We are located in Fort Portal City, the Tourism Capital in the Pearl of Africa (Uganda). We serve over 30 districts of Western Uganda (the Kitara Region) where there is potential for Tourism and Hospitality Development.
Located at the foothills of Rwenzori mountains in the Tooro Kingdom, the kingdom with the world’s youngest king – King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru, Fort Portal is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa.
Since Fort Portal City was launched as the Tourism Capital of Uganda on 1st July 2020, entrepreneurs, Development partners and investors both local and international are coming to this town to explore the best investment potentials in a Tourism centre. Owning land for investment in Fort Portal is still fairly affordable. Now is the best time to start a business for a lifetime in this incredible part of Uganda.
Kins Foundation of Africa welcomes to Fort Portal Tourism City. Uganda’s tourism increased highly in the 2018/2019 financial year whereby 1,505,669 International tourists were registered and over $1.6 billion was received from international tourists, making the country’s tourism sector the top foreign exchange earner. Of this total number of tourists, over 70% visited Western Uganda, a region that accounts for 75% of Uganda’s Natural Tourism destinations.
Fort Portal Tourism City at the foot of Rwenzori Mountains is currently known to be the cleanest town in Uganda and a gateway to various nature destinations including National Parks such as Kibale, Semuliki, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga, Mbuuro, Rwenzori and Toro-Semuliki Wildlife reserves. It is famous for the stalagmites and Nyakasura waterfalls linked to the rich Chwezi culture.
Beautiful people, beautiful nature, unique environment and serenity are some of the descriptions that will spark you when you set foot in Fort Portal, the now famous Uganda’s Tourism City.
Lying in mid-western Uganda, Fort Portal also Tooro kingdom’s capital is a gateway to some of the most beautiful sceneries and unique environment nature has to offer on earth giving you access to numerous crater lakes, hills, mountains, endemic fauna and flora and one of the most beautiful, serene and hospitable people you can find, the Batooro that comprise the majority of the population.
Fort Portal has in the last couple of years been sought as Uganda’s pearl of Tourism since it’s strategically located in the heart of most of the major tourism sites and activities in Uganda found in the Albertine region prompting the government to consider it in the National Development Plan. Fort Portal is now referred to as a tourism or tourist city.
In simple terms, a city is a place where people live that is larger or more important than a town or an area where many people live and work.
The true definition of Fort Portal as a city entirely lies in “Tourism” thus the Tourism City title. By nature, location, environment and people, Fort Portal is unrivaled as being the heart of most of Uganda’s tourism sites and activities. Fort Portal is in other words the Tourism Capital of Uganda due to its natural instatement.
Fort Portal is strategically located in the heart of major tourism sites including the snowcapped mountains of the moon, commonly known as Rwenzori Mountains, Semuliki national park, Uganda’s largest Queen Elizabeth National Park, is home to gorillas and chimpanzees and a host of other primates, is a centre of over 20 incredible crater lakes, the Mwenge and Kibaale natural forests featuring over 400 species of birds, other animals and 1000s of flora species.
Fort Portal beholds of the most complete and all inclusive climate with balanced weather throughout the year favoring stable farming and human settlement all year round.
Serenity and hospitability are the phenomena that make up tourism; all these are completely by nature found in Fort Portal on top of the Batooro people who are naturally hospitable, beautiful and the most peaceful ethnic group in Uganda creating a whole exciting welcoming tourism environment capped by the endless and numerous tourist activities and sites.
Amenities that make Fort Portal special tourism applause
All major Roads from Fort Portal to other major towns and tourism sites are tarmacked namely; Fort portal-Kasese, Fort Portal-Ntoroko, Fort Portal-Bundibugyo, Fort Portal-Kampala, Fort Portal-Mbarara and Fort Portal-Kamwenge road making those places easily accessible from Fort Portal
- Located in the centre; all the major tourism sites are not more than an hour away from Fort Portal at an average of 80KM/hr making it possible for to and fro journeys daily from Fort Portal
- Serene, peaceful and tranquil; Fort Portal has not experienced any form of violence and threats in many years making it the most secure place to settle for any tourist in Uganda.
