14 DAYS UGANDA BIRDING SAFARI

Day 1: Arrival

On arrival at Entebbe Airport, our representative will meet and welcome you. He will then transfer you to your hotel in Entebbe for the Night.

Day 2: Birding in Mabamba Wetland

In the morning after breakfast, meet with your guide. First, you will have a briefing about your 14-day Uganda birding safari. Thereafter, transfer to Mabamba Wetland for a mesmerizing birding encounter. Mabamba is home to over 260 bird species, including the rare shoebill stork. Birding in Mabamba will be done on a canoe ride through the water-logged bay. Enjoy immense sights of bird species, amidst magnificent flora.

Other species to expect in the swamp include; Goliath Heron, Lesser Jacana, African Fish Eagle, Malachite Kingfisher, Papyrus Gonolek, Common Squacco Heron, Red-eyed Dove, Hadada Ibis, Double-toothed Barbet, Black-crowned Night Heron, Long-toed Lapwing, Pin-tailed Whydah, African Pygmy Goose, Spur-winged Goose, White-faced Whistling Duck, White-throated Bee-eater, Cattle Egret, African Green Pigeon, and Speckling Mousebird, and many others.

From Mabamba, drive westwards to Lake Mburo National Park. The journey will take you through the amazing landscapes of the countryside. En route, have a stopover at the Equator monument. Have a brief equator experience and photography, then proceed. And on arrival, check into your lodge. Dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Explore the birds of Lake Mburo

After a delicious breakfast, take on a whole day’s birding adventure in Lake Mburo. Lake Mburo is the smallest savannah park in Uganda but it has mosaic biodiversity. The Park has a variety of habitats such as swamps, forests, dry hillsides, and open and wooded savannah. Thus, have contributed to the diversity of birdlife. With over 300 recorded bird species, expect your birding encounter to be fun. You will explore trails through Mpanga forest, Miriti, and Warukiri swamps. Look out for birds like the Emerald-spotted Dove, African Grey Hornbill, Crested Francolin, Red-faced Barbet, Blue-napped Mousebird, Bare-faced go-away bird, Black-bellied Bustard, Nubian Woodpecker, Long-tailed Cisticola, etc. Come back to your lodge after and have lunch.

In the afternoon, take a boat cruise on Lake Mburo where you will encounter water birds such as kingfishers, cormorants, African jacanas, and pelicans among others. Also, take time to appreciate being in the company of wild animals. Some of these include zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, Impalas, Elands, Waterbucks, etc.

Day 4: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

After breakfast, transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park located in south-western Uganda. Bwindi is home to the largest population of the world’s mountain gorillas. But it is also an Important Birding Area with over 350 bird species. You will have en-route lunch and proceed to the Ruhija sector of Bwindi. On arrival, check into your lodge. After recovering from the journey, enjoy bird watching on a community trail. Return to your lodge. Dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Birding in Umubwindi Swamp

Following an early breakfast, head to Umubwindi swamp. This is one of the major birding spots in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Located in Ruhija, the swamp is a major birding spot in the Park with over 200 bird species. If you are a good birder, expect to see at least 100 species. With special Albertine Rift endemics inclusive. Birds in Umubwindi include; the African Emerald Cuckoo, Crowned Hornbill, Common Bulbul, Western Green Tinkerbird, the Shining African Blue, Collared Apalis, Regal sunbird, Kivu Ground-Thrush, Chestnut-throated Apalis, and Montane Oriole, among others.

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking Experience

Today, amidst your Uganda birding safari, you will be trekking mountain gorillas. And this will embark with a briefing session about gorilla trekking at the Park headquarters at 07:30 am. By 08:00 am, you will be heading into the Bwindi thickets in search of the world’s greatest apes. You will be in the company of a ranger guide to help you navigate through the forest.

Depending on the location of your assigned gorilla group, the trek will take between 1 to 6 hours. When you find them, you have one hour to spend time with these creatures. Watch and observe them as they go on about their daily routine. Capture these beautiful moments as the apes feed, nest, and interact with each other. After gorilla trekking, trek back to the headquarters and then return to your lodge.

Day 7: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Today after breakfast, leave Bwindi for Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will enter the Park through the Ishasha southern sector. This sector is renowned for hosting tree-climbing lions. You might even get to find them resting up in the fig and acacia trees. Drive to your lodge, check in, and have lunch.

