Kisoro

From Kampala the road via Masaka to Mbarara is well surfaced (apart from verge damage) and reasonably wide so 100 km/h can be maintained. Light traffic once you leave the traffic mayhem and fumes of the capital, means you're likely to take just less than 5 hours for this part of the journey. However, just after leaving Mbarara the road surface disintegrates and is badly potholed reducing speeds to 10-25 km/h for about 20 km until just before Ntungamo where road works were completed in Feb 2014. Once you leave Kabale the road narrows considerably but the tarmac surface is brand new and billiard table smooth but very winding and scenic.

• The Postbus, operated reliably and punctually by Uganda Post, departs M-Sa at 07:00 from the central Kampala post office in Kampala Road and arrives 10 hours later in Kisoro for USh30,000 one way. It seats 67 and you are guaranteed a seat if you book in advance (enter the post office as if you were buying stamps, take the first exit to the outside courtyard on your left, go round the corner of the building you just left, take the first door on your right, go down the corridor and enter Room 2 on your right. You can also get a ticket on the day of departure or from the conductor anywhere en route if you flag the bus down - it's huge and bright red).
• 🌍 Baby Coaches, ☏ +256 772 422 451. Returning to Kampala, you may want to take the night bus for USh25,000 which leaves Kisoro at 19:15 and is scheduled to arrive in the capital at 06:00. Contrary to what you might expect from their name, they operate full size, 67 seat Isuzu buses, typically screening Nigerian TV soap-operas to keep you entertained. Apart from the middle of the back row (excessively bumpy) and seat number 6 (aisle seat in row of 3 immediately behind the driver) legroom is very restricted for what may be 10 hours plus. 
• 🌍 Gateway Bus Service, ☏ +256 703 555 075. Travels the same route as the Postbus between Kisoro and Kampala. Two night bus services to Kampala for USh20,000: the first leaves Kisoro at 17:00 and is scheduled to arrive in the capital at 04:00; the second service leaves Kisoro at 20:00 and is scheduled to arrive in the capital at 07:00. Operate full size, 67 seat Isuzu buses and a big advantage for some is that they do not screen Nigerian TV soap-operas or allow smoking and have 2-3 toilet stops on the way. Limited legroom and cleanliness. 

From Bunagana, DRC, climb the rutted apology for a "road" that is alternately gloopy with mud or whipped into a duststorm until you see the barriers of the Ugandan border post. Here bodo-bodos will be waiting. There are also sometimes large buses, but their schedules are sporadic and whimsical. Tarmac is then smooth and peaceful until you arrive in Kisoro 14 km later. Fuel is available on the left, 6 km after the border.

From Busengo, DRC the road is lightly trafficked to the Ugandan border barrier and consequently is not as rutted as some more heavily used roads in the DRC. Gradients are as steep as 1 in 5 and typically the road does not allow two trucks to pass. Travellers need to be aware that the border crossing Busengo/Busanza is only legal if you cross using a passport from either the DRC or one of the countries of the East African Community (ie Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda). Travellers bearing passports from other countries may physically be able to cross into Uganda here, but the officials at 🌍 Busanza Uganda Police Post should turn you back to the DRC. If you have a really good story, the immigration officer may allow you to continue to the crossing point at Bunagana 38 km further and obtain the necessary entry stamps and visa there, but that would be an act of exceptional kindness. In the hamlet of Busanza, they were not connected to the electric grid in June 2014 but the high tension cables have already been installed and they are expecting connection in the next 3 months.
Once you've crossed the (completely non-marked) border the road widens so two trucks can pass, the dirt surface is less rutted and gradients diminish to about 1 in 7. In May-June 2014 this was assessed as an all weather road. Watch out for stray mud bricks/blocks in the road, though, because many mud quarries and brick works are on this road. From the border it's about 27 km until you hit tarmac, but the road is good enough to cruise at 25-35 km/h on a motorcycle.

From Ruhengeri, Rwanda, the road has been good for a while now and once you're through the quick and relaxed Ugandan immigration the tarmac gets even smoother and the carriageway is about 10m wide with gradual bends. As of June 2014, there were no painted lines or reflectors on this new tarmac so you might want to drive this stretch during daylight - especially as the scenery is so attractive.

• 🌍 Kisoro Aerodrome. Just over 2 km to the east of the township, Kisoro airstrip's single paved runway, measuring 1,300 m (4,300 ft) long and 40m wide straddles the main road, with a diversionary route in place when aircraft take off and land. There are plans to expand its length to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Charters and semi-charters arrive and take off at least once daily to and from Entebbe so you may be able to bargain your way to a good deal. For more certainty, contact AeroLink who fly Cessna Grand Caravans (which seat 10 passengers and have two pilots) on a semi-scheduled timetable. 
• To Kigali (KGL ^IATA), the capital of Rwanda with daily direct flights on Brussels Airline from Brussels or Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. KLM also flies to Kigali directly from Amsterdam. RwandAir also has flights from Dubai (often via Mombasa) using its new Boeing 737-800 and separately from Johannesburg using the same aircraft. From Kigali it is only about 3 hours on good roads to Kisoro - much shorter than from Entebbe.

