How To Get To Bwindi National Park by Fly-in Or Driving Safari.
Bwindi National Park Fly-in or Drive Safari: Kampala to Bwindi is 530 kilometers and takes 8–9 hours by vehicle. Stop at the Equator to capture photos on both sides of the world or at Mpambire Royal Drum Village.
Safaris are another roadside attraction. Lake Mburo National Park requires overnight stays. This park connects all western Ugandan national parks.
Daily flights from Kajjansi or Entebbe Airport to Kihihi Airstrip. You must book a seat and arrange a transfer car.
Driving or flying safaris are now available at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has airstrips on both sides for modest planes. Clients may fly to Kisoro Airstrip in southern Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and drive to Nkuringo or Rushaga in 2.5 hours.
Tourists may fly from Entebbe to Kihihi or Kayonza Airstrip to monitor gorillas in the Ruhija or Buhoma flanks of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Driving from Kayonza to Buhoma takes 45 minutes, whereas from Kihihi Airstrip it might take two hours. Three hours should be plenty to hike gorillas in Ruhija’s Eastern Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Kampala to Buhoma or Ruhija takes 8–9 hours by car, while Nkuringo or Rushaga takes 9–10 hours. The drive from Kampala to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is lovely and full of sights. These include stops at the equator crossing, royal drum making, seeing his pastoral group graze ankle-long-horned cattle, and the undulating hills of Kigezi.
Flights from Entebbe to any park side might take an hour or more, depending on connections. Fly Uganda and Aerolink Uganda are the primary airlines serving Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and others. Aerolink conducts morning and afternoon flights from Entebbe to Kihihi, occasionally connecting to other national parks. The first flight leaves Entebbe at 7:30 and arrives in Kihihi at 9:45 am, while the afternoon flight arrives an hour later.
Fly Uganda charters may land at Kayonza, near Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, or Kihihi Airstrip, depending on the number of passengers. Kihihi Airstrip handles larger aircraft. They also provide a per-seat charge with a minimum of two passengers for individuals on a budget who cannot charter their own plane.
Strong winds and volcanic slopes make Kisoro airport most accessible in the morning.
Flying to see gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is an option if you have little time, but driving to learn about Uganda and its people is more enjoyable.
Recommended routes to reach Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: Kampala-Ntungamo-Rukungiri-Kihihi-Buhoma.
The quickest route from Kampala to Buhoma on Bwindi. After 390 miles, take Murram Road for 82 km. Driving takes 8 hours.
Kampala-Kabale-Ruhijah-Buhoma
It takes 3–4 hours to travel 95 kilometers on a murram road from Kabale to Ruhija to Buhoma. As the road is under development, only a 4×4 vehicle may pass through during wet periods.
Kampala to Kabale to Nkuringo, the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, is 105 kilometers. Winding roads take four hours to traverse this distance.
You may spend the night at Kisoro, 80 kilometers from Kabale, and then drive 35 kilometers to Nkuringo for a briefing in the morning.
Kampala-Kabale-Kanungu-Buhoma
You drive 414 miles on a tarmac road from Kampala to Kabale in around 6 hours. Connect with a 150-km murram road from Kabale to Kanungu to Kanyantorogo for 5 hours. This route may have impassable roads, requiring a 4×4.
Queen Elizabeth National Park to Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
On a wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, you must drive 160 m from Mweya, the park’s administrative center, to the Buhoma section of Bwindi Park.
When staying in the Ishasha area of southern Queen Elizabeth National Park, anticipate to travel 64km. Check the fig trees for tree-climbing lions.
By Air
Kihihi and Kisoro airports get daily domestic flights from Entebbe or Kajjansi. The morning and afternoon flights may carry up to two individuals.
For private gorilla trekking, schedule charter planes from Kajjansi Airstrip or Entebbe Airport. Booking is required so CAA is notified of your flight and other permissions are completed.
Booking Fly-In Gorilla Trekking Safari (Requirements)
A valid passport
Full names on the passport
Nationality
Age
Allowance for hand baggage is 10 kilos.
