How To Get to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Located in Southwest of Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to half of the world’s mountain gorilla population. In the recent years, getting to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was a long and difficult journey taking at least two days of travel.
Now, getting to Bwindi is relatively straightforward thanks to the development of better roads networks and domestic flight routes.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four different areas that are used for gorilla trekking; Buhoma and Ruhija in the northern region, and Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south. Buhoma gorilla trekking sector is the most popular for gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the most important destination in Uganda. Over the years the management of the park has improved dramatically over the years, including better protection of the environment and the gorillas that live there.
The finance collected from tourism, the park is in a better states and if not these funds, there might not be any mountain gorillas left in Bwindi Forest.
How to get to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
By Air
Traveling by air is the fastest way to get to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, there are a number of flight each day. Most visitors arrive in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport (EBB) which is roughly 29 miles from the capital city of Kampala.
From here, and from Kampala’s Kajjansi Airfield, there are many domestic flight connecting to Bwindi. Also, it is possible to book chartered flights to Bwindi Forest.
For visitors traveling to Buhoma or Ruhija gorilla trekking sectors in the north of Bwindi, the closest airstrip is Kihihi. Also, there is the option of chartering a flight to the Kayonza airstrip.
Alternatively, if you are travelling to the southern trailheads of Rushaga and Nkuringo gorilla trekking sectors, then Kisoro is the best airstrip to fly to.
The flight to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is generally around 2 hours, followed by a short drive of around 1.5 – 2 hours.
By Road
Getting to Bwindi by road is much longer than flying, the route passes through the beautiful scenery, and driving through a country often gives you a much better impressive and understanding of the country than flying ever could. Driving is the most popular way to get to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
There are a number of routes to take by road, depending on how much time you have and what you want to see. All these routes converge at the town of Butogota, which is then just 10 miles from the entrance gate at Buhoma.
If you are coming straight from Entebbe or Kampala, the drive time to the park takes approximately 9-10 hours.
For visitors who are already on a Uganda safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is very easy to reach by a 2 to 3 hour-drive south. You can drive through Ishasha on this route to see the famous tree- climbing lions before arriving in Buhoma gorilla trekking sector.
If you are traveling from Lake Mburo National Park, the drive is 5-6 hours.
Getting to Bwindi Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Routes
Kampala to Kabale to Kanungu to Buhoma
This route is one of the longest and most popular routes to getting to Bwindi, covering roughly 330 miles through beautiful scenery. It includes a tarmac highway for the first 5-6 hours, followed by bumpier terrain on a gravel road for the final 4 hours.
Kampala to Ntungamo to Rukungiri to Kihihi to Buhoma
This is the easiest and quickest route to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, covering around 240 miles. It involves taking the highway from Kampala to Ntungamo, before branching off and connecting at a small gravel road for the remainder of the journey.
Kampala to Kabale to Ruhija
This route connects Kampala to Kampala with an 8-hour drive, before leading on to Ruhija in the north-eastern area of Bwindi by gravel road through local communities.
Kampala to Kabale to Nkuringo
This is the best route to access the Nkuringo Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it involves driving directly from Kampala to Kabale, before following a bumpy mountain road through small communities, covering roughly 65 miles to Nkuringo.