$6,406 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Arrive at Entebbe
Arrive at Entebbe
Welcome to Entebbe! This is a peninsula on the shores of Lake Victoria 40km away from the capital Kampala. It has some incredible bird-watching places. You will visit the incredibly landscaped Entebbe Botanical Gardens if time allows. The gardens are on the shore of Lake Victoria and are a great place for an introduction to the birds of Uganda. It has a bounty of common birds like the African grey and brown parrots, the weavers (look out for the orange weaver), red-chested sunbirds, crows, cormorants, and egrets, all in this open environment. You will check in at your hotel or lodge in Entebbe for an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Entebbe (City)
- Accommodation:
- Papyrus Guest House
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Mabamba Swamp to Lake Mburo National Park
Mabamba Swamp to Lake Mburo National Park
You will wake up early, and have breakfast before going to find the famous and prehistoric shoebill. You will be driven to the landing site at Nakiwogo, where you will board the boat to the swamp. You'll arrive and disembark on small boats that allow access to the Mabamba swamp through the small channels. The shoebill is assumed to be confined to the swamp and if lucky, you will sight it with the help of a local/site guide. Expect sightings of other water birds like the yellow-billed and white-faced whistling ducks, lesser and African jacanas, black crakes, swamp flycatchers, bee-eaters, papyrus gonolek, and swamp warblers, among others. Your guide will meet you at the landing site at Mabamba. Then, you will continue to Lake Mburo. You will drive for the rest of the day to the park, as you watch birds along the way at some wetlands that seem/are productive. Afterward, you will have an overnight stay at your lodge.
- Main Destination:
- Mabamba Swamp
- Accommodation:
- Rwakobo Rock Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Lake Mburo to Ruhija
Lake Mburo to Ruhija
After breakfast at the lodge, you will spend the morning exploring the savannas of Lake Mburo National Park. These are full of thorny acacias almost like Kenya’s Masai Mara. There are some localized species that only occur here in Uganda like the red-faced barbet. Other species to look out for here include the spot-flanked barbet, Tabora cisticola, green-capped Eremomela, and emerald-spotted wood dove, among others. It is also an excellent park for mammals like the zebras, elands, and impalas. Afterward, you will take on a boat safari off the safari vehicle drive to search for the African finfoot and other water birds. You will then drive to Ruhija, in the hilly and cloudy forest arriving late evening. You will have dinner and an overnight stay at the lodge in Ruhija.
- Main Destination:
- Ruhija (Bwindi NP)
- Accommodation:
-
Gorilla Mist Camp
Wildlife in Bwindi NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Gorilla Tracking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park(optional, own cost)
Gorilla Tracking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park(optional, own cost)
You will have an early breakfast at the lodge. Those who will opt for gorilla tracking on this day will go in for Uganda’s top activity. This is the 331 sq km Bwindi forest that covers a rugged landscape of steep hills and valleys abutting the Congolese border south of the Ishasha sector. The forest provides shelter to some of Africa’s diverse mammalian fauna including half the population of mountain gorillas and the main activity here is gorilla tracking. Today, you will drive to the head offices of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for orientation and briefing before you hit the trails for an amazing encounter with the mountain gorillas. The activity can last 3-8 hours depending on the location of gorillas. After the tracking, the group will be reunited for an afternoon birding session to look out for some montane bird species like the Rwenzori and collared Apalis, gray cuckoo-shrike, and grauer’s Warbler among others.
