Now I know why tourists want to go to Fort Portal
Ever been to Fort Portal? You must have met a gun-wielding white man wearing boots and breeches. <br>His name is Sir Gerald Portal
By Raymond Baguma
Ever been to Fort Portal? You must have met a gun-wielding white man wearing boots and breeches.
His name is Sir Gerald Portal.
He was the first governor of the British protectorate of Uganda, who built a fort at Kabarole in the century gone by.
Actually, Sir Gerald Portal is a monument at the town’s main roundabout.To the average native, he is a mzungu they know little about yet from him, the town derives its name — a name some people find difficult to pronounce correctly. how colonialism remodelled the history and names of places!
At another site in Boma, is a slab of the old fort, which has become more ornamental than monumental.
A five-hour long journey aboard Kalita bus saw me arrive in this western town that is also a seat for the cultural institution of Toro kingdom under His Highness King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru.
The environment changed from Kampala’s concrete sky rise buildings and bungalows with neat lawns, into roadside mud brick drab structures with dusty yards.
The vegetation also varied between thickets, papyrus marshes and dense forest.
Between Kyegegwa and Kyenjojo towns, the road is murram. The bus leapt over the gullies in the road.
Agriculture, the people’s mainstay is illustrated by neat farmlands. I sighted herdsmen grazing cattle and lumberjacks sawing timber. We steered past roadside markets, where pumpkins, water melons and tomatoes were on sale.
Kyenjojo district is a land of rolling hills with hectares of land under cultivation made green by tea plantations. A lush green spreads over the landscape. At a distance, labourers with baskets, pick tea with austerity, as if work is a punishment.
As we approached Kabarole, I sighted Henry Morton Stanley’s ‘mountains of the moon’, hidden behind a misty blanket. Kabarole is set on the emerald slopes of these giant blocks. It is an area of tectonic activity, which has paid off in form of mountain formation, blessing the region with hills, picturesque rivers and lakes.
It is indeed the treasure chest of uganda’s beauty with tropical weather, which attracts tourists.
For the rest of the journey, the awesome beauty of the land gazed at me like a newfound friend. We occasionally came across dull rocky hills that created an ugly sight. Yet in that ugliness, nature’s beauty lay.
The beauty that unfolded before me cannot be sensationalised — it was natural like a belle without makeup. Even with the midday sun, cool pure air wafted through the open window, caressing my face.
Fort Portal is a planned town with colonial and Indian architecture, wide streets bustling with beehive activity. The populace speak Rutoro, a western dialect with a romantic intonation.
Motorcycles for hire or machalas, are a convenient means of transport because it impractical to ride bicycles on the steep slopes.
King Oyo’s palace stands serenely atop a hill overlooking the town where, he lives in regal surroundings.
In the evenings, the town is engulfed in mist with abundant pure air. At night, the Fort Portal town never slumbers because of the jolly nature of the Batoro.
From Don’s, a local popular pub, descends rancorous laughter, which fills the night as patrons watch English premier league soccer on satellite television.
Lodges are the busiest centres at night where folks saunter in seeking female company, while boosting the budding sex trade.
Ever been to Fort Portal? You must have met a gun-wielding white man wearing boots and breeches.
His name is Sir Gerald Portal.
He was the first governor of the British protectorate of Uganda, who built a fort at Kabarole in the century gone by.
Actually, Sir Gerald Portal is a monument at the town’s main roundabout.To the average native, he is a mzungu they know little about yet from him, the town derives its name — a name some people find difficult to pronounce correctly. how colonialism remodelled the history and names of places!
At another site in Boma, is a slab of the old fort, which has become more ornamental than monumental.
A five-hour long journey aboard Kalita bus saw me arrive in this western town that is also a seat for the cultural institution of Toro kingdom under His Highness King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru.
The environment changed from Kampala’s concrete sky rise buildings and bungalows with neat lawns, into roadside mud brick drab structures with dusty yards.
The vegetation also varied between thickets, papyrus marshes and dense forest.
Between Kyegegwa and Kyenjojo towns, the road is murram. The bus leapt over the gullies in the road.
Agriculture, the people’s mainstay is illustrated by neat farmlands. I sighted herdsmen grazing cattle and lumberjacks sawing timber. We steered past roadside markets, where pumpkins, water melons and tomatoes were on sale.
Kyenjojo district is a land of rolling hills with hectares of land under cultivation made green by tea plantations. A lush green spreads over the landscape. At a distance, labourers with baskets, pick tea with austerity, as if work is a punishment.
As we approached Kabarole, I sighted Henry Morton Stanley’s ‘mountains of the moon’, hidden behind a misty blanket. Kabarole is set on the emerald slopes of these giant blocks. It is an area of tectonic activity, which has paid off in form of mountain formation, blessing the region with hills, picturesque rivers and lakes.
It is indeed the treasure chest of uganda’s beauty with tropical weather, which attracts tourists.
For the rest of the journey, the awesome beauty of the land gazed at me like a newfound friend. We occasionally came across dull rocky hills that created an ugly sight. Yet in that ugliness, nature’s beauty lay.
The beauty that unfolded before me cannot be sensationalised — it was natural like a belle without makeup. Even with the midday sun, cool pure air wafted through the open window, caressing my face.
Fort Portal is a planned town with colonial and Indian architecture, wide streets bustling with beehive activity. The populace speak Rutoro, a western dialect with a romantic intonation.
Motorcycles for hire or machalas, are a convenient means of transport because it impractical to ride bicycles on the steep slopes.
King Oyo’s palace stands serenely atop a hill overlooking the town where, he lives in regal surroundings.
In the evenings, the town is engulfed in mist with abundant pure air. At night, the Fort Portal town never slumbers because of the jolly nature of the Batoro.
From Don’s, a local popular pub, descends rancorous laughter, which fills the night as patrons watch English premier league soccer on satellite television.
Lodges are the busiest centres at night where folks saunter in seeking female company, while boosting the budding sex trade.