Katland Safaris offers fly-in gorilla treks. Your information is needed to reserve seats for our customers. In high seasons (June–September and December–January), tickets sell out, thus booking is recommended.
You must organize a shuttle to your resort as flights land at the airfield. After landing in Kihihi, Buhoma is two hours away. No standby taxis are available at the runway, however our safari consultant may pick you up upon request.
Things to do before gorilla trekking Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Visit Mpambire Drum Village
The people running this royal drum-making community inherited the globe from their forefathers. Here, animal skin and timber trunks are used to make drums. Even the King’s Kabaka drums are made here. Locally built and tuned drums of different sizes and musical tones are made here.
Kayabwe Equator
A roadside circular concrete where the Equator is claimed to pass. Stop here to capture images of the northern and southern hemispheres and do the water experiment. Souvenir stores provide crafts to take home.
Lake Mburo National Park
You may drive via Lake Mburo National Park for a short game drive to or from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You may witness elands, impalas, waterbucks, reedbucks, Uganda kobs, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and more. Even if you’re only passing through, you must pay for park entry.
The Queen Elizabeth National Park
Stop at Queen Elizabeth National Park for a night or two before visiting Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Early morning game drives via several tracks are available here. Beautiful crater lakes at the bottom of the Rift Valley are reached via the crater lakes trek. Most notable is Lake Nyamunuka, which smells bad since animals die there and is termed the animal hospital.
Lions that feed on Uganda kobs spend the day on the Kasenyi grassland trail. Catching prey may be difficult here.
Lake Katwe is Uganda’s oldest business. Miners still gather salt with their bare hands. Pans of dried salt are collected by customers and taken to marketplaces nationwide.
The Kazinga channel launch lets you witness the park’s most stunning sights from the Rift Valley bottom. A clear day may see the snowcapped Rwenzori mountains. Lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, water bucks, bushbucks, and others frequent the channel’s banks. They bathe and satisfy their thirst here. Foreign migrants and flocks of birds frequent the coast.
The bridge from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park may be washed away by strong rains, thus you must check its status.
Kibale National Park
On your Africa vacation, Kibale National Park is great for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking. The park provides the best opportunity to see many chimpanzees in the wild, especially during harsh rainy seasons when they eat trees. The best way to Fort Portal is via Mubende.
Despite its numerous attractions, chimpanzee trekking is its main point. The park features the most habituated mountain gorillas in East Africa and primate species in Africa.
A $300 per-person chimpanzee hiking permit is required. Chimpanzee trekking is available morning or afternoon. One chimpanzee community may host six visitors every session. Find the chimpanzees and have one hour to see them. Follow all chimpanzee trekking guidelines as taught by the warden during the briefing. Its major briefing point is Kanyanchu tourist center and a secondary location is Sebitori.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is accessible after chimpanzee trekking. It may take 6 hours to reach Buhoma.
Uganda Wildlife Education Center
Entebbe has several activities if you arrive in Uganda before your gorilla trekking safari to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
The Uganda Wildlife Education Center, formerly Entebbe Zoo, describes most Ugandan creatures. Their exhibitions mimic their natural habitats. Lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, vipers, chimpanzees, and uncommon shoe-bill birds live at the facility. Taking a guided tour of the facility will teach you about these species and their typical Ugandan parks.
Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary
If you have limited time on your gorilla trekking safari but want to view chimps exclusively, Ngamba Island is perfect. This is one of Lake Victoria’s Koome Islands. Chimpanzees who cannot return to their natural groups are rescued here. These chimpanzees were rescued from poachers, snares, circuses, abandoned, and other situations.
You feed the chimpanzees from the observation platform, so you must come early to experience this excitement. Inoculation is required to perform keeper for the day or chimpanzee up close if you arrange early.
For more information on How to Get to Bwindi National Park via Fly-in or Driving Safari, contact us and see our travel adviser.