- The welcoming and hospitable nature of the Batooro people keeps any visitor comfortable giving a home away from home feel to tourists and volunteers from abroad spending days or months among the Tooro communities
- With Fort Portal’s nature and environment, lots of fun activities can be created in different places in addition to the usual clubbing, bar going, ball games and athletics.
- Fort Portal is geographically located in the windward side of Rwenzori mountains hence the most favorable weather there is
- Fort Portal is also located on a high rise making it a no flood zone despite heavy rains evenly distributed throughout the year making it even safer.
- Fort Portal is located in Kitara region with a long historic background raising from the time of the Batembuzi Dynasty, Chwezi dynasty to the current Bito Dynasty the rulers of Tooro Kingdom
- Fort Portal and Tooro as a region has an exciting cultural background hosting over 15 tribes of natives and a vast religious background with over 7 religious denominations hence a rich area for both cultural and religious tourism
Fort Portal due to its tourism city phenomenon will over the years be a unique metropolitan area with a blossoming hotel and hospitality industry holding hundreds of thousands of tourists at any single time from across the world boosting lots of other local businesses including majorly the transport and agriculture/food sectors;
Fort Portal is expected to be a fully fledged tourism city by 2040 according to the government’s national development plan will be easily attained with increased government financing and focus on infrastructure development and providing incentives to intending tourism investors both local and international.
Fort Portal stands out to be unrivaled as the tourism destination in Uganda which provides huge potential for employment of the young workforce hence increasing the per capita income of the local households.
Business Potentials in and around Fort Portal in relation to Tourism
- Hotel industry (hotels, lodges, guest houses, restaurants, coffee shops, snacks centres, bars and night clubs)
- Tour Guidance to various tourism destinations (transport and tour guides)
- Tourism sites development (Community tourism, religious tours, cultural tours, historical tours, canoeing/boat cruise, craft shops, education tours, nature tours eg. mountain hikes)
Our Operation Area- Kitara Region: Kitara area lies across the Equator right in the heart of East Africa. The history of Kitara dates as far back as 1889 when Uganda was still a British protectorate and this region was nicknamed ‘the Switzerland of Africa’ because of the hilly nature and its unique vegetation and weather.
Kitara lies entirely between the two arms of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. To the far west it borders Zaire (former Belgian Congo). This border concedes with the western Rift Valley occupied from north to south by Lakes Albert, Edward, George and Kivu. On this border with Zaire exist also, the Rwenzori mountain ranges, the highest point of which (Mt Margarita) is 5,119 meters high. Further south west between Lake Edward and lake Kivu, there is the volcanic Muhabura range protruding from the rift Valley between 3,500 meters and 4,000 meters high.
On the other side Kitara borders Tanzania (former German East Africa). Boundary adjustments in 1910 between the British, the Belgians and the Germans fixed the southern limit of Uganda by including in Uganda, Kigezi which was formerly part of Belgian Congo and Bufumbira, formerly part of Germany East Africa. Kigezi was formerly part of Rwanda which together with Burundi and Tanganyika, formed German East Africa.
Generally, Kitara is a land of plateaus though in some areas there are hills which are 200 to 500 meters high. In most places, the hills are heavily eroded. In the extreme west, the ancient tabular areas still remain.
The Equator crosses Kitara region and the climate is equatorial but moderated by the altitude. In the region two dry seasons occur in the year. The highest temperatures occur on the Lake Albert flats while the lowest temperatures occur on the glaciated zone of Mt Rwenzori.
In the higher regions, the vegetation groups itself in levels such that the thick vegetation forest with under growth of liana appears at the bottom on the lower slopes. Mountain forest extends to about 3,200 meters and above this; there are bamboo groves and air pine prairie.
Kitara Tourism Coordination Network
Fort Portal City in Western Uganda, the Pearl of Africa
Email: kitara.ktcnet@gmail.com
Phone: +256392156562
Kitara Foundation for Regional Tourism 