The Crater Lakes that surround Fort Portal are another popular destination for visitors. There are many of them, each differing in size and character and several have well developed visitor facilities. These lakes have fishing, swimming, great birding, easy access to Kibale National Park, and a solitary hippo that timeshares between a few of them. The crater lakes are bilharzia-free and perfect places to spend a few inexpensive and idyllic days resting, relaxing, and recovering from the rigors of travel. A trail and boardwalk take you around and through the swamp where birding is good and several species of monkeys are apt to be seen, as well as the interaction between human needs and the needs and benefits of conservation.
Bird watching deserves mention by itself.
Uganda has over one thousand species of birds and each of the protected areas mentioned here , except Rwenzori NP, has from 300 to around 400 species. Some of the best places for bird watching are Katonga WR, Semliki WR, Kibale Forest National Park , Semuliki National Park , the Crater Lakes, Itwara Forest Reserve, and Magombe Swamp. Because of the broad diversity in such a small area, western Uganda probably has the best birding in a country that has some of the best birding in the world. While you are here, you will find numerous opportunities to buy handicrafts in shops and markets that are hard, impossible, or expensive to find in other places. These include instruments, weapons, papyrus baskets and hats, and other things made and used only by the local tribes as well as crafts made in other parts of Uganda.