Uganda: Gorillas of Bwindi by Air

Arrive in Entebbe

Entebbe International Airport (EBB) to your hotel in Entebbe

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Entebbe
• Environ 15 min de route

Après-midi

Rest, walk down to the lake, or sit out in the garden: the afternoon is yours.

Soir

In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the days ahead: how the light-aircraft flight works and what fits in the 15 kg soft bag (a soft bag, no hard suitcase), what the gorilla trek asks of you, how the rangers split the group between two gorilla families, and what to wear in the forest. Anything you will not need at Bwindi can stay in storage in Entebbe until you fly home. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner. Plan to land by about 4 pm to make the briefing; later arrivals are met and briefed at breakfast.

Compris

• Pick-up at Entebbe International Airport (EBB)
• Briefing with your guide on the flight, the trek and what to pack
• Welcome dinner
• Luggage storage in Entebbe for anything you do not need at Bwindi

Fly to Kihihi, walk Buhoma village

Entebbe to Kihihi by light aircraft, then by road to Buhoma at the edge of Bwindi

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Bwindi (Buhoma)
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we fly west on a scheduled light-aircraft flight from Entebbe to the Kihihi airstrip, about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on stops, over the farmland and hills you would otherwise spend most of a day driving through. Our vehicle and driver meet the plane, and it is about 45 km and an hour and a half to two hours by road to Buhoma, past tea, banana groves and small villages, to the northern gate of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. We stay three nights at a lodge within walking distance of the park office.

Après-midi

Lunch is at the lodge. Mid-afternoon a guide from the community takes us on the Buhoma village walk: the farms on the forest edge, local crafts and food, for example a banana beer brewer or a traditional healer, and the craft cooperatives that earn from visitors.

Soir

Dinner at the lodge, and an early night before the trek.

Compris

• Scheduled light-aircraft flight Entebbe to Kihihi
• Road transfer Kihihi to Buhoma with our driver
• Buhoma village walk with a community guide

Mountain gorillas in Bwindi

Buhoma park office into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Bwindi (Buhoma)

Matin

Trackers go out at dawn to find where the family nested, and the rangers lead you to them: sometimes under an hour away, sometimes four or five, on steep, slippery slopes through thick undergrowth. Once you reach the family you have one hour with them, watching the silverback, the mothers and young feed and play a few metres away.

Après-midi

Lunch is packed for the trail.

Soir

Back at the lodge, the afternoon is free to rest, and the group meets at dinner to compare families.

Compris

• Gorilla trek from Buhoma with Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers and trackers (Uganda gorilla permit included)
• One hour with a habituated gorilla family
• A porter for each guest
• Packed lunch on the trail

Forest trails and waterfalls, or a second trek

Buhoma, on foot in Bwindi

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Bwindi (Buhoma)

Matin

After a late breakfast a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger leads the group on the Munyaga River trail from Buhoma, under tree ferns and tall forest, to a series of waterfalls. With no gorillas to find, the ranger has time for the rest of Bwindi: monkeys in the canopy, birds the forest is known for, butterflies along the stream and the plants local healers use.

Après-midi

We are back for lunch at the lodge. The afternoon is free: rest, read on the deck, or browse the craft shops near the park gate, where cooperatives sell baskets and carved gorillas. If one hour was not enough, you can trek a second time today with another permit, bought at cost when you book and subject to availability; your guide stays with the rest of the group.

Compris

• Ranger-led Munyaga River waterfall trail from Buhoma
• Lunch and dinner at the lodge

Activités en option

• A second gorilla trek with another Uganda permit (USD 800 at the time of writing, at cost, booked in advance)

Fly back to Entebbe and home

Buhoma to Kihihi by road, then by light aircraft to Entebbe

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

Breakfast at the lodge, a last look at the forest from the deck, then an hour and a half to two hours back by road to the Kihihi airstrip for the mid-morning flight to Entebbe, about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on stops.

Après-midi

We land around midday. Lunch is in Entebbe, and a day room near the airport lets you shower, repack the bag you left in storage and rest before your flight home. If you are carrying on to a safari in Kenya or Tanzania, or to Kigali, Entebbe has regional connections. Your guide sees you to Entebbe International Airport and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book an international flight leaving after about 6 pm: light-aircraft times can shift with weather at Kihihi, and we do not want you racing the clock on the last day of the trip.

Compris

• Road transfer Buhoma to Kihihi
• Scheduled light-aircraft flight Kihihi to Entebbe
• Lunch and a day room in Entebbe
• Drop-off at Entebbe International Airport (EBB)