Fly in Uganda Safaris

Fly-in safaris in Uganda

Time is of the essence and one way of having to fulfill your long-awaited holiday in Uganda is by having to transfer from one point to another in the quickest way possible. Uganda Fly-in safaris are fast gaining popularity as our clients use less time to travel and avoid long journeys along bumpy roads and sometimes-long traffic jams near the big cities in Uganda.

Most of the tourist destinations and sites in Uganda have airstrips close by where our clients fly out to the various tourism zones across the country. The flights move out on a daily basis and on high demand.

The weather is hardly a factor as most of the flights make it to their final destinations apart from a few incidents where the rains delay flights. The airlines so far have a good safety record which is a quite positive note.

Major Airlines in use 

The major airlines in the domestic market are Uganda air, Aero-link, Eagle air, and Bar aviation airline. The ticket prices vary from time to time depending on the destination.

It is always advisable for our clients to use the morning flights so that they arrive at the lodge on time. More so, if they have to do strenuous activities the following morning. For example, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, or moving to a distant park like Kidepo National Game Park. This gives you enough time to relax and re-energize as you prepare for the activities the following day.

Arrange your travel plans early enough as some of the peak seasons have fully booked flights.

The major fly-in safari destinations Parks in Uganda;

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

This park has four sectors and the closest sectors to the airstrips are in the northern part of the Bwindi – Buhoma sector. Here, it is approximately a one and half hour’s drive to Kihihi airstrip. The Buhoma sector is more advantageous in that you can choose to do both gorilla trekking and cross over to the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National park.

After gorilla trekking, one can choose to visit Queen Elizabeth National park. This is well endowed with plenty of savannah wildlife including, the Elephants, Buffaloes, Topis Uganda Kobs, leopards, tree-climbing Lions, Hyenas, and warthogs to mention but a few.

From Buhoma (The northern sector of Bwindi) to Queen Elizabeth National Park takes approximately one and a half hours.

The southern part of Bwindi is the Rushaga sector, here the closest airstrip is the Kisoro airstrip, and on average it takes about two hours by road. This sector is closer to Mgahinga National park, well known for Gorillas, and the Golden monkey trekking, which is quite popular with our clients.

Our clients hoping to do gorilla trekking and want to proceed to Rwanda by road can fly to Kisoro airstrip proceed and do the various activities before crossing over to Rwanda. Try out the 4 days Gorilla Safari in Bwindi

Mgahinga National Park

Mgahinga National park is the smallest of the ten National parks in Uganda measuring close to twenty-seven square kilometers. The park lies in southwestern Uganda and borders the two countries of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Though small, this park has quite a number of activities including gorilla trekking, the most popular activity in this park. There are close to a hundred gorillas is in this park but only two families are habituated in this park and the trekking is done all year round on a daily basis.

Trekking the Golden Monkeys is yet another fascinating activity. In Uganda, you can only do the golden monkey tracking in this park. This activity on average takes three hours.

Mountain climbing is yet another activity in this park that one can do on the three mountain ranges of Mount Mufumbiro or Muhavura. This mountain is 4,127 meters above sea level.

Mountain Sabinyo is the most challenging of the three ranges and has an altitude of three thousand six hundred sixty-nine (3669) meters above sea level.

Mgahinga Mountain is the smallest of the three ranges. It is a one-day activity to climb whichever mountain you choose. However, preferably, you would opt for the dry season because of the slippery slopes during the rainy season.

Mgahinga National Park was once inhabited by both wildlife and man before it was gazetted as a national park. The Batwa or pygmies who once lived in this forest were evicted and had to find alternative homes away from the conservation area of Bwindi. It was not easy and since the only way of life, they knew was hunting and food gathering it was quite a challenge for them. As a way of trying to improve the Batwa lifestyle, the park came up with an initiative of allowing them to earn a living through tourism-related activities. These include guided tours on how the Batwa used to live while still in the forest.

The Batwa trail or cultural experience was introduced in 2011 and this experience takes you through the ways of life of the original inhabitants of this forest.

