11 Days Birding in Uganda and Wildlife Safari

A Uganda Safari is one of the classic African holiday experiences; our country has a bird list of over 1,008 species! This 11-day itinerary is designed to showcase some of the country’s top birding and wildlife areas It’s designed to be a well-rounded and immensely enjoyable safari experience. Please join us!.

 

DAY 1: ARRIVAL AND TRANSFER TO YOUR BOOKED HOTEL

Whatever time you will arrive  at the Entebbe international airport, you will warmly be welcomed by our professional bird guide and safari, he will brief you about how the entire trip will be and transfer you to the hotel for rest and after he will lead you to Entebbe botanical garden for a short bird watching tour. This will depend on your arrival time. Expected  bird species are Madagascar Bee-eater, Orange weaver, Ruff, Wood, Common, Marsh Sandpipers, Common Green Shank, Long-tailed and Great Cormorants, Green Crombec, and  White spotted Fluftail .

Accommodation options; Protea hotel/ Pelican Lodge and Marina/ Pulickal Heights Hotel Entebbe (Luxury), /imperia resort beach hotel, imperia golf view hotel, k hotel Entebbe (Mid-range), Via via hotel, Gorilla African guest house (affordable).

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DAY 2 SHOE BILL TRACKING IN MABAMBA SWAMP IN LAKE VICTORIA

Have breakfast 6:00am then start on your journey west out of Kampala, towards Mabamba swamp the drive should take about an hour and a half, depending on traffic if you are in Entebbe areas our professional guide will meet you at 7:00am and drive 10 /minutes to the landing site where you will board a motorized boat to the swamp in search for the shoebill and other aquatic birds.
10:30-11:00am after shoebill viewing the motorized boat man will bring you back to the landing site to meet your driver guide and proceed to your booked hotel.

Expected birds to watch includes Rey-headed Gull, White Winged Terns, Madagascar Bee-eater, Yellow Billed Egret, Long toed Plover.

Have lunch and in the afternoon you could have a walk along Entebbe city side to see endemic birds such as Crake, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Cape Wagtail, Swamp Flightier, Winding Cisticola, Blue- Breasted Bee- eater, Red Chested Sunbird and many more.

Accommodation options; Protea hotel/ Pelican Lodge and Marina/ Pulickal Heights Hotel Entebbe (Luxury), /imperia resort beach hotel, imperia golf view hotel, k hotel Entebbe (Mid-range), Via via hotel, Gorilla African guest house (affordable).

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DAY 3 TRANSFER TO KIBALE NATIONAL PARK VIA EVERLASTING LAND OF FORT PORTAL.

After breakfast 8:00am start a long but incredibly scenic passing through villages, lush green countryside and hills dotted with tea and coffee plantations that characterize this part of Uganda. The beautiful scenery will amaze you all the way, you will stop for lunch in Fort portal at Garden restaurant and after lunch proceed to kibale forest . Upon arrival at your booked hotel, check in and just relax and if time allows in the evening you will go to Bigodi wetland sanctuary for bird watching. major birds of the day includes Great Blue Turaco, Black Billed Turaco, White Spotted Crake and white sported fraftail, the swamp has high number of primates such as L. Host monkeys, Grey checked mongabays, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, red colobus, blue monkeys and olive baboons.

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Accommodation options; Primate lodge, Kimpundu loge, crater safari lodge/ (Luxury), / Turraco tree tops, Ndale lodge (Mid-range), Kibale forest camp, Chimpanzee guest house, Isunga lodge (Affordable)

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DAY 4 KIBALE FOREST – QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK VIA CRATER LAKES AREA.​

Enjoy breakfast at 6:30am the proceed for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest and along the way you will see a number of bird species which include: black-capped apalis, blue-headed sunbird, collared apalis, dusky crimsonwing, purple-breasted sunbird and red-faced woodland warbler.

Other Kibale specials include the African pitta, green breasted pitta, black bee-eater, yellow spotted nicator, yellow rumped tinker bird, little greenbul, black-eared ground thrush, brownchested alethe, blue-breasted kingfisher, Abyssinian groundthrush, and the crowned eagle.

