Both Gatuna & Cyanika border re-opend on 31st January 2022: Rwanda re-opens its Land borders with Uganda after a whopping 3 years of completely no activity between the two countries.
Rwanda officially re-opened its land borders with Uganda on January 31/2022 after nearly 03 years of closure from 2019 following unsettled disputes between the two countries.
The main reason behind the indefinite closure of the Rwanda – Uganda land borders in 2019 is the accusation by the Rwandan government that Uganda was medaling in their issues. Prior to the complete closure of the Borders of Cyanika & Gatuna, the Rwandese government discouraged its citizens from traveling to Uganda. This abrupt move brought about a distortion in Business especially for locals that needed to do cross-border transactions.
Mediation talks between the two governments have been ongoing right from February 2020 up until the most recent 28th January 2022 visit to Rwanda by the UPDF – Uganda Peoples Defence forces commander and first son to President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Both Kagame and Lt. Gen Muhoozi resolved to have the land borders resume business as normal effective 31st January 2022.
Impact of the re-opening of the Gatuna & Cyanika borders on Tourism. Rwanda re-opens its Land borders with Uganda
As has been before, a lot of travelers to Africa often book cross-border safaris combining at least two East African countries; Uganda – Rwanda, or Rwanda – Kenya. For instance, for travelers intending to trek Gorillas In Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, it’s shorter to fly into Rwanda and drive only 5 hours to get to Bwindi or Mgahinga as opposed to if you flew into Entebbe where you would require 9 -10 hours to get to Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
For travelers that would like to experience Gorilla Trekking without having to spend a lot of money on Gorilla Permits, Uganda is your ideal choice. Gorilla permits in Uganda cost $700 per person while Rwanda gorilla Permits cost an arm & a leg – $1,500 per person.