Later in the evening, take on an evening game drive to explore the Park’s amazing wildlife. Enjoy the game drive with views of antelopes, kobs, elephants, buffaloes, and warthogs, amidst several bird species. Return to your lodge. Dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Explore bird watching in Queen Elizabeth

Today after breakfast, prepare for a full-day birding excursion. With over 600 recorded bird species, Queen Elizabeth has the highest number of bird species in the country. With its varied eco-systems, birding safaris are done in various sectors of the Park. These include Mweya Peninsular, Kasenyi savannah plains, Maramagambo forest, Katunguru bridge, and Lake Kikorongo.

The excursion will treat you to bird species like African Jacana, White-tailed Lark, Yellowbill, Long-crested Eagle, Shoebill, Saddle-billed stork, Flapet Lark, and African finfoot, Hooded Vulture, Sitting Cisticola, and many others. You will come back to your lodge for lunch after.

In the afternoon, take a boat cruise along the Kazinga channel which thrives with a variety of water birds. You will encounter species including the Malachite kingfisher, Pied kingfisher, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged tern, Greater and Lesser Swamp Warbler, etc.

Day 9: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park – Chimpanzee Trekking

After a delicious breakfast, transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. Enjoy the 4-hour journey with views of crater lakes and the Rwenzori Mountain ranges. You will arrive in the Park in the mid-morning and transfer to your lodge. Have lunch at your lodge and go for chimpanzee trekking. The activity starts with a briefing about chimpanzee trekking at Kanyanchu Tourism Center. You will also be assigned a chimp group to trek and a guide to guide you. After the briefing, you will trek for about 1 to 3 hours depending on the location of your chimp group. After finding them, you have one hour to spend time in their company. Watching them interact with each other in their natural habitat. You will also love to encounter other primate species and birds.

Day 10: Birding in the Park and Bigodi Wetland

Following a previous blast with chimpanzees, embark on a whole day birding tour in the Park. Kibale forest thrives with over 375 bird species. And attached to it is the Bigodi wetland which has over 200 species. After breakfast, set off into the forest in search of the Green Breasted Pitta. This bird is endemic to this region. Also, appreciate sights of the African Pitta, Little Greenbul, Yellow-ramped Tinkerbird, Superb Sunbird, Yellow-spotted Nicator, etc. Come back to your lodge after and have lunch.

In the afternoon, visit Bigodi wetland which hosts bird species such as the Papyrus gonolek, Abyssinia, Flycatchers, Hornbills, cuckoos, Crowned Eagle, and Collared Apal, to mention but a few. Return to your lodge and relax.

Day 11: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park

Wake up early, have breakfast at your lodge, and drive to Murchison Falls National Park. Enjoy the 6-hour journey with en-route birding in Sebitoli. Plus, the Rift Valley escarpment. You will arrive in Murchison in the afternoon in time for lunch at your lodge. Later, visit the top of Murchison Falls. Murchison is Uganda’s largest National Park. It is home to more than 76 mammal species and 450 bird species, and the home to the mighty Murchison Falls. The falls are found on the Victoria Nile which bisects the Park into two. At the falls, marvel at the Nile as it forces its way through a 7-meter gorge. Watch the thick mist amidst the thunderous roar it makes while it falls and flows away into Lake Albert.

Day 12: Explore the savannah & Birding along the Nile

Early in the morning at around 06:30 am, have a quick cup of coffee. After that, venture into the savannah in search of wildlife. Expect to come across a lot of wild animals including lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, antelopes, elephants, oribi giant forest hogs, warthogs, and buffaloes, among others. Return to your lodge and relax.

Later in the afternoon, take on birding on a boat cruise along the Nile delta. While on the boat cruise, enjoy views of birds such as the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Swamp Flycatcher, Shoebill, Denham’s Bustard, Squacco Heron, Black-headed Gonolek, Giant Kingfisher, Goliath Heron, Sandpipers, Eastern-grey Plantain Eater, and many others. Return to your lodge after and relax.

Day 13: Birding in Budongo Forest

After breakfast, transfer to Budongo Forest for a whole day of birding experience. Budongo forest lies north of Murchison Falls National Park. The forest hosts over 360 bird species. And among these, include central African species and Guinea Congo biome species. Through the Kaniyo Padidi trail, expect to see the forest’s two endemic species; the Illadopsis Puvel and the Yellow-footed flycatcher. You will also encounter species like the Lemon-bellied Crombec, African Pied Wagtail, Crested Guineafowl, White-thighed Hornbill, Fork-tailed Drongo, Sabine’s Spinetail, Black kite, and Olive-breasted Greenbul, among others. In the evening, you will return to your lodge in Murchison Falls. Dinner and overnight.

Day 14: Travel back to Kampala

As we mark the end of our 14 days Uganda birding safari, wake up and have a relaxed breakfast. Thereafter, check out of your lodge and transfer back to Kampala en-route lunch.