Best way to travel to see mountain Gorillas – Compare driving and flying to Bwindi
Best way to travel to see mountain gorillas – The main and the most popular means of transport used by many travelers visiting Uganda is road transport, when visiting the Gorilla National parks in Uganda and Rwanda. Travelers normally take their trips by road transport. The roads in Uganda and Rwanda leading to the Mountain Gorilla tracking areas are generally good but travels are much slower due to the nature of roads most especially those approaching to Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla National parks. The roads are often slow and bumpy since many roads on the country side are dart roads and may take most of time to get to the final destination especially when it rains. A 4×4 vehicle is highly recommended for such roads and most especially during the rainy reasons. Getting to these national parks has several options either by private car, or by any of the tour operators who will arrange the transport to and from during your Gorilla safari, where you will have an opportunity to view the beautiful scenery along the country side or alternatively fly in to any of the national parks in Uganda and Rwanda.
Ultimate Guide to Mountain Gorilla Tracking
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is Uganda’s famous national park with the highest tourist population for Gorilla tracking. Bwindi Forest is a home to almost half of the world’s population of mountain Gorillas. Bwindi National Park is also a bird paradise, the park harbors over 360 recorded bird species spotted a long the trails, swamps and in the vegetation around Bwindi Impenetrable, for bird lovers, Bwindi is the place to visit you will enjoy the view of the Albertine endemics, water birds and many more. There are also other primates sighted in the forest such as the monkeys, baboons and animals like the forest elephants and others.
Getting to Bwindi is approximately 9-10 hours’ drive on road from Kampala or Entebbe International Airport, if you have to visit Bwindi Forest, you have a lot to say, the drive is fantastic you will view some of the attractions along the country side such African life in all the trading centres you get to pass through, en-route stop overs at the Equator line for photography.
If you’re having much time to spend on safari, you could opt for a trip to Lake Mburo or Queen Elizabeth National Park; here you will enjoy abundant wild game during the game drives. In Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will be able to see the tree climbing lions, the antelopes, elephants and many other animals. A visit to Lake Mburo National Park will give an opportunity to sight the Rothschild giraffe that can only be sighted in a few national parks in Uganda and that is in Murchison Falls National Park with the biggest number of the giraffes, also in Kidepo Valley National Park.
If you prefer to fly, Aerolink Uganda offers domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport to Kisoro or Kihihi Airfield and then you transfer to the park. The flight is about one and half hours to Bwindi depending on your tracking location. Contact Great Adventure Safaris so that we can check availability of space for your flights to Bwindi. The flight is absolutely stunning as you will pass over the islands of Lake Victoria, trading centres, the mist covered valleys and the swamp vegetation and the magnificent view of the peak of the Volcanoes approaching from the distance is breath-taking much more enjoyable to view these attractive features in a distance.
For travelers who have limited time to spend on the trip or do not fancy long road drives, can fly to Kigali International Airport in Rwanda and take a short road drive of 2 hours to the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda or you can choose to cross to Uganda for Bwindi Impenetrable Gorillas which takes 4-5 hours driving for Kigali-Rwanda. The drive is great with all the clear views of 8 Volcanoes and many hills which are the result why Rwanda is known to be a land of the thousand hills. Hike to any of these mountains, is absolutely stunning as you will get to view the Virunga ranges and the clear view of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park just in one angle.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has over 19 habituated Gorilla families open for tracking in all the four sectors of the park which are Buhoma in the North, Ruhija in the East, Rushaga and Nkuringo regions in the South. And Mgahinga Gorilla National Park with one habituated Gorilla family called Nyakagezi Gorilla family.