Note: Gorilla permits are excluded from the cost.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Gorilla Mist Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Birding at Ruhija
Birding at Ruhija
Ruhija ranks as Uganda’s top birding spot in Uganda. This area is so interesting because the western branch of the geologically very recent Great East African Rift System. The Albertine Rift has the higher plateau of the Tanzanian Craton with Lake Victoria to the east, and the west is separated from the vast Congo basin by a mountain chain including the Ruwenzoris. This has resulted in a swath of endemic and restricted-range bird, mammal, and reptile species. In these mountains there are large mixed species flocks, the habitat is beautiful, and the climate is wonderful. You will look out for the mountain sooty boubou, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, Ruwenzori hill babbler, black-faced apalis, and strange weaver. Rare gems you can see include kivu ground-thrush, white-bellied robin-chat, and dusky twinspot. You will be walking on the trails inside the forest and on the roadside with a local guide). You will return in the evening for an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Ruhija (Bwindi NP)
- Accommodation:
- Gorilla Mist Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Today after your breakfast, you will head to the lower-lying sector and headquarters of Bwindi. You will visit “The Neck” a part of the park that joins the southern to the northern sector of the park. This is a narrow strip of the forest where you can see the species of the lower forest elevation like the black bee-eater, Cassin’s flycatcher, and tiny green bulls among others. You will arrive at Buhoma in the evening and have 2 nights here. You will stay overnight at a lodge near the forest.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Ride 4 a Woman Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You will have an early breakfast at the lodge and head to the forest. This mid-elevation sector of the national park has a very different flavor from the higher Ruhija section. Some of our targets during our full day of birding the park’s trail system include the bar-tailed trogon, white-bellied crested flycatcher, willcock’s honeyguide, black-billed weaver, sooty flycatcher, and many species of starlings, sunbirds, and greenbuls. This is one of the best sites for the recently described Willard’s sooty boubou, which has pale blue eyes, unlike the more common and widespread mountain sooty boubou. You will have lunch and then continue to your birding session. You will return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Ride 4 a Woman Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will have breakfast at the lodge and head north, meeting Queen Elizabeth after 62km. The habitat transforms from forest and montane to open savannah but is different from what you met at Lake Mburo. You will drive through the Ishasha sector, which is famous for tree-climbing lions. The birds to look out for here include the blue-throated roller, sooty chat, red-necked francolin, and black-and-white shrike flycatcher, among others. You will then head north to your lodge on the rift escarpment at Kyambura. You will concentrate on Ishasha and arrive late evening at Kyambura for check-in and dinner.
- Main Destination:
- Ishasha Sector (Queen Elizabeth NP)
- Accommodation:
- Elephant Hab Lodge
Wildlife in Queen Elizabeth NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Birding at Queen Elizabeth National Park
Birding at Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will have breakfast and head out to this haven of birds. It has the largest number of species amongst all the protected and birding areas in Eastern Africa (600 species). It is a great destination for megafauna and a great network of tracks. You will drive the euphorbia-studded park to look out for birds like the wattled lapwing, grass warbler, Larks, and eagles, among others. In the afternoon, you will do a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. The experience is one of the most astounding ones in Uganda, cruising past masses of wildlife that come to the banks to drink and the schools of hippos. The Kazinga Channel is a water bird magnet and a variety can be seen in a short time, like the African fish eagles, spoonbills, pelicans, and herons, among others. You can do a night drive to look for night jars after the boat safari. You will return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Accommodation:
- Elephant Hab Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 10
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park
You will have breakfast at the lodge and before you get on the road to Kibale National Park, where you will stay overnight. You will drive through the crater side of the park. This drive from Katwe to Kikorongo is 27km. It is a place to see some upper-altitude birds. You will get out on the Kasese-Ishaka road, and drive to Kibale. You will arrive in the afternoon (if time allows) and visit the Bigodi Swamp which is run by the community. The place is excellent for searching for primates like gray-cheeked mangabey and Central African red Colobus, and birds like speckled tinkerbird, speckle-breasted woodpecker, white-spotted flufftail, snowy-crowned robin-chat, bocage’s bushshrike, and Western nicator. Patches of papyrus support the incredibly shy white-winged swamp warbler. From the Bigodi Swamp, you will return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Kibale National Park (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Isunga Lodge
Wildlife in Kibale NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 11
Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park
The green-breasted pitta is Kibale’s mega prize, it is an avian’s ultimate prize while here. You will wake up early and have breakfast before you go on this quest. It takes a measure of luck to find it but alongside it are other prizes the forest has to offer. It is famous for chimpanzees (those that want can do an optional chimpanzee trekking), and bird flocks hold the dainty forest robin among scores of illadopses and alethes. Black-bellied seedcracker inhabits the forest edge, while the canopy holds various vermilion and black malimbes as well as the crisp black-collared apalis. Gray-throated, yellow-spotted, and yellow-billed barbets build nests in dead snags while fruiting figs attract the massive great blue turaco. You will return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Kibale National Park (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Isunga Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 12
Semuliki National Park
Semuliki National Park
You will have an early breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and head to Semuliki Bird Haven. It lies in the western arm of the Great Rift Valley on the border of Uganda and DR Congo. It is one of the wealthiest areas for birds in Uganda with a mix of Ituri forest and rift valley birds. The park hosts central African species that can’t be found anywhere else in Eastern Africa like the Congo serpent eagle, lyre-tailed honeyguide, black-wattled hornbill, the Nkulengu rail, long-tailed hawk, and there has been a report of the lesser kestrel that is globally threatened. You will visit the park from Fort Portal, have a full-day birding session here, and return to Fort Portal in the evening. You will check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Semuliki National Park
- Accommodation:
- Ruwenzori View Guesthouse
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 13
Fort Portal to Masindi
Fort Portal to Masindi
You will have breakfast, and this time leave with no packed lunch. It is a long drive to the gateway to Budongo Forest. This will be a day of birding along multiple locations on the way to Masindi. The drive is through rural Uganda, and off the main roads. You will arrive in the evening. If time allows, you will do some bird watching in the woodlands south of the town and have an overnight stay at one of Uganda's oldest hotels.
