Airstrips in Bwindi

Airstrips in Bwindi: Located in southwestern Uganda, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is one of the most visited national parks in the country. The park is home to the endangered mountain gorillas that are said to be close relatives to human beings. Bwindi impenetrable forest national park was gazetted in 1991 to protect the few mountain gorillas that were getting to extinction. As of today, the national park harbors more than 600 mountain gorillas that live in the four sectors of the park.

The mountain gorillas in bwindi live in Buhoma region, Rushaga region, Ruhija region and Nkuringo region. The whole Bwindi impenetrable forest national park covers a total area of 331 sq. km where we find over 120 mammal species, 10 primates, and 350 bird species. Bwindi is one of the places that can be accessed by air transport from Kajjansi airstrip and Entebbe international airport. The national park has only one airstrip which is Kihihi airstrip located on the northern side of the park.

Kihihi airstrip is used by luxury travelers who want to visit Buhoma sector in the north of the park. Visiting Buhoma region using air transport is one of the fasted ways to get to the region because it takes one hour 45 minutes. Flights to Kihihi airstrip are done by different airline companies which include Bar Aviation Uganda, AeroLink Uganda, and Fly Uganda.

The flights start from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip and they are done two or three times a day depending on the season. During the dry season, flights to Kihihi airstrip depart at 7 am, 10:15 am, and 12 pm. The flights to Kihihi airstrip are done in the time above in the dry season but during the rainy season, there are days when these flights delay due to bad weather conditions.

Travelers worried about traveling long distances to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can now fly to Kihihi airstrip and trek gorillas in 1 hour 45 minutes. A traveler must book a flight earlier in advance because these flights have a minimum group of people they do carry. To book a flight, you can use a trusted local tour operator or directly with the airline company.

Kisoro airstrip located in Kisoro district is another airstrip used by travelers visiting Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. The airstrip is not located in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park but it’s very near to regions like Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Rushaga. From Kisoro airstrip to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, road transport takes 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Booking flights to Airstrips in Bwindi

To fly to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, it’s a must to book the flight in advance so that they prepare for you a seat. To do this, you can contact a local tour operator or the company airline itself. The email should contain the dates of the month and year you want to fly and this shall be used to check if the seats are available. Once the seats are available, you will be sent an email containing the different banking details on how you can send money. After sending the money, you can send an email containing a scanned copy of the receipt so that we book the flight for you.

When to fly to Airstrips in Bwindi

Travelers can fly to Bwindi at any time of the year but there are months that are better than the rest. The dry months are the best to fly to Bwindi and these happen from June to September and December to February. They are characterized by little or no rainfall which favors the flights to the park. During the dry season, the weather conditions are so good that flights can’t even delay. Visiting the dry season, the trekking trails are dry, vegetation is short and thin with good views of the mountain gorillas and the roads leading to the park from the airstrip are passable.

Travelers can fly to Bwindi in the rainy season from March to May and October to November. This favors those that want to enjoy discounted cheap flights and accommodation facilities. The service providers do lower the prices to attract the few travelers on the safari. The rainy season is however characterized by too much rainfall that delays the flights on some days, the roads connecting to the park from the airstrip are impassable, the trekking trails are muddy and slippery, and the vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of the wild animals.