After 3 hours of chimpanzee tracking and bird watching, have lunch at kibale cafe and in the afternoon drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is home to total of 604 different bird species. Key species: African Skimmer, Black Rumped Button Quail, Verreaux's Eagle Owl, Red Footed Falcon, Lesser Flamingoes, Grey Capped Warbler, White's and Abdim's Storks (in season), Amur Falcon, Ovampo Sparrowhawk, Wooly-necked and Saddle-billed Storks, and numerous classes of Raptors, Vultures and Plovers to mention but a few.

Arrive at queen , check in and rest, if time allows in the evening you will go for  Birding in evening and return to your booked hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation options; Elephant plain, Mweya safari lodge, Bufalo lodge (Luxury), / Bush lodge, king fish safari lodge, Mazike lodge (Mid-range), Bush lodge safari tent, Engiri game lodge, Tembo safari lodge (Affordable)

 

DAY 5 EARLY MORNING BIRDING VERSUS GAME DRIVE IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK​

Enjoy breakfast at 6:00am and at 6:30am, drive in specific tracks of the park birding alongside the game drive game, you will encounter animals such as lions, hippos, buffaloes, leopard, spotted hyena, elephants and the elusive giant forest hog in the park. All these are regularly sported around the Mweya Peninsula. In the afternoon go for the boat cruise trip along Kazinga Channel, where the concentration of water birds and photographs is a guarantee .

A variety of birds grace the grasses on the channel’s edge and these may include the Great White and Pink-Backed Pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Open-billed Stork, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers. There is also a Bird Observatory here, which was set up with the aim of studying both migratory and resident birds. Since its inception in 1997 more new species have been seen, including Uganda's first record of the Bar-tailed Godwit

 

DAY 6 TRANSFER TO BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK​

After breakfast at 8:30am, your guide driver will meet you at the hotel and transfer you to Bwindi forest via Ishasha park popularly know as for tree climbing lions, during this transfer you will go slowly slowly as you sport some animals alongside the road such as Elephants, Buffaloes, Ant lops, Wathogs, Hipos, Topies and on a luck day you will see tree climbing lions and leopards in the big fig trees, you will have lunch at kihi town.

After lunch, proceed to Bwindi National Park. Though the gorillas are its most famous inhabitants, Bwindi is also noted for its biodiversity and the richness of its flora and fauna. The diversity of birds in Bwindi National Park is extremely high, representing one of the forest's avifauna in Africa. The bird list for the park currently  334 species, 67 non-forest-dependent species, and 182 forest-dependent species.

13 of these species exist nowhere else in Uganda, 7 are not known to occur anywhere else in East Africa, and 17 are known for East Africa only in Bwindi and one or two other East African forests. Rare species include the spectacular globally threatened endemics like the African Green Broadbill and Shelley’s Crimson wing.

Accommodation options; Nkulingo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Buhoma lodge  Volcanoes Safari Bwindi lodge(Luxury), Bwindi Bakiga Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla haven lodg, Gorilla valley lodge,Engagi lodge (Mid-range), Buhoma community rest camp, Ruhija Gorilla friends, Rushaga Gorilla lodge(Affordable).

 

DAY 7 BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL FOREST

On this day you will go, Either for , gorilla tracking in Bwindi Forest National park; perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences. The activity starts with a briefing from the ranger guides after which you proceed with the trekking. Bwindi forest in Uganda has a population of about 459 gorillas and 1065 in the whole world, Bwindi has half the world population according to today’s gorilla population surveys. It is not predictable the time you will spend to encounter the gorillas but it normally takes between 3 – 6 hours.

You have one full hour to observe the primates and their behaviours and 4 hours if you decide to do Gorilla habituation experience (teaching Gorillas to get used to human) while taking photographs. Do not forget to carry your lunch boxes and water. If gorilla trekking or habituation is not your deal , You opt for early morning birding in the forest with your bird guide.

After trekking or bird watching, proceed to your booked hotel for rest and if time allows go for community and cultural walks in Bwindi to discover the deep feeling of the people of Bwindi forest.

​Accommodation options; Nkulingo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Buhoma lodge  Volcanoes Safari Bwindi lodge(Luxury), Bwindi Bakiga Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla haven lodge, Gorilla valley lodge,Engagi lodge (Mid-range), Buhoma community rest camp, Ruhija Gorilla friends, Rushaga Gorilla lodge(Affordable).