- Main Destination:
- Masindi (Town)
- Accommodation:
-
Masindi Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 14
Budongo Forest Birding
Budongo Forest Birding
Budongo Forest is an Impressive forest block and you will have a day to explore its delights. After your breakfast at the hotel, you will spend time on the Royal Mile, which is a public road but not so used. It has over 200 species and is Uganda’s best place to see Nahan’s francolin, Cassin’s spinetail, and chestnut-capped flycatcher. Look out for the chocolate-backed and African dwarf kingfishers, illadopses, and alethes. The diversity of greenbuls here is simply amazing and there are plenty of more colorful bird species like white-thighed hornbill and black bee-eater. After the day of birding here, you will drive to Budongo Eco Lodge, where you will have dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Budongo Forest (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Budongo Eco Lodge
Wildlife in Budongo Forest
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 15
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park
You will have breakfast at the lodge. The forest is on the northern side of Murchison Falls National Park and is also part of the Budongo Forest. Bird watching in Kaniyo Pabidi Forest is superb as it is among the best bird-watching areas in Uganda. This small forest has phenomenal species that are unique and mount up to 360 bird species. Most of the birds here are forest-related species as it has guinea-Congo forest region bird species. Afterward, you will enter Murchison Falls and visit the top of the falls. Here the Nile River fixes itself in a 7m gorge. There are several bird species here and the famous one is the African rock pratincole. From here, you will drive through the park to your lodge for an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Murchison Falls National Park
- Accommodation:
- Pakuba Safari Lodge
Wildlife in Murchison Falls NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 16
Murchison Falls National Park (Morning Boat Safari and Game Drive)
Murchison Falls National Park (Morning Boat Safari and Game Drive)
Your breakfast and packed lunch are picked up at the restaurant as you head out. You will spend a full day exploring Murchison Falls National Park, where you will search for silverbirds, buff-bellied warblers, black-headed batis, black-headed gonoleks, and the very local white-rumped seedeaters. The riverine thickets hold white-crested turaco, double-toothed barbet, heuglin’s francolin, and many others. In the afternoon, you will take a boat to the base of Murchison Falls where the Victoria Nile narrows and plunges spectacularly over the escarpment with unfathomable might. As well as being visually spectacular, it is also really good for birding, and you can expect to get close to the normally very difficult rock pratincole. You will return in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
- Main Destination:
- Murchison Falls National Park
- Accommodation:
- Pakuba Safari Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 17
Murchison Falls to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Murchison Falls to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
You will have breakfast before your morning transfer and activity. Today, you will do a separate boat trip downstream to where the Victoria Nile enters Lake Albert and actually makes a delta with tributaries and papyrus marshes. This array of habitats is great for shoebill in case you missed it earlier, as well as many other water birds and arboreal species like red-throated and Northern carmine bee-eaters. From here, you will drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. You will have lunch on the way and dinner will be at the lodge at the sanctuary.
- Main Destination:
- Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
- Accommodation:
- Amuka Safari Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 18
Departure
Departure
You will have breakfast and a short birding morning at the sanctuary and return to Entebbe. It is a popular destination for bird enthusiasts. This is no surprise as there are over 300 bird species to be spotted here. Within the sanctuary, we have woodlands, swamps, and savannahs attracting a wide variety of bird species. You will drive to Entebbe after the birding session. You can have an hour to refresh and organize your luggage before you head to the airport for your drop and exit.
End of tour.
- Main Destination:
- Entebbe (City)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
