Katunguru, is a settlement in

Rubirizi District Rubirizi District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, the district is named after its 'chief town', Rubirizi, where the district headquarters are located. Location Rubirizi D ...

Ankole sub-region Ankole sub-region is a region in the Western Region of Uganda that consists of the following districts: * Buhweju District * Bushenyi District * Ibanda District * Isingiro District * Kazo District * Kiruhura District * Mbarara District * ...

, in the

Western Region Western Region or West Region may refer to: Places *Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi, the Western Region *Western Region, Bahrain * Western Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa *Western Region, Ghana *Western Region (Iceland) *Western Region, Nepal *Western Reg ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. The name also applies to ''Katunguru Sub-county'' and ''Katunguru Parish'', where the settlement is located.

Location

Katunguru is just south of the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

, on the

Kikorongo–Ishaka Road Kikorongo–Ishaka Road is a road in the Western Region of Uganda, connecting the towns of Kikorongo in Kasese District with Ishaka in Bushenyi District. Location The north end of the road starts at Kikorongo, on the Fort Portal–Kasese–M ...

. The town is approximately , by road, north of

Rubirizi Rubirizi, sometimes spelled Rubiriizi, is a town in Rubirizi District, Ankole sub-region, Western Uganda. The town is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Rubirizi District. The district is named after the town. Locat ...

, the location of the district headquarters. This is on the southern banks of the

Kazinga Channel The Kazinga Channel in Uganda is a wide, long natural channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George (Uganda), Lake George, which are part of the African Great Lakes system. The channel is a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park. ...

, which links Lake George with

Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, ...

, and forms the border between

Kasese District Kasese District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its chief town and district headquarters, the town of Kasese. History In September 2022, the district was hit by deadly landslides. Location ...

to the north and

to the south. Katunguru is located approximately south of

Kasese Kasese is a town in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the capital of Kasese District. Kasese is also the largest town in the Rwenzururu region. In 2020 it had an estimated population 115,400. It lies north of Lake Georg ...

, the nearest large town. Katunguru, which lies within the boundaries of

Queen Elizabeth National Park Queen Elizabeth National Park is a national park in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. Location Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) spans the districts of Kasese District, Kasese, Kamwenge District, Kamwenge, Rubirizi Distri ...

, is located about , by road, west of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, the largest city in Uganda and the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of that country. The coordinates of Katunguru, Uganda are:0°08'49.0"S, 30°03'46.0"E (Latitude:-0.146956; Longitude:30.062770). Katunguru lies at an average elevation of above

mean sea level A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

Population

In 2015, the

Uganda Bureau of Statistics The Uganda Bureau of Statistics ("UBOS") is an agency of the Ugandan government. Formed by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Act, 1998, the agency is mandated to "coordinate, monitor and supervise Uganda's National Statistical System". Locatio ...

(UBOS) estimated the population of Katunguru Sub-county at 3,900 people. In 2020, UBOS estimated that population to have increased to 4,200 inhabitants at mid-year. It further estimated that in July 2020, 2,400 inhabitants (57.1 percent) were males and 1,800 inhabitants (42.9 percent) were females. UBOS further calculated that the population of this locality had grown at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent, between 2015 and 2020.

Points of interest

The town serves as a gateway to

, with several of the primary entrances to the park within a few kilometers. The following points of interest are also found within the town limits or close to its edges: (a) the offices of Katunguru Town Council (b) the headquarters of Katunguru Sub-county (c) Katunguru central market, the source of daily fresh produce and (d) Katunguru Senior Secondary School.

Economy

Katunguru's primary occupation is

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, with a daily fish market and a substantial number of small boats fishing the

and nearby Lake George. Agriculture and gardening is generally not possible due to the large animals that often wander through town, including

buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

and

elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

. The settlement also serves the various nearby safari lodges due to its central location within the national park.

References

External links

Pilot Water Supply Project In Katunguru, Uganda: In Queen Elizabeth National Park
{{Rubirizi District, state=collapsed Populated places in Western Region, Uganda Cities in the Great Rift Valley Rubirizi District