Walking Across Uganda: Katuna to Malaba on Foot

Walking across Uganda from the Rwandan border at Katuna to the Kenyan border at Malaba is a journey of roughly 600 km. The road climbs out of the terraced Kigezi highlands around Kabale, crosses the cattle country of Ankole, passes the equator near Masaka, runs through Kampala, crosses the Nile at Jinja and heads east through Busoga to Tororo and the border. At a steady 30 to 35 km a day, it is about three and a half to four weeks of walking.

For this expedition, Uganda is also personal. Leon has walked here before, covering 500 km across Uganda with a friend on an earlier fundraising walk. This article describes the country as it unfolds along that line, from highland lakes to the source of the Nile, and what anyone thinking of crossing Uganda on foot should know.

The south-west: Katuna, Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi

The route enters Uganda at Katuna, the busy border town facing Gatuna on the Rwandan side. From there the road winds up into the Kigezi highlands, one of the most densely farmed and steepest parts of the country. Hillsides are terraced from valley floor to ridge top, cool mornings bring mist, and the altitude, around 1,800 to 2,000 metres in places, makes this some of the most comfortable walking climate in Uganda despite the climbs.

Kabale is the main town of the region and a gateway to Lake Bunyonyi, a long, island-scattered lake in the hills just to the west, and to the gorilla forests beyond. The language here is Rukiga. If you have read the expedition's article on Bwindi gorilla trekking, this is the country those treks start from.

Ankole: Ntungamo, Mbarara and the long-horned cattle

Heading north-east, the road drops gradually through Ntungamo towards Mbarara, the largest town in the south-west. This is Ankole, famous for its long-horned Ankole cattle, whose huge curving horns are one of the most recognisable sights in East Africa. Rolling grassland, banana plantations and dairy farms line the road, and the language shifts to Runyankole.

From Mbarara the western national parks are within reach, including Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Kazinga Channel. Further along, Lake Mburo National Park lies close to the highway, one of the few places in Uganda where guided walking among zebra and other wildlife is possible.

Masaka, the equator and Kampala

Past Lyantonde, a busy stopping point for long-distance trucks, the road reaches Masaka, near the western shores of Lake Victoria. Between Masaka and Kampala it crosses the equator at Kayabwe, where roadside markers show the line. Here the language changes again, to Luganda, the language of Buganda, the largest of Uganda's traditional kingdoms.

Kampala, the capital, spreads over a series of hills, with markets, mosques, churches, government buildings and a constant flow of minibus taxis and boda bodas, the motorbike taxis that carry a huge share of Uganda's daily journeys. The name boda boda is usually traced to bicycle taxis that once ferried people across the border zone with Kenya, in the east of the country, which the walk will eventually reach.

Across the Nile: Jinja and Busoga

East of Kampala, the road passes sugar estates around Lugazi and runs through Mabira Forest, one of the larger remaining blocks of natural forest in central Uganda. Then comes Jinja, where Lake Victoria pours out into the Victoria Nile. For more than a century this outflow has been promoted as the source of the Nile, after the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached it in 1862. Geographers would add that the river's most distant headstreams rise further south-west, in the rivers that feed the lake, but crossing the Nile on foot at Jinja is still a moment worth marking.

Beyond Jinja lies Busoga, a kingdom with its own language, Lusoga, and its own cultural leader. The road continues through Iganga and Bugiri, past farmland and market towns, towards Tororo, where a dramatic volcanic rock rises straight out of the plain above the town. In the east the linguistic picture is more varied still, with Dhopadhola, Ateso, Lumasaba and other languages spoken. English and Kiswahili are Uganda's official languages, but a walker crossing the country hears greetings change every few days.

What walking across Uganda is really like

The honest answer is that the hardest part is the traffic, not the terrain. The main roads between the Rwandan border and Kenya form part of the corridor that carries goods inland from the coast, and long stretches, especially around Kampala, Masaka and Jinja, are busy with lorries, buses, minibuses and boda bodas. Shoulders can be narrow or absent. Anyone walking these roads needs to plan carefully, stay highly visible and never walk after dark.

Other practical points:

• Climate: the highlands are cool and often wet; the central and eastern lowlands are warmer and more humid. There are two main rainy seasons in much of the country.
• Health: malaria is present in much of Uganda, and yellow fever vaccination evidence is required for entry, so travel-clinic advice well in advance is essential.
• Photography: ask before photographing people, and do not photograph military, police, government or infrastructure sites, including bridges and dams.
• Politics: stay away from rallies and demonstrations, and avoid wearing party colours.

Against all of that sits something walkers in Uganda consistently describe: people are curious, welcoming and quick to talk. A person on foot is approachable in a way that someone in a car never is, and roadside conversations are where much of the country reveals itself.

On the road through Uganda

On the walk's route, Uganda comes after Rwanda, which the expedition explores in articles such as what umuganda means, and before Kenya. It is planned for later in the walk, and the current plan is to follow roughly the line described here, at a planning pace of about 175 km a week over five and a half walking days. Side trips to places such as the gorilla forests or western parks are planned as pauses: walking resumes from exactly where it stopped, and the public record keeps walked distance separate from everything else.

Because Leon has walked in Uganda before, this leg is partly a return, built around people and places he already knows rather than a checklist of sights. You can read more about that first walk and his background on the about page. Along the way the expedition plans to fund an act of kindness in every place it passes, recorded in the kindness ledger, and updates will appear in the journal once he is walking. If you would like to be part of it, you can support the walk.

Frequently asked questions

How far is it to walk across Uganda?

From Katuna on the Rwandan border to Malaba on the Kenyan border via Kampala is roughly 600 km by road.

How long does it take to walk across Uganda?

At 30 to 35 km a day with rest days, about three and a half to four weeks of walking.

Is it safe to walk along Uganda's roads?

The main risk is traffic. Walking in daylight only, staying visible and planning around the busiest corridors near Kampala and Jinja reduces it considerably. Check current official travel advice before any trip.

What languages will you hear crossing Uganda?

Among others, Rukiga, Runyankole, Luganda and Lusoga, plus English and Kiswahili, the official languages.