Official Name: | Bunagana, Uganda |
Pushpin Map: | Uganda |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Uganda |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Uganda |
Subdivision Type1: | Region |
Subdivision Name1: | Western Uganda |
Subdivision Type2: | Sub-region |
Subdivision Name2: | Kigezi sub-region |
Subdivision Type3: | District |
Subdivision Name3: | Kisoro District |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Population As Of: | 2020 Estimate |
Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
Coordinates: | -1.2944°N 29.5997°W |
Elevation M: | 1941 |
Bunagana is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It sits across the international border from the similarly named town of Bunagana, Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1]
The town is located in extreme southwestern Uganda, in Kisoro District, at the international border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Bunagana is approximately 87km (54miles), by road, west of Kabale, the largest city in the Kigezi sub-region.
This is approximately 13km (08miles) west of Kisoro, the district headquarters. The coordinates of the town are:1°17'40.0"S, 29°35'59.0"E (Latitude:-1.294444; Longitude:29.599722). Bunagana, Uganda sits at an average altitude of 1941m (6,368feet) above mean sea level.[2]
Bunagana is a major crossing point, for both human and commercial traffic. On the Congolese side, a road leads to Goma, a city of approximately 600,000 people and the capital of North Kivu Province in the DRC. On the Ugandan side, Kabale, with a population estimated at about 54,000, lies to the east of Bunagana and is connected to it by an all-weather bitumen-surfaced road.[3]
The following additional points of interest lie within or close to the town limits: (a) the offices of Bunagana Town Council (b) Bunagana Central Market, the source of daily fresh produce (c) Bwindi National Park in Uganda is northeast of Bunagana, while Virunga National Park in the DRC is southwest of the town (d) the town of Bunagana, DRC is immediately west of Bunagana, Uganda, across the border with the DRC.
The 90km (60miles) Bunagana–Rutshuru–Goma Road starts here and ends in Goma, DR Congo.[4] The 101km (63miles) Kabale–Kisoro–Bunagana Road ends here, having started in Kabale, Uganda.[5]
On 12 March 2021, Ugandan authorities began the construction of a One Stop Border Post (OSBP), at Bunagana, with a budget of US$1.3 million.[6]