Uganda: Gorillas of Bwindi by Air

1. Day 1: Arrive in Entebbe

   Entebbe International Airport (EBB) to your hotel in Entebbe

   • Drive about 15 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Entebbe
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Entebbe International Airport (EBB) on the shore of Lake Victoria. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall, and the hotel is a few minutes away, so there is no drive into Kampala traffic on a tired first day. Rest, walk down to the lake, or sit out in the garden: the afternoon is yours. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Fly to Kihihi, walk Buhoma village

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

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
   Day 2 details

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

   Included

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

   Easier option: Skip the village walk and rest at the lodge after the flight.

   Free time: Evening free at the lodge

   Activity: The village walk is about 2 to 3 hours on dirt paths with some short climbs.

   

3. Day 3: Mountain gorillas in Bwindi

   Buhoma park office into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and back

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
   Day 3 details

   We walk from the lodge to the Buhoma park office for the ranger briefing at about 7:30 to 8 am: how to behave near the gorillas, keeping the distance the rangers give you, and no trekking with a cold. Each habituated family takes at most eight visitors a day, so the group splits across two families; if permits can only be had for one family, the group runs at 8 or fewer, or the extra guests are offered a private date, each party with rangers, trackers and a porter for every guest. 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. Lunch is packed for the trail. Back at the lodge, the afternoon is free to rest, and the group meets at dinner to compare families.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Tell your guide at the briefing: rangers try to give slower walkers a family that is nearer, and porters help on the steep parts.

   Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge

   Activity: The hardest day: up to five hours or more each way on steep, muddy slopes between about 1,160 and 2,600 m. Gloves, long sleeves and waterproof boots help with nettles and mud.

   

4. Day 4: Forest trails and waterfalls, or a second trek

   Buhoma, on foot in Bwindi

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
   Day 4 details

   A slower day, and the reason we stay three nights. 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. 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.

   Included

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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Skip the trail and spend the day at the lodge.

   More active option: A second gorilla trek in place of the waterfall trail.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: The waterfall trail is about 3 hours return on forest paths, wet and slippery in places.

5. Day 5: Fly back to Entebbe and home

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

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   Day 5 details

   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. 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.

   Included

   • 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)

   Free time: Afternoon at the day room

   Activity: Book a flight home leaving after about 6 pm.

Wildlife and weather: Bwindi is rainforest and can rain any day; June to September and December to February are drier, with firmer trails. Gorillas are seen year-round, but trek length depends on where the family slept, not the season.

• Entebbe1 night
• Bwindi (Buhoma)3 nights