• Hotel Virunga, Mutanda Road, ☏ +256 486-430109. camping/single/double rooms with outside bathrooms USh14,000/20,000/30,000. (updated Sep 2015)

In addition to the stand-out entries already listed here, there are probably about three dozen other low cost hotels scattered all over town of varying cleanliness and decrepitude. Many of them feature metal doors for that authentic late-night cell block clang.

• 🌍 Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp (Mgahinga Gorilla National Park main entrance), ☏ +256 705 474409, info@amajambere.com. Community bandas and camping set right at the park entrance. Cheap to visit, excellent location. Camping USh19,000 ppn, dorm USh38,000 ppn, bandas USD30-40. 
• 🌍 Golden Monkey Guest House (Kisoro town behind UWA office), ☏ +256 772 435 148. Check-out: 10:00. Clean, brightly painted, budget place in central location, with the best food in town. Really helpful staff which might open up the kitchen for you in the late evening and help organise transport next morning. This whole establishment is fragrant and can access free Wi-Fi. Large area out front for overland travellers to park their vehicles at night and there is an armed guard. Most doors and windows close reasonably tightly and securely and the air-bricks are screened for mosquitoes. Can be very noisy at night with the metal doors and thoughtless Americans and Israelis having loud conversations long into the night. Large towels are a bonus. En suite (with hot shower) chalets (named after countries such as Tanzania, Sweden, Zambia) USD20-30, dorm USh20,000. 
• 🌍 SawaSawa Guest House (Directly opposite the junction of the old Cyanika road that comes from the Rwandan border crossing with the main road from the DRC border crossing.), ☏ +256 774 472 926, sawasawahotel@gmail.com. Check-out: 11:00. This budget option has been opened by a local lady that has many years experience working in the hospitality industry. This certainly shows in the little touches like providing a chair in the rooms so that you can sit at the table and write or Skype and providing hooks to hang your wet towels. Breakfasts and other meals are a sensation. Less than a dozen small chalets arranged around a central courtyard. Strictly non-smoking, but there is a well groomed and cared for cat. Very clean with comfortably firm mattresses. En suite (with hot shower): sgl USh34,600, dbl USh49,300, twin USh54,300; shared ablutions: sgl USh24,600, dbl USh39,300, twin USh44,300. 
• Countryside Guesthouse, Bungana Road, ☏ +256 782-412741. single/double rooms with outside bathroom USh15,000/20,000. (updated Sep 2015)

• 🌍 Rafiki Guest House, ☏ +256 772 435 148. Looking oddly out of place, like it's been dropped in from the English home counties, this relatively quiet guest house is run by the same people as the Golden Monkey, but you do pay more for a better night's sleep and secure parking. No smoking & free Wi-Fi. Sgl USD35, dorm USD10. 
• 🌍 Virunga Motel & Campsite, ☏ +256 778 593 582, virungahotel0@gmail.com. Gardens and grounds are better maintained than the newish 2-storey accommodation block which has 4 en suite rooms on each floor, each with table and chair. Windows and doors are ill-fitting and the ventilation slats are not insect-screened. Door locks are more secure than most. In June 2014, satellite TV and Wi-Fi was only "planned" so they are poor value at USD50 for a double or twin, incl. a light, cold breakfast. Campers fare better with two nice, shaded grassed areas and a toilet and shower block that has both hot & cold water for USD6 per person. There are also 9 smaller, older, self-contained chalets at USD25 for a double or twin. 

