Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can be accessed by most visitors on Wildlife safaris in Uganda by land or road transport. Though Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is located in the south-western region of Uganda with approximately 540km distance from Kampala capital city, The road option is used mostly because of other more attractions on the route to the park through Queen Elizabeth National Park in the northern just 3-5 hours’ and from Kampala through the Mbarara route, it takes you about 6-8 hours’ drive. From Kabale town to the southern part of the park is just 1-2 hours drive away. The roads then converge at Butogota that is just 17 km from Buhoma, the entrance to the famous park. A 4 Wheel Drive safari vehicle is highly recommended through the rainy season, or even throughout any season that one would wish to visit in. There is also a daily bus service that leaves Kampala for Butogota via Rukungiri and Kihihiat a fare of only 25,000UGX.
On your way to the Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth national park, you will pass through Ishasha section in the southern region of queen where you enjoy and experience the tree climbing lions along with monkeys and baboons on the road. Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park is about160km from Mweya and 64km from Ishasha.
The Kabale route has a tarmac highway and covers an area distance of about 414 km and can take 8-10 hours’ drive. The next route after is a murram road and has 120km stretch which runs through Kanungu as well as Kanyantorogo and it can take about 4-5 hours. The most convenient and most preferred route by most Uganda gorilla trekking safari visitors is from Kampala-Rukungiri-Buhoma and is about 390km in addition to murram road to Buhoma. The Kampala via Kabale– Ruhija covers route covers an area of about 95km from on the murram road and its takes about 3-4hrs.
The Kampala-Kabale-Nkuringo route covers about 105kms from Kabale town and it takes about 4 hours to get to the hilly murram road. Some tourists spend nights in Kisoro town and the remaining distance just 80km from Kabale prior to Nkuringo. The road in Kisoro is a meandering road of 35km and it takes about 1-2 hours. There is also public transport means where a bus sets on every day from Kampala-Butogota. There is a taxi that can be hired for the last 17km to Buhoma section. Nkuringo section has no public means of transport and the best option is always hiring a vehicle from Kisoro town.
Driving time to Bwindi Impenetrable forest National Park depends on where you are coming from. From Entebbe Airport which is Uganda’s major entry point, you will drive approximately for 9-10 hours to reach Bwindi impenetrable forest National Park. This journey is an exciting one as it goes through different districts of Uganda. However you may have a stopover at the equator in Kayabwe with a road side craft shop, the beautiful views of the rolling Kigezi hills, vegetation changes before reaching Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park the home to the famous mountain gorillas. The distance from Kampala to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is 550km on a fairly good road
The Ishasha road sometimes is in poor conditions more especially during the rainy seasons when some bridges tend to breakdown partly due to heavy power down of rain with the heavy tracks going to the neighboring country of D.R.Congo the road becomes impassable. There is a short cut that safari drivers use though you might find yourself using Ishaka-Rukungiri to Nengo-Kihihi-Buhoma.
Whether you are a first time safari traveler or a seasonal traveler in Africa, a Uganda safari to Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park with its unique blend of Savannah, creatures, and its wealthy grassland and lake habitats are simply dazzling.
This national park has got many more tourist activities which can be engaged in by the tourists on Uganda safaris and these include; nature walks, Batwa community encounters, mountain gorilla trekking and habituation, bird watching and many more.
