9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

Our 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park is an extraordinary and luxury adventure that favors visitors who prefer flying to cut the distance short. During the safari you will fly Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda where you will engage in community tour and gorilla trekking activity which gives you an opportunity to spend one hour with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. You will also visit Kidepo valley national park in northern Uganda where you will participate in community tour to visit the IK people and also engage in an exciting game drive which offers you spectacular views of the big four mammals which are the elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and other animals which include giraffes, Uganda kobs, zebras, bird species like ostriches, kori bustard among others.

Highlights of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park    

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the lodge

Day 2: Fly to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 3: Gorilla trekking

Day 4: Fly to Entebbe international airport

Day 5: Fly to Kidepo national park

Day 6: Morning game drive and evening game drive

Day 7: Morning game drive and cultural tour

Day 8: Mount Morungole hike

Day 9: Fly to Entebbe international airport

Detailed itinerary

Day 1 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

Pick up and transfer to the lodge, depending on the time of arrival on day 1 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the lodge in Entebbe for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Fly to Bwindi impenetrable national park

After breakfast on day 2 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge and transfer to Entebbe international airport for your domestic flight to Kihihi airstrip in Kanungu district. there are various scheduled flights which travel to Bwindi impenetrable national park on a daily basis, the morning flights depart  Entebbe airport at 7:00am, 10:15am  and arrive at Kihihi airstrip at 8:45am and 11:25am respectively while the afternoon flight departs from Entebbe airport at 12:00noon and arrives at Kihihi airstrip at14:40pm.

9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park
9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

Upon arrival at Kihihi airstrip you will be picked up by your driver guide and then transfer by road to the lodge for refreshment and lunch. After lunch you will go for a community tour in the neighboring villages around the park where you will visit the Batwa or pygmies.  The community tour takes about 2 to 4 hours which takes you through the Batwa farmlands, village centers where you will view their homesteads, visit the coffee and tea plantations where you will participate in tea harvesting, view the local people grinding, roasting, drying coffee and packing. Walk into the forest where the Batwa used to live many years ago before the forest was gazetted as a national park and while in the forest you will view different plant species which were used as medicine to cure various illnesses. During the community tour you will also be able to see how local brew is made from bananas and also be entertained through music performances, dance by the Batwa women, listen to ancient stories among other. The community tour is an interesting activity where you will interact with the local people which give you an opportunity to learn about their lifestyle, culture, tradition among others. After the community tour you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on day 3 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will carry packed lunch, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking is done groups of 8 people where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is however done according age, personal preferences and physical fitness therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is near to trek.

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park starts at 8:00am and takes 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the mountain gorillas because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will have great views of the forest bird, animals like bush pigs, forest elephants, plants, primates like the L’hoest monkeys, red tailed monkeys among others. Once the gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their lifestyles, habits, behaviors, take photos and record videos. After the one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Fly to Entebbe airport

After a relaxed breakfast on day 4 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kihihi airstrip for your flight to Entebbe. The morning flights from Kihihi airstrip depart at 9:45 am, 11:40am and arrive at Entebbe airport at 11:25am and13:30pm respectively. The afternoon flight departs at14:45pm and arrives at 16:15pm.Upon arrival you will meet up with another driver guide and transfer to a lodge within Entebbe.

Day 5: Fly to Kidepo valley national park

After breakfast on day 5 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Entebbe international airport for your domestic flight to Kidepo airstrip. There is one chartered flight which departs from Entebbe airport at 12:30 pm and arrives at Kidepo airstrip at 14:45pm. Upon arrival you will meet another driver guide who will transfer you to the lodge for a late lunch and relaxation as you prepare yourself for an evening game drive in the park. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park
9 Days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

Day 6: Morning game drive and evening game drive

Morning game drive, after an early breakfast on day 6 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a morning game drive which starts at around 6:00am. During the morning game drive you will have great views of predators like lions, leopards, bat eared fox and cheetahs if you are lucky, other animals like elephants, buffaloes, duikers, jackal, bushbucks, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, waterbucks, bird species among others. After the morning game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Evening game drive, after lunch you will go for an evening game drive which starts at round 2:00pm.  During the exciting game drive you will drive to Narus River the only permanent water source in the park where you will have an opportunity to take beautiful pictures and view large concentrations of animals like elephants, lions, reedbucks, duikers, oribi, Jackson’s hartebeest, waterbucks, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, klipspringer among others that will be drinking water along the river banks. You will also view various bird species like secretary bird, little weaver, black breasted barbet, yellow billed hornbill, singing bush lark among others. After the evening game drive you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Morning game drive and cultural tour

Game drive, on day 7 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will have breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to go for another morning game drive which gives you an opportunity to view animals that you will have missed during the previous game drive. During the game drive you will visit Kanangorok hot spring which is situated between hard rock with boiling water which heats beyond 50 degrees Celsius and flows at 1 liter per second. While at the hot spring you will have great views of the mountains, animals, interact with different people who come to pay homage, offer sacrifices and seek blessings among others. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for lunch.

Cultural tour, after lunch you will go for cultural tour where you will visit the Karamojong people in their community around the park. The Karamojong are fierce warrior pastoralists living in north eastern Uganda bordering with southern Sudan and Kenya.  During the cultural tour you will interact with the Karamojongs, view their ancient instruments which include spears, knives, beads, bows, arrows among others. you will also be able to view their Manyatta homesteads, learn about their culture where men marry as many wives as they can as long as they can pay their dowry, view half naked people decorated in tribal markings, listen to old stories where they explain their culture, be entertained through cultural songs, dances, music among others. After the cultural tour you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 8:   Hiking Mount Morungole

Hiking Mount Morungole, after breakfast on day 8 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will meet up with your driver guide and go for  a hike in mount Morungole which is located in the northeastern part of Apoka. Mount Morungole is the ancestral home of the IK people one of the smallest ethnic groups in Uganda. The IK people originated from Ethiopia and first settled in Kenya but later moved to Kidpeo national park. Hiking mount Morungole is done with the help of a guide and offers you spectacular views of the landscape, surrounding areas, clustered homesteads of the IK people, Eastern rift valley among others. Hiking mount Morungole also gives you an opportunity to interact with the IK people where you will learn more about their lifestyle, culture which involves paying bride price with beehives and goats, you will be able to taste their traditional food, local beer among others. Hiking Mount Morungole takes 8 hours round hike and after descending you will drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Departure to Entebbe

After a relaxed breakfast on day 9 of the 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a short game drive within Kidepo valley national park where you will view various wildlife species. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch where after you will check out, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to Kidepo airstrip for your domestic flight which departs from Kidepo airstrip at 15:00pm and arrives at 16:30 pm at Entebbe international airport. Upon arrival you will connect with your international departure flight

End of 9 days fly in safari to Bwindi and Kidepo national park

Tour includes                                          

  • Gorilla trekking permit
  • Batwa cultural tour
  • Park entrance fee
  • Airport transfers
  • Karamojong cultural tour
  • Hiking Mount Morungole
  • Domestic flights fares
  • An English speaking driver guide
  • Park entrance fee
  • Full board accommodation
  • Ground transfers
  • Vehicle and fuel
  • Bottled water

Tour excludes                      

  • International air flight tickets
  • Visas
  • Optional activities not included on the itinerary
  • Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.