The issue of long drive distances from Kampala / Entebbe to the Uganda gorilla safari destinations in the extreme south west has at times proven challenging among the world travelers but yet the available flight options would have offered an alternative.

It really amazing how 10 hour journey covering 527km can be shortened to only one (1) hour flight out of Entebbe International Airport. Normally, the travellers arriving for gorilla safari in Uganda and intending to transfer by flight opt to connect directly with the scheduled domestic flight right at the Airport depending on the time of their arrival flight or can later drive to Entebbe Airport from Kampala or Entebbe if the timing isn’t favouring them to wait at the Airport.

The Flight to the Mountain Gorillas would be determined by the specific region where one booked the Gorilla permit and henceforth, the accommodation.  For those tracking Buhoma and Ruhija to the north and east of Bwindi, they land at Kihihi Airstrip while those tracking the Bwindi’s southern regions of Rushaga and Nkuringo along with Mgahinga Gorilla National Park land at Nyakabande Airstrip Kisoro (also known as Kisoro Airstrip). These are the sites where gorilla trekking in Uganda is carried out.

The dynamics between these flights need to be understood as well. The flights to Kisoro Airstrip only operate in the morning hours because of the strong winds in the area. And as a result, passengers from the southern Uganda gorilla tracking safari points have to arrive or depart Kisoro not later than 10am.   However, for Kihihi Airstrip, flights operate both in the morning and in the afternoon and therefore passengers have a choice to make from the two options depending on their interconnecting International flights or programmes in Kampala /Entebbe.

As per the Aerolink schedule, the flight to Kisoro departs Entebbe at 07:45hrs arriving at 08:55hrs, the same aircraft proceeds to arrive Kihihi Airstrip at 09:30hrs. Departure from Kisoro Airstrip is at 09:10hrs while for Kihihi Airstrip is 09:45hrs all arriving Entebbe at 11:25hrs. For the afternoon session, the flight to Kihihi Airstrip departs Entebbe at 12:45hrs and arrives at 13:55hrs. The afternoon departure from Kihihi Airstrip is at 14:05hrs arriving at 15:55hrs.