Arua
Uganda · Africa
About Arua
Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region of Uganda.
Arua is approximately 475 kilometres (295 mi) north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda, Arua is about 228 kilometres (142 mi), by road, west of Gulu, the largest city in Uganda's Northern Region. The geographical coordinates of the city of Arua are 03°02'07.0"N, 30°54'39.0"E. Arua sits at an average elevation of 1,310 metres (4,298 ft) above sea level. Arua is closely bordered to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the west and South Sudan in the north, which makes it a strategic location for business between Uganda and her two neighbors to the west and north.
Due to its strategic location, Arua is also part of the refugee program of hosting up to 20% of the refugees entering Uganda annually.
Arua is an important base for non-governmental organizations working in the West Nile sub-region or serving Western Equatoria in South Sudan and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It became an important commercial supply centre and transport route when the Juba - Yei - Morobo - Kaya Road opened...
Arua travel guide
Getting there
Daily flights from Entebbe Airport exist with Eagle Air. there are buses from Kampala 10 hours. Pakwach, Gulu.
See
Ajai Game Reserve, Albert Nile, Murchison Falls National Park.
Do
Rhino Camp is a small trading center about 62 km east from Arua on the west bank of the Albert Nile. It's the former site of Theodore Roosevelts safari camp and there are some abandoned facilities from that time around. Many people have turned up in this small town asking the locals the location of the Rhino Camp for accommodation! There is no commercial accommodation in this small town. There are remains of an old cotton ginnery that was established in the 1940s when Rhino Camp was a town bustling with activity and had a steam ship stop over station for the route Butiaba-Nimule. The Ajai Game Reserve is located 10 km to the south.
Buy
Kenya Commercial Bank. Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. (updated May 2015) Stanbic Bank. Has a Mastercard/Visa Card ATM. (updated Jun 2015)
Sleep
In Arua there are Oasis Inn, Heritage Park, Heritage Court and The White Castle Hotel. Outside Arua is the river camp operated by Bahr-el-Jebel Safaris.
Hotel Pacific, Arua Avenue (near the Eagle Air office), ☏ +256 772667314. Has 28 single/double rooms. US$13/16. (updated Jun 2015) Olomide Guest House, Kuluva road. Check-in: 10AM, check-out: 9AM. Double room with outside bathroom. Breakfast. USh 19,000. (updated Jun 2015)
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.