We have the biggest news for tourism in Ruboni village for both residents and the visitors. Ruboni village has been awarded a Best Tourism Village title during UNWTO Best Tourism Villages 2024 recognition for top rural sustainable tourism destinations around the world.
What is special about Ruboni village work
As one enters Ruboni village, the indications are clear. The village has been recognized for her effort in contributing to natural environment conservation, gender equality in tourism, digitization of tourism operations, among others. Ruboni has been on this sustainability journey since 1998, when the local residents of Ruboni village came together to encourage local community participation in environment conservation with an aim of benefiting the entire community through sustainable development. It shows that achieving sustainability has been the goal of Ruboni village from the beginning, 25 years ago.
Attractions of Ruboni Village
Ruboni village is endowed with such beautiful landscapes, forests and the scenic views of the Rwenzori Mountains. Ruboni village tourism activities provide an opportunity for visitors to experience Rwenzori mountains in a unique way. During these tours, the local people showcase the local culture as it has been practiced over generations and how the residents are facing the impacts of climate change.
Ruboni Village has ten different tourism activities that guests can participate in during their stay and ten accommodation facilities including lodges, hostels, campsites and home stays.
This is probably the biggest Tourism news for Uganda tourism in 2024, as this is the first time a village in Uganda has received this award since the program was started by UNWTO in 2021. Ruboni is the first village to get this award in Uganda. It is also the third village in East Africa after Nkotsi Village in Rwanda and Olergesailie village In Kenya both awarded in the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages 2021 version.
How and when to Visit Ruboni village
For those looking to experience this village, it is easy to arrange the trip to this unique village. You can contact the village directly or any tour operator in Uganda. Ruboni is located in kasese district, western Uganda in the foothills of Rwenzori Mountains, north of queen Elizabeth National Park. The driving distances are; 380km km from Kampala, 80km from fortportal or 26km from Kasese town.
From Kasese town, drive 10km on fort portal road. You will then branch left at Nkenda electric terminal and drive for 17km towards the park gate. Ruboni village is located in the Mubuku valley at the Mihunga gate to Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
Ruboni village can be visited all year round. However, the best visitis are during the dry season of January-March and June – August every year. These two are also the peak seasons to climb mount Rwenzori. However, during the rainy seasons, one has high opportunities of finding scenic days that showcase the breathtaking landscapes.
What to pack when visiting Ruboni
The packing list for Rwenzori must have the rain gear, trekking shoes, warm clothes and all the others as can be found on our packing list. The packing list for Ruboni is the same as for Rwenzori Mountains, if one is to explore well. The use of items will depend on what one wants to participate in, but most of them will cut across the village walks, forest nature walks, mountain trekking or just visiting to spend time with the home located on the foothills.
What does this recognition mean to Ruboni village?
This recognition means a lot to Ruboni village. We anticipate that this stamp will eneble many visitors find Ruboni and add it on their trip. The village is also continuously building conservation, community development and tourism development partnerships to created value and continue use tourism to improve the local lives sustainably.
The main economic activity in Ruboni village is agriculture. Tourism is a supplement to agriculture since the village is located near Rwenzori Mountains a major tourist attraction in Uganda. Rwenzori is a major and most unique attraction. It is a National park created by the Ugandan parliament, a world heritage site by UNESCO, and a Ramzer site.
Tourism in Ruboni is not very young. Ruboni is located in the oldest rout that leads trekkers to the highest snow peaks on the Rwenzori Mountains. These peaks include Margarita, the highest at 5109 meters and others including
- Mount Speke-4890m,
- Baker-4844m,
- Gessi-4715m,
- Luigi da Sovia- 4627m,
- Emini-4791m
- Weizmann- 4500m and other shorter ones.
For many years, Most Rwenzori trekkers have been going through Ruboni village. However, staying in Ruboni village or participating in the social and cultural activities in Ruboni village only started in 1998 when Ruboni community members started the Ruboni Community Conservation and Development Program. This community group established the first community tourism lodge (Ruboni Community Camp) and the community guided tours.
The establishment of the accommodation, village tours and other local authentic encounters has created an opportunity for the local people to share their local farming and living experiences with the travelers. This in return creates opportunities for knowledge exchange, and income, some of which is ised for conservation and community development in the different aspects.
As Ruboni village was facing a problem of low visibility and low visitor numbers due to low marketing, this award and recognition will put this destination to a limelight and on the table of potential travelers, a force that will lead to more visitors, more stays and more income to support the conservation and development goals of the village.
Scaling the best practices recognized by UNWTO through this award
Ruboni village has known that Exessive visitors can be detrimental to the social, cultural and natural environment in the village. This is why the village has taken the necessary steps to ensure that they do the sustainability measures that have led to the recognition as a Best Tourism Village by UNWTO on 14th Novermber 2024 in Cartagena Colombia.
Ruboni village engages in many educational programs to ensure that they pass the knowledge and benefits of sustainability to other tourism enterprises and areas of the region. This is done through dedicated programs, to the visitors during guided tours, placement of internees, making presentations to groups, individuals, and learning institutions and through providing information online. The key communities benefiting from this program are over five villages neighboring Rwenzori, Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.
Now that Ruboni village has finally become a Best Tourism Village, what next?
Now Ruboni doors are open for travelers looking to visit a destination that takes concern of the people, the environment and the local economy. As a benefit to the experienced travelers, Ruboni village has gone further to make it easy for visitors who want to experience this unique culture in Uganda’s unique Mountainous territory. It is important to note that, the culture in Ruboni can only be found in the Rwenzori foothills of Congo.
All aspects of the tour to Ruboni are well catered for both independent travelers and tour operators. The booking, payments and travel to Ruboni village has been made simple. With a one stop selling point at the Community Visitors Centre, the booking for all activities and accommodations can be done with one call.
Payment to accommodations and activities in the village can be done by the easiest way any one wants. The available payment options are; credit card payments, mobile money payments, international bank transfers or cash on arrival.
Travelling to Ruboni can never be easier; the road to Ruboni (mainly the 12-17km) is in good condition. For those travelling by private cars, it is easy to just arrive based on your reservation. It is also possible for those who want to use special hire transport or shared public transport, by booking transport before arrival.
We take this opportunity to invite all travelers, tour agents, tour operators to visit Ruboni during your next trip, to experience the true nature and culture of Uganda. We will be happy to show you our unique way of life.