• 🌍 Hotel Mucha, Bwindi Rd (8km NW of Kisoro along one of the worst roads in the district with three separate rock cascades.), ☏ +256 784 478 605. Check-out: 11:00. This brand new boutique hotel occupies a gorgeous spot on the left bank of the Mucha river just after it leaves Lake Mulehe. The river is clean and swift flowing and kingfishers often dart from the fringing reed banks. All 10 rooms are en suite with some of the nicest bathrooms in Uganda and either face the river or towards the volcanoes to the south. Fly screening is excellent and there are back-up generators.,They also allow smoking. Sgl USD110, dbl USD165 incl breakfast & collection from Kisoro town. 
• 🌍 Lake Mutanda Resort (Take the dirt road that runs on the east side of Lake Mutanda to the alternative crossing to the DRC. When you've almost given up hope, you'll find the resort on the northwest corner of the lake. The road down is precipitously steep and formed of perilously round globules of lava, so bike riders may want to get off and reconnoitre first.), ☏ +256 789 951 943. Despite its idyllic location, they don't operate a launch (or a sea-plane), so the road journey will take the best part of an hour from either the airstrip or town. 13 en suite cottages, each built on stilts so that there are excellent views out over the lake from each private verandah. Free Wi-Fi in the restaurant. Sgl USD130, dbl USD170, tpl USD250 incl b'fast. 
• 🌍 Travellers Rest Hotel, Bunagana Rd, ☏ +256 772 533 029. Eleven fully en suite rooms in the oldest established hotel in Kisoro. Large and comfortable guest lounge displays an eclectic collection of local art and cultural artefacts but the highlight for many will be the log fire that is lit many evenings. Guinness and Nile Special beer, together with the other usual suspects and malt whiskies served at the English pub style bar at one end of the guest lounge. Bathrooms are spacious and beautifully tiled. Rooms are grouped around a spacious, central garden courtyard and Rooms 1, 2, 3, and Mutanda have especially exhilarating views of the surrounding dormant and extinct volcanoes. Both the dogs and the staff are extremely friendly and affable. Evening meals are extremely tasty and varied and available to visitors not staying at the hotel, but must be booked by 15:30 on the afternoon they are served. Cash only, no plastic accepted. Sgl USD70, dbl USD80, tpl USD110 incl cooked breakfast. The cook is both experienced in the ways of the Muzungo and talented: French Toast has just the right amount of cinnamon and this is one of the few places in Uganda that cooks bacon the way most English-speaking peoples prefer rather than incinerated to black, charcoal-like cinders that shatter when approached by a fork. (smoke-cured bacon rashers are relatively expensive by Ugandan standards at USh50,000/kg, so don't be surprised if you only end up with half a rasher on your breakfast plate). 

• 🌍 IP Planet Internet Cafe (Directly opposite the "Mayor's Gardens" park on the south side of the main Bunagana Rd.). M-Sa 08:00-20:00, Su 15:00-20:00. No Wi-Fi, but you can use a wired Ethernet connection with your own laptop or their computers. Printing costs USh500/A4 page black & white. Also does photocopying, scanning & binding. Proprietor is highly educated and speaks excellent English. Small eclectic book collection USh50/min or USh3,000 for 70 min. 
• Coffee Pot Café (50 m to the Golden Monkey Guesthouse (see above)). Pricey but fast Wi-Fi. USh6,000 for 60 min. 

The Airtel, MTN, Orange, Uganda Telecom and Warid networks all have their own transmission towers in and around Kisoro, so you'll have no problems locating a strong GSM signal.

• 🌍 Post Office (Posta Uganda). 

• Kisoro FM is a local, community-based radio station broadcasting mainly in the local languages on 91.1 MHz but also with occasional news summaries or other programs in English.
• Voice of Muhubura is a local, commercial radio station broadcasting mainly in the local languages on 88.9 MHz but with an English language news summary at 12:00 and 17:00 together with occasional other programming in English.

• Circle Lake Mutanda and clock up another country (the DRC, unofficially). If you've hired a vehicle, head west out of Kisoro on the smooth main road to the DRC and then turn right at the un-signposted road just after you pass Saint Joseph's Church, Nateete on your right. You'll now be on the Kisoro-Busanza Road to the DRC. This is an all-weather dirt road that winds through tropical rain forest and villagers' gardens and is mostly wide enough for two trucks to pass. Look out for fish eagle and Uganda's national symbol, the crested crane (Balearica regulorum) performing their courtship dances by the river meadows that the road follows or in yam patches. After about 27 km and the steepest ascent on the road (still only about 1 in 7), you'll enter the Ugandan village of Busanza. There's a sharp turn left here to the border barrier but, if you continue straight ahead instead, the road deteriorates suddenly, plunges downhill and you've crossed into the Democratic Republic of the Congo without any formality or marker. After you hit the valley bottom there's another rutted and steep climb up the other side and, after about 2 km spent in the DRC, the track re-enters Uganda (again without formality or signs) and improves. After about 25 km of wiggles, Lake Mutanda hoves into view on your right and, if you've made a reservation, you can stop for a lakeside lunch at Lake Mutanda Resort before completing the loop back to Kisoro.
• Walk in the Echuya national forest and bamboo zone. If you're on your own, hire a bodo-bodo for about USh25,000 return including 2 hour wait. If there are more than two of you, it may be cheaper to hire something on four wheels to take you to the new 🌍 boundary sign for Kabale district. Directly opposite, on the south side of the road, is a single file track that gradually climbs up through the bamboo (Yushania alpina) zone and into the rainforest. There were no forks or branches in this track in June 2014 and after about 15-min walking you're afforded great views of the linear swamp on your left that runs all the way into Rwanda. If you're quiet you'll probably hear or see monkeys to your left as you near some of the larger trees. After climbing about 150 m (500 ft) the track reaches the top of the ridge and there is a 🌍 grass meadow where you can picnic with fine views over the Virunga range and several lakes including Kayumbu and Chayafi. If you turn east and follow the boundary fence line running parallel to the fir trees, you'll reach the top of a hillock (2,461 m) which gives fine views of Lake Bunyonyi. Return the way you came.