Kabale

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Kabale

Kabale is the chief town of Kabale District in south western Uganda. Kabale municipality has 41,344 inhabitants^[1] and lies 2000m above sea level. It is a market town and a transport hub as the main road from Kampala continues through the town south to the border with Rwanda at Gatuna, 10 km away. Another road continues westwards to Kisoro, where travelers may continue to either the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Rwandan town of Ruhengeri. The town is often used as a stop off point for people visiting Lake Bunyonyi and is also a convenient base for the tourists to the two parks famous for mountain gorilla tracking : Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The Virunga Mountains along the Rwandan border are visible from the town.

1 Geographics
2 Population
3 Attractions
4 Notes and references

[edit] Geographics

Kabale's landscape

Kabale town

Kabale is a highland district and a town in southwestern Uganda. It measures 1,827 sq.km and borders with Rwanda. Green, interlocking and heavily cultivated hills are ranging from 1,219 to 2,347 m above sea level. This altitude makes it colder than the rest of the country - average monthly temperatures are 15-20 degrees Celsius and can fall to 10 degrees by night. Relative humidity is between 90 and 100% in the morning and decreases to 42 to 75% in the afternoon, all the year around.

[edit] Population

Kabale has a projected population of 629,400 (2000), predominantly from the Bakiga tribe. The density is 344.5 persons/sq.km, the third largest in Uganda, and the land is heavily fragmented. An average household has six to seven plots of land on several hills.

The people are predominantly from the Bakiga tribe, but also from Batwa (Pygmies) and other groups.

[edit] Attractions

The attraction bringing visitors to Kabala are mountain gorillas. The town is on the way to the national parks with these endangered animals - Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi is in fact partially within Kabale District.

Another point of interest is the pretty Lake Bunyonyi, seven kilometres from Kabale Town.