Kabarole & Fort Portal: Crater Lakes & Kibale
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- Type:district
Introduction
Kabarole, centred on the highland town of Fort Portal, is western Uganda's self-styled “tourism city” — a green, tea-growing district set among dozens of volcanic crater lakes beneath the Rwenzori foothills, and the natural base for the chimpanzee forests of Kibale and the hot springs of Semuliki.
Overview
Fort Portal is one of Uganda's most attractive towns, sitting at altitude amid rolling tea estates with the Rwenzori Mountains rising to the west, and it anchors a district unusually rich in things to do within a short radius. Its signature landscape is the crater-lakes field to the south — the Ndali-Kasenda cluster, dozens of near-perfect volcanic lakes cupped in forested craters, laced with walking trails, viewpoints and simple lakeside lodges. The district is also the gateway to Kibale Forest and its primates, whose famous chimpanzees lie a short drive south, and to Semuliki National Park to the west, where the Sempaya hot springs boil up in a Rift-floor forest quite unlike anywhere else in Uganda. Add the cultural Amabere ga Nyina Mwiru caves on the edge of town and the tea-estate visits, and Kabarole earns its billing as a place to slow down for several days rather than pass through.
Discover Kabarole
Fort Portal is a cool, green highland town wrapped in tea plantations, with a relaxed pace and a growing cluster of cafés and lodges that make it a comfortable western base. Its outstanding natural feature is the crater-lakes region just to the south, where dozens of small, deep volcanic lakes sit in steep forested craters — the Ndali-Kasenda field is the best known, crossed by walking trails and dotted with viewpoints and lakeside guesthouses that look straight down onto still, blue water. A day or two spent walking between the craters, birdwatching and swimming in the bilharzia-free lakes is one of Uganda's quietest pleasures, entirely different in character from the parks.
Ways to Experience This Destination
The Ndali-Kasenda field of dozens of forested volcanic lakes, with walking trails, viewpoints and safe swimming.
Lowland Congo-Basin rainforest and the Sempaya hot springs, with Central African wildlife found nowhere else nearby.
A green tea-country town, gateway to Kibale's chimpanzees and the Amabere caves.
Frequently asked questions
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