What is the best way to get to Bwindi or Mgahinga forest for gorilla trekking?

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What is the best way to get to Bwindi or Mgahinga forest for gorilla trekking?

Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park are located in the southwestern part of Uganda which is slightly far away from the Ugandan Capital Kampala and Uganda’s international airport Entebbe however the two national parks are located close to Rwanda’s Kigali international airport, there are several ways to get to these two gorilla national parks and here our experts break it down for you so you can make the right choice while planning a safari to Uganda for Mountain Gorilla trekking adventurers.

By Air

Currently, Uganda’s southwestern part is served by two airstrips, the Kihihi airstrip which is located close to the Northern part of Bwindi forest known as Buhoma gorilla trekking sector and the Eastern part of Bwindi forest known as Ruhija gorilla trekking sector, and then the second airstrip is Kisoro which is located closure to Southern parts of Bwindi impenetrable forest known as Rushaga and Nkuringo and also Mgahinga gorilla national park.

There are two daily flights to Kihihi airstrip from Entebbe and one flight to Kisoro airstrip daily, clients can either take the scheduled flights or charter flights into this area and take a 4×4 vehicle transfer to the lodges which will range between 1 hour to 3 hours depending on where you are going.

By Road from Kampala or Entebbe

For those that are heading straight for the mountain gorillas you can take the adventurous road trip which is approximately 450-500 km via Masaka-Mbarara-Ntungamo or Kabale leading to any of these sectors, the drives usually take 10-11 hours to arrive in any of these trekking areas but you must ensure that you use a 4×4 safari vehicle for this trip.

From Rwandan Capital Kigali

Rwanda borders Uganda in the south meaning that the two gorilla national parks are close to Rwanda and a road trip from Kigali to any of the trekking sectors will take you about 4-6 hours and the furthest being Buhoma the Northern part of the forest and the closet being Ruhija and Rushaga gorilla trekking regions so clients can fly into Kigali and then drive to Bwindi or Mgahinga forest for a gorilla trekking experience.

On Our regular safaris

Our experts tailor safaris that include other national parks and some of our trips are usually targeting gorillas and Chimpanzees in the Kibale forest or Kyambura gorge or Gorillas and wildlife where you will visit some of the premier national parks like Kidepo valley national park, Murchison falls national park and Queen Elizabeth national park and our easiest access to Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks is usually from Lake Mburo national park and Queen Elizabeth national park.

Conclusion

We recommend flying safaris to Bwindi for short safaris and driving for longer safaris or accessing it from Kigali the Rwandan Capital to take a bit of the long drives from Kampala or Entebbe.