In 1892, Sir Gerald Herbert Portal, who had been appointed as British special commissioner to East Africa, visited Uganda to establish whether the area should become a British Protectorate.

While in Uganda, Portal visited parts of the western region.

From his tour, a town which lies on the northern foothills of the famous Mountains of Rwenzori got a new name.

In 1970, the town — Fort Portal — attained a municipality status and started operating with two divisions; central and southern.

Kabarole district council passed a motion to create Fort Portal city in 2019, but to meet the city requirements, the municipality had to annex the sub-counties of Karambi, Karago, Bukuku and parts of Busoro.

Nkuruba crater lake is one of the key tourism sites in Fort Portal

Located about 290km from Kampala, Fort Portal is linked by tarmac road from Kyenjojo, Kamwenge, Kasese and Bundibugyo districts.

From Kampala, it can be accessed through Kasese and Mbarara road. It can also be accessed through Mubende.

Tourism attractions

Fort Portal is the centre of Toro kingdom and Karuzika Palace, the home of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, stands tall on Kabarole hill in the centre of town.

The town is a gateway to several tourism attractions.

These include Kibaale Forest National Park along the Kampala-Fort Portal highway and Fort Portal-Kamwenge highway and Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is 81km from the town.

Other tourism sites include Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve, the hot springs at Semliki National Park and over 52 crater lakes in Kabarole and Bunyangabu district.

Major markets

Fort Portal has two markets; Mpanga market, located in the central division, which was constructed by the local government ministry, and Kabundaire food market.

Toro kingdom has also offered part of its land to the local government ministry and plans are underway to establish another market at Kachwamba along the Fort Portal-Kasese highway.

Richard Rwabuhinga, the Kabarole district chairperson, said they are ready to steer development in the new tourism city.

“We are happy that Government gazetted Fort Portal as Uganda’s tourism city. We have a lot of tourist attractions that people should not miss,” Rwabuhinga said.

Physical planning

Regarding planning, Asaba Ruyonga, the Fort Portal mayor, said they are still using the municipality master plan since most of the areas which were annexed are still pre-urban.

He, however, said they are developing a plan for the city and that they will engage all stakeholders in the process.

Health care

Fort Portal has three major hospitals; Fort Portal Hospital, a 500-bed referral hospital under the health ministry, is the largest.

The hospital serves nine districts in Rwenzori region. The next big hospital is Holy Family Virika Hospital, a private hospital with a 200-bed capacity.

It is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese.

There is also the 100-bed Kabarole Missionary Hospital, founded by the Church of Uganda.

The hospital, located on Kabarole hill in the central division, was originally founded by John Edward Church of the Church Mission Society.