15 Day Birding Safari
This tour will take you through Uganda’s exclusive wildlife, found in her conservation areas which among others include Murchison falls, the oldest and the largest! You will have a chance to encounter the endangered giant Mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable forest, the playful chimpanzees in Kibale, Shoebill stork in Mabamba swamp, Chimpanzees in Kibale and kalinzu forest , the Zebras, Elephants and Impala herds in lake Mburo. In all the national parks you will visit, birds will be around you!
Day 1: Arrival and Birding at Mabamba Swamp (Shoe bill search trip).
Our arrival at Entebbe International Airport, Depending on the arrival time, you will go for bird watching at Mabamba swamp where we’ll see both forest and lakeshore birds. Our first bird species could include, Eastern Gray Plantain-eater, African Pied Hornbill, Splendid Glossy Starling, Orange weaver, Slender-billed, Hadada ibis and Great white egrets. However, the prime search for this expedition will be the shoe bill stork. Dinner and overnight at your hotel
Luxury: Laico Lake Victoria hotel
Midrange: Cassia Lodge Buziga
Budget: Maries Royale Hotel
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park-Evening game drive
After breakfast in the morning we transfer to Masindi where we shall have our lunch via the Luwero triangle passing through undulating grasslands and mosaic woodland where we drive, our target bird species here will be the White-crested Turaco, Bronze-tailed Starling, lesser Blue and Great Blue Eared Starlings, Black, Yellow Mantled and Black Winged Bishops, White Headed Barbet, Cardinal and Nubian Woodpecker, Lesser and Greater Honeyguide, Saddle Billed Rufous Bellied Heron, Banded Snake Eagle, Eastern Chanting Goshawk and many more. Dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge
Midrange: Parkside Safari Lodge
Budget: Redchilli Rest Camp
Day 3: Game Drive and boat trip in Murchison falls and top of the falls-Evening birding in Budongo.
A highlight of the visit to Murchison falls as we enjoy a game drive and search for big game and birds in the park. There will be mammals such as Rothschild’s Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Waterbuck. Have a boat trip to the bottom of the falls followed by a hike to the top of the falls where your driver will pick you and transfer to Bundongo for birding experience in the evening. If you are lucky enough, you might spot the rare Night jar!
Other birds to look out for include the Saddle-billed, Yellow Billed and African Open Billed Stork, African Finfoot, Hauglins Falcon, Senegal Thick-knee, Rock Pratincole, Giant, Woodland, Grey Headed, Malchite, Pygmy and striped Kingfishers. On the game drive we look out for Heuglin’s Francolins Black Billed Barbet, Northern and Red Faced Barbet, Swallow-tailed and Blue-breasted and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Abyssinian Rollers, the giant Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, Black Winged and Northern Red Bishops. Dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge
Midrange: Twiga Tales Lodge
Budget: Twiga Tales Lodge
Day 4: Birding Budongo- Royal Mile and Busingiro Transfer to Hoima Kontiki Hotel
Depart early for the nearby Budongo Forest, birding along the Royal Mile, a truly spectacular road with forest canopy towering far overhead.
There is a good system of trails in the forest, today we expect skulking birds like the Nahan’s Francolin, excessively noisy White-thighed Hornbill, graceful Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetail, Blue-throated Roller, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Forest Flycatcher, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Ituri Batis, Lemon Bellied Crombec, Tit Hylia, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Forest Robin, Yellow Billed, Grey Throated, Hairy Breasted and Yellow Spotted Barbet, Great Blue and Black Billed Turaco, Dusy Long Tailed Cuckoo, Spotted, Plain, Slender Billed, White Throated, Little Grey and Little Greeenbul, Red Tailed Bristle bill and Black-capped Apalis among others.
On this day we transfer to Hoima in order to cut short on the next day’s long distance Drive. Dinner and overnight at your hotel
Luxury: Hoima cultural Lodge
Midrange: Hotel Kontiki Hoima
Budget: Da’ Place Hoima
Day 5: Transfer from Hoima to Kibale via Fort portal-Bigodi swamp walk/birding
After breakfast, check out and drive through undulating hills with lush green vegetation to Kibale forest with lunch en route in Fort Portal town. Later check in at the lodge for relaxation and refreshment. In the evening go for a swamp walk in Bigodi wetland which is a ramsar site rich in birds. Birding in the forest is also very rewarding and you could encounter White-napped Pigeon, African Gray Parrot, Black Bee-eater, Hairy-breasted, Yellow Spotted and Yellow Billed Barbet, Chestnut-winged and Purple-headed, Waller’s and Narrow Tailed Starlings, Blue-throated Brown and Superb Sunbirds, White-collared Olive back among others. Dinner and overnight at your lode
Luxury: Ndali Lodge
Midrange: Kibale primate Lodge
Budget: Nyinabulitwa Country resort
Day 6: Kibale National Park – Chimp Tracking and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National park
After breakfast, we shall report to the UWA headquarters for briefing then we shall head into the park for chimp tracking and birding. Kibale is home to 13 species of primates and there. This is where we have bigger chances of Chimpanzee tracking. You will later drive to Queen Elizabeth national park for dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge
Midrange: Marafiki Safari Lodge
Budget: Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Day 7: Morning game drive and evening boat ride on Kazinga channel.
