3 Days/ 2 Nights – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

In order to connect with the afternoon domestic flight to Bwindi Forest Impenetrable National park, you will need to be at Entebbe International Airport by 1100hrs to check in for the 1200hrs scheduled flight to Kihihi Airstrip.

Domestic flight Expert tips: Internal flights – Luggage allowance – all domestic flights with in Uganda have luggage restrictions that range from aircraft size, it could be combined as body and luggage but mainly luggage is restricted to 15kgs per person in soft bags and the weight payload per person is 75kgs and the weight restriction is majorly for safety purposes. You could need to book an extra seat for weight allowance.

Meet your safari guide at Kihihi Airstrip and transfer to Bwindi Forest Impenetrable national park. Bwindi Forest Impenetrable National park is located in the south western region of Uganda stretching on 327 square kilometers of land which makes it one of the forests on large expanse in East Africa with an eco-system so rich in variety of mammals, birds, trees, vegetation shrubs among others.

In the early 90s, Bwindi Forest was awarded a world Heritage site status after being converted to a national park from a forest reserve due to its broad diversity in nature with different animal life like Gorillas, monkeys, elephants, baboons among others, and the dense population of tree species, shrubs, vines, flowers on the forest terrain plus a group of 300 bird species not excluding the diverging insect species like butterflies that are over 200 species.

The fact that it is located at the edge of the Great Rift Valley, it receives rainfall all year and the weather is quite unpredictable, we therefore advise our guests to come along with warm clothes as the forest and the surrounding areas give off cold currents.

The beautiful forest is a home to half of the world’s population of the endangered mountain gorillas habituated in both the north and the southern sectors of the park namely Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo.

The drive from Kihihi Airstrip to Bwindi National park is approximately 2 hours, proceed to Bwindi lodge that faces the dense impenetrable forest canopy covered with mist despite the time of the day. The lodge is located inside the park creating higher chances of spotting different wildlife species like monkeys and birds at your doorstep even the gorillas occasionally visit the lodge. The lodge has different room types comprised of the standard bandas and deluxe rooms that are ten in number with ensuite showers and a sitting lounge plus a fire place for warmth since the park gives off a cold breeze.

The lodge has always been remarked for the delicious meals from the experienced chef plus the exceptional hospitality from the staff that are available for 24 hours to provide you with the necessary services. Don’t forget to visit the complimentary spa and massage parlor after your trek for a relaxation and refreshment.

Optional activities like ride for a woman, Buhoma community visit and Batwa experience are available for today’s afternoon.

Dinner and Overnight at Bwindi Lodge.

Finally, the long awaited day has come for you to face the gentle giants. The day begins with an early morning breakfast before you set off to UWA headquarters which is the starting and briefing point for the trek, don’t forget to carry your packed lunch as we are not sure of the time you will be coming out of the forest.

After your registration and briefing by the ranger guides, you will be assigned a family to trek and a guide to accompany you to the dense forest. Following the different trails, search for the gorillas and them being wild animals, they keep moving from one place to another in the forest to look for food and construct nests therefore it is hard to predict their exact location in the greenery which makes the trekked distance a little longer and a bit of straining with the hikes up and down lasting for about 9 hours.

The pain and the strain is long forgotten once you have traced the gorillas, as they vigorously welcome you with the gigantic humming sound, as the babies try to hide in their parents and swing from one tree to the other and the mothers nurse the babies, the males are visible in the trees building nests for rest and an overnight and the sightings, the experience have a left never to forget memories, what a redeemable experience that is!

Tips for trekking

• Wear fully covering clothes like long trousers and a full sleeved shirt
• Wear hiking boots and gaiters are important.
• Carry along your cooler box with enough water like 3 litres of water or more and packed lunch.
• Hand gloves to protect you from pricking of the thorns.
• Hire a porter to carry your bag and act as your support when the terrain gets tough.
• No flash light is allowed when taking photos of the gorillas.

After your one hour of enjoyment with the gorillas, return to the park headquarters for your certificate, return to the lodge for an overnight and dinner.

Dinner and Overnight at Bwindi Lodge.

Depart from Bwindi Lodge after your breakfast back to Kihihi Airstrip, drive time is approximately 2 hours. You can depart with packed lunch from Bwindi Lodge if you do not mind a picnic meal for the day otherwise you can grab a hot one at the airport.

End of services.