmers and fruit and vegetables from the Mpanga market and other local markets. Local beer. Has a bar with a flat screen tv with DStv, and expats and locals are welcome. The Terrace restaurant provides a beautiful atmospheric setting for breakfast, lunch and evening meals. Breakfast is served in buffet-style while lunch and dinner are served a la carte style. During the rainy day, meals are served in room or in the conference area. Breakfast from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. Dining from 12:00 pm to 10:30 pm. From UGX 30,000 (as of Mar 2016). (-0.6617050999999998,30.280750399999988) edit

• "The Dutchess" For international food Dutchess is the best place. Home made bread, burgers, pizza, fresh juices, smoothies, real coffee. Price for sandwiches from 9.000 Ush to 21.000 for a maincourse (2015). Restaurant is signposted 300 meters from Stanbic (town centre). Dutchess is the standard expat hangout, where wifi and such can be found.

The Gardens restaurant just oposite the Shell Petrol station on the main road leading to the town centre. For 9000 UGX (as of April 2011) there's an all you can eat local food buffet, or you can order from the menu for those who prefer western food like burger and chips!

Note that rising prices of commodities in Uganda have caused most restaurants to raise their prices. These are still cheap by western standards, but definitely more expensive than is stated in past references.

There are many local restaurants in Fort Portal. The staff at any of them is friendly and the food relatively good, and you can usually get a large meal for 3000 to 4000 UGX (April 2017). Better portions than Kampala for half the price!

Drink

The many varieties of tea, fresh fruit juices including pineapple, passion fruit and mango. And for the less health conscience Uganda have some excellent beers such as, Nile Special Lager, Nile Gold, Club Pilsener, Bell Lager, Smirnoff to name just a few.

• Sweet Aroma(on the right from Shell gas station on the main road) Is a cosy, small bakery and coffee shop where they have delicious treats, coffee and tea and WI FI for 5000 USH per hour. Phone: +256790916151.

• Fort Motel Bar, Plot 2 Lugard Road (Close to the Fort Portal Golf Course, 400 m from Post Office in Fort Portal), ☎ +256772501731, [2]. 11:00 am - 11:00pm. Fort Motel’s bar offers selection of imported wines, wide variety of local beer and spirits. There’s a big screen sports broadcasts is something you don't find at any other hotels in Fort Portal town. Beers from UGX 4,000. (0.6617050999999998,30.280750399999988) edit

Sleep

• Fort Motel, Plot 2 Lugard Road (400 m from the Post Office in Fort Portal Town and Close to the Fort Portal Golf Course, and 290 Kilometers from Kampala city center), ☎ +256 772 501731 ([email protected]). checkin: 12:00am; checkout: 11:00am. Featuring free WiFi and a restaurant, Fort Motel offers accommodation in Fort Portal. The hotel has a sauna, steam bath, spa treatment and outdoor pool, and guests can enjoy a drink at the bar. Free private parking is available on site. Each room at this hotel is air conditioned and is fitted with a flat-screen TV, electronic safe, tea and coffee making facilities. Some units have views of the mountains, garden or pool. For your comfort, you will find slippers and free toiletries. Shuttle service at the property can be arranged at a fee. Guests can enjoy various activities in the surroundings, including golfing,visit the local market at Mpanga, coffee and tea tour, cycling and hiking. The hotel can also arrange bike hire. Guest Services & facilities include;Bar, family rooms, kids play area, sauna, steam bath, tea and coffee making facilities, DStv, tours and excursion services $80 for a single.  edit

A great stop along the way to Fort Portal is Miryante Orphans Home and Guest House, where you can spend a few days volunteering with the children, and enjoying really 'getting away from it all' in a remote and natural location:

• Miryante Orphans Home and Guest House, Kakabara, Fort Portal Highway, Uganda, ☎ +256 779 928 039, [3]. Miryante is a locally run children's home, vocational school and working farm on the road from Kampala to Fort Portal. They offer accommodation in a small, simple guest cottage on site, as well as opportunities to volunteer with the orphanage, school and farm. The guest cottage has two self-contained double rooms, living room, kitchen, dining and a study, and overlooks a small local church on the site. Rates are negotiable for longer stay guests. UGS 35,000.  edit

The newest guesthouse and restaurant in town is Dutchess. It is 300 meters from Stanbic bank roundabout. It is a lovely quiet place, but in the centre of the city. Rooms are luxury. Food is excellent. They serve pizza, burgers, cappuccino and ice-cream. A double for $80 and a single for $30 (2015). Look for more information Dutchess website

Mountain of the Moons Hotel [5] is situated in Boma. Many tourists use this hotel as a stop over on the way to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

There is accommodation everywhere in Fort Portal town. If your interest is not being as close as possible to the national parks, you can just head to Fort Portal and find a place that suits you upon arrival. The Wooden Lodge is close to the drop off point of the Post Bus and is run by a wonderful woman who goes out of her way to do nice things for her visitors. A single room is 16 000 UGX and has a big enough bed for two people, and a double room has either one huge bed or two single beds and is 21 000 UGX per night. All rooms are self contained, but you'll have to check out the bathrooms and decide if you're all right with them. If you're a traveler, you probably will be! You might want to bring your own mosquito net, though the windows have wire meshing.

Stay safe

As all towns in Uganda, the crime most likely to befall you as a traveller, is having your valubles stolen. It is important to be extra vigilant in hotspots such as nightclubs and the market.

Get out

There is a plethora of night clubs in the centre of Fort Portal including Africana, the newly refurbished Forest bar and the club Gluepot.

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