Today after our breakfast, we immensely explore Queen Elizabeth National Park. Birds on this drive are numerous and may include among others the Wahlberg’s, Brown Snake, Short Toed Snake and Martial Eagle, Red-necked Spurfowl, Black-rumped and Common Buttonquails, African Crake, Hollub’s Golden and Lesser Masked Weavers, Black Coucal, Black Lored and Arrow Marked Babbler, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl Copper, Scarlet Chested and Red-chested, Broad Tailed and African Moustached Warbler. We shall return to the lodge for lunch, and after lunch in the afternoon we do a boat ride along the Kazinga Channel looking out for water birds that roost in between the Edward and George lakes. Close encounters with the biggest schools of Hippos in Africa and some crocs many migrating species like the Gulls and Terns are here, after this ride we go back to the lodge for dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge
Midrange: Marafiki Safari Lodge
Budget: Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Day 8: Chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu - Bwindi Impenetrable National
Have an early morning breakfast and head to Kalinzu Forest for Chimpanzee tracking to meet man’s closet cousins in the wild. You will have lunch en route and later embark on an exciting road trip back to Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park arriving in the evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Mahogany Springs Lodge
Midrange: Gorilla Safari Lodge
Budget: Gorilla Mist Camp
Day 9: Gorilla Tracking and Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
If tracking we shall have early breakfast, with our packed lunch then assemble at the park headquarters for briefing about this breath taking activity. Time spent tracking depends on where the gorillas spent the night and their feeding range or encounter with other groups which might be wild forcing them to move long distances so be prepared for a whole day activity. Once found you spend an hour with them, seeing these gentle giants interact is awesome and the marvelous wildlife encounter on the African continent and an unforgettable. Later transfer to Lake Bunyonyi “the land of little birds” Dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Birdnest
Midrange: Bunyonyi Eco Resort
Budget: Bunyonyi Gorilla View parkers
Day 10: Birding in Bunyonyi and community walk-A great Photography opportunity.
On this day, you will have a birding experience with an experienced local guide. Have lunch and the resort and get refreshments. In evening, you will have a community walk around Bunyonyi where you will view terraced hills, Bakiga-bafumbira and Batwa pygmies’ local cultural encounter. Dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Birdnest
Midrange: Bunyonyi Eco Resort
Budget: Bunyonyi Gorilla View parkers
Day 11: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park-Evening game drive. (Optional night game drive)
After breakfast at your pace, transfer to Lake Mburo National park with lunch at the lodge inside the park. Relax a bit or take an optional nature walk around the lodge or just relax at the verandah. In the evening, go for a game drive as we look out for mammals like the Zebra, Eland, Topi, Impala, Cape Buffalo, Warthog etc. Dinner and overnight at your lodge
Luxury: Mihingo Lodge
Midrange: Rwakobo Rock
Budget: Rwonyo Rest Camp
Day 12: Morning walk in Lake Mburo- Transfer to Kampala
After breakfast we start early in search for special savannah birds like the Yellow Bellied Apalis, Green Capped Eremomela, Buff Bellied Warbler, White Winged Tit, Red Billed Wood Hopoe, the special birds for today’s drive will be the Tabora Cisticola, Red Faced Barbet and Coqui Francolin. Bulbul, Sulpher Breasted Bush Shrike, Red Headed Weaver, Green Backed and Uganda Spotted Woodpecker, African Black Headed Oriole. We shall have lunch en route or at the lodge and then drive out of the lodge back to Kampala. A stop over will be made at the Equator line for experimentation, arriving late evening for relaxation, dinner and overnight at your hotel
Luxury: Laico Lake Victoria hotel
Midrange: Cassia Lodge Buziga
Budget: Acactus
Day 13: Birding Kampala- Mabamba wetland and Entebbe botanical gardens
After an early breakfast we do birding to Mabamba swamp in search for the Shoebill then later connect to our accommodation where we have our lunch, dinner, the bird is easiest seen in the morning when they stalk their main prey, the mudfish or frogs, but may be spotted all day.
They may stand absolutely still for long periods awaiting the movements of their prey and then suddenly strike with a marvelous speed. Overnight at your hotel
Luxury: Laico Lake Victoria hotel
Midrange: Cassia Lodge Buziga
Budget: Maries Royale Hotel
Day 14: Kampala city tour (Kabaka’s Palace, Uganda Museum, Martyrs’ shrine, Ndere cultural centre)
After having breakfast at your pace, your driver guide will pick you take you through the Kampala city tour circuit. The tour begins with a tour to the Kabaka’s Royal palace at Bulange. Do not miss a chance to view the former torture chambers of Idd Amin. You will later visit the Uganda Museum with collectives about Ugandan history (economic, political and social), cultures etc as displayed in the various galleries. Another amazing tour will be made to the matyrs shrine at Namugongo. Do not miss out narrations on how the 22 martyrs’ were murdered for their Christian faith! Spend your evening at Ndere cultural centre which is the home of performing arts. Ugandan diverse cultures are presented through music dance and drama. Lunch en route, dinner and overnight at your hotel
Luxury: Laico Lake Victoria hotel
Midrange: Cassia Lodge Buziga
Budget: Acactus
Day 15: Airport Transfer
After breakfast we shall have to transfer to the airport for our flight back home as you say farewell to the pearl of Africa.
PRICE WILL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
* Gorilla Permit each person
* Car transportation in 4WD tourist car
* Park entrance fees in the parks
* Bird watching while on tour
* Guided game viewing in all parks
* Launch cruises
* Warm lunches during transfer days
* Chimpanzee permits
* Safe drinking mineral water in car full time
* Meals at the lodges
* Services of English speaking driver-guide
* Accommodation for 14 nights on full board meals
* Airport /Hotel transfers
PRICE WILL EXCLUDE:
* International Air ticket and visa fees
* Soft sodas and alcoholic drinks
* Extra activities out of itinerary
* And other personal items/expenses