Private Flight Safaris to Bwindi

Private flight safaris, commonly known as private charter flight safaris, are those specific flight safaris that are organized for a particular destination to a specific group of people rather than booking individual seats on a scheduled flight. This means that the entire aircraft is reserved and customized for that particular group, not sharing it with other passengers. Therefore, chartered flight safaris to Bwindi are organized for specific groups of people, especially luxury clients who prefer a more private travel safari experience.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the leading gorilla parks in Africa. It is located in southwestern Uganda in the Kanungu, Rubanda, and Kisoro districts. Chartered flights safari to Bwindi always helps those visitors who don’t prefer driving for long distances. For instance, the journey from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park takes about 9-10 hours on the road, and on the other hand, a flight from Entebbe to Bwindi takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Therefore, such visitors will opt for a flight transport means.

These chartered flight safaris to Bwindi Gorilla Park give tourists a chance to travel privately according to their own itinerary with unique travel dates and destinations. Bwindi Gorilla Park is the premier destination in Africa to see mountain gorillas in their natural setting. This is because the park is home to almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas in the four prominent sectors of Nkuringo, Rushaga, Buhoma, and Ruhija, respectively. Travelers planning to do gorilla trekking in Bwindi Gorilla Park have a chance to track mountain gorillas from any of the above sectors, depending on their choice, fitness levels, and the nature of the experience, for an unforgettable exploration opportunity.

Chartered flight safaris to Bwindi Gorilla Park

Chartered flight safaris to Bwindi Gorilla Park are always designed and organized by several airline companies, including Bar Aviation Uganda, Aerolink Uganda, and Kampala Executive Aviation. Travelers who book with these airline companies are required to plan their travel dates in advance to check for availability, and this depends on the season. Travelers who opt for chartered safari flights in the peak season are always advised to book 3 to 4 months in advance to avoid delays and missing out.

Flying to Bwindi Gorilla Park, travelers always use two airstrips, either Kisoro or Kihihi in the Kanungu district. Kisoro Airstrip, being in the southern part of the park, is used by travelers who opt to visit the Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors, while Kihihi Airstrip, in the northern part of the park, is used by travelers who tend to visit the Buhoma and Ruhija sectors. From these airfields, the distance covered to the park is less than an hour to the park trekking sectors and the lodges.

The flight duration to Bwindi Gorilla Park from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield is less than 2 hours. This definitely saves time compared to the 9–10-hour journey on the road from Entebbe to the park. Flight intervals vary from morning, mid-morning, and evening straight from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield to Kisoro or Kihihi Airstrips. Driver guides are always alert and ready to transfer you to your specific destinations/lodges.

What is the best time for chartered flight safaris to Bwindi?

Chartered safari flights to Bwindi Gorilla Park run all year round; however, the best time to do so is always from June to September during the peak season and December to February, respectively. During these dry months, the area receives little rainfall with too much sunshine, making the weather conducive for flights throughout the day. During this period the trekking trails are always free from mud and dry enough with amazing and attractive clear skies due to short or undergrowth vegetation cover.

However, visitors traveling in March to May and from October to November can still visit Bwindi Gorilla Park. However, this is the period when the park receives much rainfall with little or no sunshine at times. Sometimes the roads connecting the park to the airstrips may tend to be muddy and trekking trails slippery, which may lead to inconvenience and delays during the trekking sessions. Additionally, the vegetation cover is always tall, leading to obstruction of some scenic views and primates.

Activities to do in Bwindi Gorilla Park

Gorilla trekking

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is primarily the major draw of tourists from all over the world. This is because nature lovers and primate enthusiasts are always eager to have a close encounter with these gentle giants in their natural environment that share about 98.6% of their DNA with humans, making them man’s closest cousins. This park has the highest number of gorilla families, meaning the park guarantees a 98% chance of seeing these once-endangered mountain gorillas. Due to this once-in-a-lifetime experience, visitors are allocated a maximum of an hour interacting with these mountain gorillas as they study their social structure in terms of leadership from the silverback, feeding habits, movements, climbing of trees, and nurturing of their young ones, among others.

Gorilla trekking takes place in all four sectors of the park: Ruhija, Nkuringo, Buhoma, and Rushaga. These sectors have over 21 fully habituated mountain gorilla families, with two semi-habituated gorilla families situated in the Rushaga sector near Nkuringo. Trekkers wake up early to converge at the park information offices for a briefing from the rangers and administrators about the rules and regulations of the trekking exercise for the safety of both mountain gorillas and the trekkers in the lush forest.

The mountain gorilla trekking exercise is carried out by a group of 8 people, allocated after the briefing, accompanied by armed ranger guides who lead the trekkers in the jungle to search for these gentle apes. The search for these mountain gorillas may take around 2 to 4 hours using different trekking trails. Determinants of this duration depend on the movement of mountain gorillas, where they slept the previous night, the pace of the trekkers, and the nature of the trekking trails, since the jungle has no specific trails.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a top destination due to its rich biodiversity; besides its mountain gorilla population, the park has a wide range of animal and plant species, including 120 mammals, 12 primates, 350 bird species, and several butterflies, among others. This extraordinary biodiversity, together with gorilla trekking opportunities and wildlife viewing, including several monkeys, duikers, forest elephants, forest hogs, bush pigs, and Albertine Rift Endemic bird species, makes Bwindi Impenetrable National Park an exceptional and highly sought-after destination for nature lovers, tourists, and primate enthusiasts alike.

Upon seeing mountain gorillas in their natural setting, trekkers are allocated an hour to have a close encounter with these mountain gorillas while maintaining a 10-meter gap. This offers trekkers greater chances of seeing these gorillas carry out their day-to-day activities as they study and learn about their behaviors and capture memorable photos and videos as per the rules and regulations.

Gorilla habituation

Visitors can also have flying safaris to Bwindi Gorilla Park for habituation. This activity takes 4 hours with the semi-habituated mountain gorilla families, as they train them to get used to humans. This activity is specifically carried out in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. As of the time of writing, the activity is carried out in only one gorilla family in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Gorilla Habituation experience in Bwindi

When flying to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you must have secured a gorilla habituation permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, a government body responsible for issuing trekking permits as part of the management and protection of wildlife species in the country. During the activity, the trekking permit is presented to the ranger at the briefing information center, and you become part of the team to learn the trekking safety precautions.

What makes gorilla habituation different from gorilla trekking is a maximum of four trekkers are allowed to go for gorilla habituation accompanied and guided by a team of rangers, doctors, conservationists, and researchers. Since this semi-habituated mountain gorilla is one family, it takes a few hours to locate it, and upon seeing this gorilla family, trekkers are allocated 4 hours to keep around the members as they study their behavior and social structure. This eventually comes with the great opportunity of being part of the activities that make the mountain gorillas get used to humans.