Coupled with the cultural trail the Batwa indigenous people are masters of cultural dances and drama.

They have also gained knowledge in the art of making crafts which they sell to tourists.

Murchison Falls National Park

Is the biggest of all the national parks in Uganda and can be accessed at both Pakuba airstrip and Bugungu airstrip. Murchison falls has the highest density in terms of savannah wildlife and it never disappoints. Apart from doing game drives on the ground, alternatively, you can do hot air ballooning in this park.

This park has quite a number of activities including, game drives to view wildlife, boat rides on the Nile, sport fishing on the Nile, chimpanzee trekking in the Budongo forest, and hot air ballooning. Depending on your schedule, you can spend as many as three nights in this park.

Queen Elizabeth national park

Uganda Fly-in Safari also takes you to Queen Elizabeth National park through Mweya airstrip, Kasese airstrip, and Kihihi airstrip. This park is one of the most visited parks in the country and has several activities including, game viewing, boat rides on the Kazinga channel, chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge visiting the salt crater lakes, Maramagambo caves filled with bats to mention but a few. Book a 3 days Fly-In Queen Elizabeth Safari with us.

Kibale Forest National Park

Are you planning a Chimpanzee tracking Safari to Uganda, why not Fly-in? This is very possible through Kasese Airstrip. It is approximately two hours drive to reach most of the lodges at Kibale Forest National park.

This park has the highest number of primates with an estimated 1500 chimpanzees. However, only a few communities of these Chimpanzees are under habituation. Alternatively, chimpanzee habituation is highly recommended as you get to participate in the process of making the chimps get used to the human.

Chimpanzee trekking takes place in the morning, mid-morning, and afternoon sessions. After chimpanzee trekking, our clients may choose to engage in other activities for example touring the many crater lakes in this region, cultural or village walks, and lastly Bigodi swamp walk.

Kidepo National Park

Kidepo National lies in the North Eastern part of the country.  The park is the furthest from the capital city and it is a very long drive to access the park by road. There are daily flights to this park and your driver guide will pick you up from the airstrip and drive you to your accommodation.

Kidepo national park has a variety of wildlife including, zebras, Elephants, Buffaloes, warthogs, ostriches, and lions, cheetahs to mention but a few. Apart from doing game drives, one can visit some of the remote tribes found in this area. The IK people in particular who live around the mountains of Morungole. They are the smallest ethnic group in Uganda with a very interesting culture, which is worth a visit to learn about.

The Karamong people in this area are also worth a visit. They have similar cultural lifestyles as the Masai people of Kenya and Tanzania. Inquire with us about a 3 days Fly-in Safari to Kidepo National Park

Ziwa Rhino sanctuary

The sanctuary has an airstrip which is a few minutes drive from the visitor information center. There are lodges operating within the sanctuary most notably, Amuka lodge, Ziwa Rhino lodge, and Kigambira lodge.

Uganda is one of the few countries blessed with the highly endangered White Rhino. Uganda has had a long history of anarchy in the past early nineteen seventies and eighties when the country went through a volatile security situation. As a result, many people lost their lives because of the civil wars. The civil wars had an impact on wildlife including the endangered white rhinos, which were killed to extinction in Uganda. The last rhino in the wild was killed in 1983 in Murchison falls National Park.

This sanctuary was established in 2005, and the main objective was to bride the rhinos and re-introduce them in the different national parks. The sanctuary is 70 square kilometers and is fenced off with an electric fence to deter intruders. To track the white Rhinos, one pays a fee of USD 30 and a park entrance of USD 20 for those visiting the park. It is quite an interesting activity as the visitors trek the rhinos on foot. However, there are other tourist sites and destinations though not mentioned which can be included on your itinerary depending on your needs and interests.

To sum it up, fulfilling your holiday dreams is of the essence and Ancient Africa safaris will be at hand to adhere to your requests. It is worth noting that we tailor all our safaris to suit your needs. Fly-in safaris in Uganda save time and are more convenient, to say the least.