How to Get To Buhoma : Bwindi National Park’s Buhoma Sector is the most popular trailhead for mountain gorilla trekking in the park. Being the first to have been established making it is the oldest of the four sectors, the largest and the easiest to trek; it’s no wonder a popular trailhead.
Now with over 10 mountain gorilla families in this sector, it hosts about 80 trekkers in groups of 8 daily who get an opportunity to spend time with the mountain gorillas in the impenetrable forest.
Mountain gorilla trekking is an exciting activity and those who have had the chance to experience it can attest to the wonders of the mountain gorilla trekking experience. And those who have done it in Buhoma cannot stop shouting praises for both the experience and the sector. Its these praises that keep people interested in visiting the sector over and over again.
However for the new visitors to the sectors one of the common questions they always ask is how do they get to Buhoma sector?
Well, getting getting to this sector that is located is the northern part of Bwindi Impenetrable park is by road or by air; depending on your preference and budget.
By Road
When travelling to Buhoma by road you can use a number of route options depending on your starting point and the sights you would like to view while you travel. Each route has uniqueness to and a different total time for travel. So when deciding you can consult with your tour operator to help you decide what route suits your travel desires best. The road travel road routes include:-
- From Entebbe/Kampala
Through Kabale and Kanungu
This route is one of the most used routes. It’s about 533 kms from Entebbe/Kampala to the park and it gets bwindi . Through Mbarara and Kihihi
The route gets you to Buhoma in 9 hours and it goes through Mbarara – Ntugamo – Rukungiri to Kihihi and then to a dusty road that leads you to Buhoma.
- From Kasese or Queen Elizabeth National Park
This route is good for persons having Uganda safaris in both QENP Buhoma is about 42 mi (68 km) from Ishasha Sector (Queen Elizabeth Nationa Park) and about 81 mi (131 km) drive from Kazinga Channel. It takes about 4 hours to cross QENP to Buhoma on a paved dirt road.
- From Kigali
When you are coming from Kigali Rwanda, you will go through Gatuna- Kabale border or Cyanika- Kisoro border. This is a 6 hour journery and it’s well shorter than that of Entebbe . The Bonus is you can have a safari in both Rwanda and Uganda.
By Air
This is the quickest means of transport you can use to reach Buhoma. There are domestic flights from Entebbe to Kihihi Airstrip. Kihihi Airstrip is one hour away from Buhoma sector. Flights to Kihihi are schedeuled so you have to consultant with your tour operator on the preffered times.
The flight time to Kihihi airstrip from Entebbe is one hour plus the drive from Kihihi to Buhoma another one hour, so the total time you spend getting to Buhoma sector using air is 2 hours.
That said whichever means of transport you choose to use, you will be assured to have an exciting time in Buhoma. Usually safaris in Buhoma are 3 to 5 days depending on the activities you plan to do. The various activities are:- of course mountain gorilla trekking, community tours, bird watching sprees, mountain climbing and nature walks. Buhoma sector is open to the public every day, all year out.
