Accessing Kibale forest national park by air

Accessing Kibale forest national park by air: It’s now possible to fly to Kibale forest national park for chimpanzee safaris. The distance from Entebbe to Kibale forest national park by air is 233km and it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there. The whole air transport journey to Kibale forest national park takes 2 hours and 30 minutes with airport transfers included.

Tourists who access Kibale forest national park by air transport access the area faster compared to those that use road transport. By road transport, it takes 6 to 7 hours meaning that the people who use air transport get there earlier. Air transport to Kibale forest national park is used by luxury travelers as well as those that hate traveling long distances.

There are chattered flights to Kasese and Mweya airstrip but to use them it’s a must to contact the airline company in advance so that they book your seat. If you are using a local tour operator on your safari, they will calculate the total cost of the safari and then ask you to pay a deposit. Some of the deposit will be used when booking the flights on your safari.

The flights are booked using the dates of the month and year you want to travel which are set to the airline company (Bar Aviation Uganda or Aerolink Uganda). If the seats are available, some money will be sent to the airline company and then your seat will be booked. On the day of the safari, you will be able to fly to the park.

Accessing Kibale forest national park by air

Chattered flights to Kibale forest national park

Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda do have chartered flights to different national parks within Uganda and Kibale forest is one of them. There is no airstrip in Kibale forest national park but tourists do use Mweya airstrip within queen Elizabeth national park or Kasese airstrip. Flights to any of these airstrips start from Kajjansi airstrip and Entebbe international airport and last for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Flights to Mweya/Kasese are done three times a day. The first flight departs at 0700, second flight departs at 1015, and the last flight departs at 1200. Three flights are available during the dry season/high season but in the rainy season there are two daily flights because a few visitors are visiting the park.

Activities to do on fly-in-safari to Kibale forest national park

Encountering chimpanzees

Chimpanzee trekking and chimpanzee habituation are the most done activities in Kibale forest national park. Tourists who fly to the park want to be part of the once in a life time activity of being around apes said to be close to human beings. To be part of any of the chimpanzee activities you need a chimpanzee trekking permit which comes with 1 hour around chimpanzees and a chimpanzee habituation permit which comes with a full day time around chimpanzees.

Chimpanzee activities start with a briefing at Kanyanchu visitor’s center where tourists are taught the rules and regulations of trekking. The trekkers doing for chimpanzee trekking are grouped not exceeding 8 people and those going for habituation are grouped not exceeding 6. Armed ranger guides lead trekkers in the jungle where they meet the chimpanzees and spend time around them.

Nature walks

Kibale has got day nature walks and night nature walks where tourists move to certain areas of the park on foot guided by armed ranger guides. The nature walks are organized for tourists that want to explore the wilderness on foot. Tourists during nature walks see a lot of mammals, primates, birds, water sources, and vegetation within the park. Nature walks can be to Nyamirima hill where tourists will see over 5 crater lakes.

Bird watching

On a fly in safari to Kibale forest national park, one of the activities to do is bird watching. The national park is one of the best bird watching destinations with over 370 bird species so far recorded here. Bird watching in Kibale forest national park is done on foot within the forest or Bigodi wetland which is located next to the park.

Bird watching in Kibale forest national park gives tourists an opportunity to see bird species such as tropical boubou, slender-billed weaver, African pitta, crowned eagle, African wood owl, blue-breasted kingfisher, green-breasted pitta, zebra waxbill, papyrus canary, African dusky flycatcher, papyrus gonolek, African emerald cuckoo, yellow spotted nicator, alpine swift, great blue turaco, little greenbul and cassin’s spinetail among others.

Best time to access Kibale forest national park by air

Tourists can access Kibale forest national park by air at any time of the year however it’s good to get there in the dry season. This is not only the best time to visit the park but also the Kibale forest national park. The weather is so good because the country at that time is receiving little or no rainfall. The skies are clear for fights, inside the park the trails are dry and passable and the vegetation is short and thin with good views of wildlife.

Tourists can still access Kibale forest national park by air during the rainy season when the weather is favorable. The park is open all throughout the year and the lodges are discounted in the rainy season. The rainy season is not the best period to access Kibale forest national park by air because too much rainfall doesn’t favor flights, inside the park the vegetation is tall with unclear views of wildlife, and trekking trails are muddy and slippery.