 

DAY 8 EARLY MORNING BIRDING IN BWINDI & TRANSFER TO LAKE BUNYONYI ISLANDS

Enjoy breakfast at 6am then depart for birding the whole day in the Rujija sector of Bwindi National Park. Ruhiija and Semuliki N.P are of the highlights of any trip to Uganda with excellent birding in spectacular surroundings. Birds are both plentiful and easy to see; many species associating in mixed feeding flocks that are active throughout the day.

An early start offers the best chance of finding the striking handsome Francolin, Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, western Green Tinker bird, Mountain and yellow-streaked Greenbuls, Mountain marked and chestnut-throated Apalises, red-faced woodland Warbler, Rwenzori batis, white-tailed crested Flycatcher to mention but a few.

Return to the hotel for hot lunch and after lunch depart to Lake Bunyonyi one of the beautiful islands in the world.

Accommodation options; Bird nest resort, Arcadia Cottages, Bunyonyi overland resort(Luxury), Lake Bunyonyi overland resort , Bunyonyi safari resort, Lake Bunyonyi Rock resort  (Mid-range), Hawks eye guest house, Keija resort Bunyonyi, Nyamunyonyi tourism resort (Affordable).

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DAY 9 MORNING BIRDING AT LAKE BUNYONYI AND TRANSFER TO LAKE MBURO N.P. ​

Today morning, have a canoe ride or take a motorised boat on Lake Bunyonyi for birding. The lake is one of the most popular destinations for birding and the guide will help you identifying birds by stopping over in different islands. Bird species include: Pied kingfisher, Malachite kingfisher, Cinnamon chested bee eater, Bronzy sun bird, Knobed coot. Very rara, Pied wagtail, Black clake, Common stone chat, Grey shrike, Grey crowned crested crane, Hadada ibis, Swamp fly catcher, Black heron, Great commrant, Fan tailed widow bird, Streaky seed eater, Speckled mouse bird, Pin tailed whyder, Bronze manikin, Black headed weaver.

Return at 12:00pm and have lunch at the hotel or in kabala town and head to lake Mburo N.p.

​Accommodation options; Mihingo Lodge(Luxury), Lake Mburo Safari Lodge/Rwakobo Rock(Mid-range), Eagle’s Nest (Budget) /Hyena hill lodge (Budget with amazing views) and Leopard rest camp(Budget).

 

DAY 10 LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Have morning breakfast then  go birding in the park. The park has about 350 different bird species which include the rare Shoebill stork, White-winged Warblers, Black-billed Barbet, Crested Francolin, Brown Parrot, Red necked Spur, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Temminck’s Courser, common Quails, Greenwood Hoopoe, Blue-napped Mouse bird, Barefaced Go-away bird, African-grey Hornbill, Nubian Woodpecker, Trilling Cisticola, Lilac-breasted Roller, Coqui Francolin, Red necked spur fowl, Black Bellied Bustard, African-wattled Plover Rufous napped and Flappet larks, Rufous chested Swallow , Southern Red Bishop and Yellow-throated Long claw among others.

You will have a chance to sporting a big number of Zebras, leopards, hyenas Giraffes, Elands, Topies, buffaloes,  and Lake Mburo is the only national park in Uganda where you will sport Impalas.

By 11:00am, journey back to Entebbe international airport or kampala capital city or Rwanda Kigali. Cross the equator and have time to take
photos at the equator line. Buy a few souvenirs and have a
quick picnic lunch. You will then drive to Entebbe airport for overnight stay.

Accommodation options; Protea hotel/ Pelican Lodge and Marina/ Pulickal Heights Hotel Entebbe (Luxury), /imperia resort beach hotel, imperia golf view hotel, k hotel Entebbe (Mid-range), Via via hotel, Gorilla African guest house (affordable).

 

DAY 11 TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT AND FLY BACK HOME OR TO YOUR NEXT DESTINATION. 

Depending on your flight time, our professional safari driver guide will be ready and available to drive you to the airport 2-3 hours before your departing time.

End of your 11 day birding in Uganda and wild life tour-Good luck!!.