13 Days Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
13 Days Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
The 13 Days Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari is more like highlights of Uganda safari but for birders. This trip takes you into Uganda’s top birding spots like Mabamba Swamps, Bwindi, and Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth NP. Because you’ll be visiting the misty mountain jungles to catch sight of some of the rarest birds, why not take a mountain gorilla trekking adventure into the jungles? Well, yeah this safari includes that too.
Safari Highlights of Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
- Birding in Lake Mburo
- Birding in Bwindi Forest
- Birding in Queen Elizabeth Park
- Gorilla tracking in the Bwindi forest
- Chimp Trekking in Kibale Forest
- Birding in Bigodi Swamp
- Birding in Murchison Falls
- Boat Cruise in Murchison Falls
- Tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector
- Game drive in Queen Elisabeth Park
- Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
Tour Summary for Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
- Day 1: Arrival and transfer to hotel in Entebbe
- Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
- Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Day 4: Bird Watching in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
- Day 5: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
- Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 7: Game drive and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
- Day 8: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
- Day 9: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bird Watching in Kibale Forest National Park
- Day 10: Transfer to Hoima
- Day 11: Bird Watching in Hoima and transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 12: Game Drive and Boat Cruise in Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 13: Departure to Kampala
13 Days Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Entebbe
On arrival, you will be met by one of our company representatives at Entebbe airport for your Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari. Depending on the time of arrival you may go birding in either the botanical gardens or the Uganda Wildlife Education center, either of the places is a good representative of the bird species in the country.
They help give one an introduction to the different bird species in the country. Special birds here include; African hobby, Ross’s Turaco, Brown and Grey Parrot, Klaas’s, Diederik, and Red-Chested Cuckoo, Fork Tailed Drongo, Brown Crowned Tchagra, white Chinned Prinia Black-headed Gonolek, to mention but a few. You will have an overnight stay at a hotel in Entebbe.
Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
After an early breakfast, drive to Lake Mburo with a brief stopover at the Equator for photographs. Drive through savannah grasslands seeing banana plantations and herds of Ankole cattle with their incredible long curving horns. Arrive in time for a boat ride. This park has got a mosaic habitat of rock outcrops, dry hillsides, open and wooded savanna, forests, galleries, and swamps. A variety of habitats have contributed to the avifauna diversity and 313 bird species have been recorded in the park including; Red-faced barbet, Long-tailed cisticola, Papyrus yellow warbler, African finfoot, Northern Brubru, Rufous-bellied Heron, Black-collared Barbet, Brown-chested plover, White-winged tit, Northern brown-throated weaver, White-winged Warbler. Spend the night in Lake Mburo National Park.
Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After an early breakfast, we depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The park derives its name from its thick vegetation with an immense variety of evergreen trees, festooned with lianas, and epiphytes, which reach great heights in their search for sunlight plus half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.
Day 4: Bird Watching in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
On this 14 Days Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari, you will go for a guided nature walk for birding along Buhoma main trail and later on to the waterfall trail. Bwindi is the Bird watcher’s haven! It holds 348 species of birds among which 90% of the Albertine rift Endemic are here i.e the Short-tailed, Rusty-faced woodland and Grauer’s Rush Warblers, Bar-tailed Trogon, Wilcock’s Honey-guide, Yellow-eyed black Fly-catcher, Kivu Ground Thrush, Dusky Crimsonwing, White-tailed Blue Monarch among others, difficult or impossible to see in any other part of East Africa. Alternatively, go for a Gorilla trek. Spend the night in Bwindi.
Day 5: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Birding today is in Ruhija, with a morning transfer with picnic lunch to Mubwindi swamp in Ruhija. The swamp at an elevation of 2050m/6725 holds astonishing birdlife among others; the Dwarf Honeyguide, Stripe-breasted Tit, Ruwenzori Apalis, and African Hill Babbler, the rare and localized Graurer’s Scrub-warbler, and Carruther’s Cisticola, including very difficult to see Fraser’s Eagle-Owl. Return to Ruhija overnight. Spend the night in Bwindi.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After an early breakfast, transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park through the southern part of the park (Ishasha Sector). This will depend on the condition of the road. Spend a night in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Day 7: Game Drive and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
We take an early morning game drive towards the famous Kasenyi Track, winding through grassland dotted with trees and nearby crater lakes. The main aim is to locate Lions and other mammals including Buffalo, Ugandan Kob, Oribi, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, and family groups of African Elephants. Along the road, you may find Scaly Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl, several plovers, Harlequin Quail and Common Button-quail. Larks are numerous and include, Red Capped, Rufous-napped, Flappet, and the local White-tailed. Raptors include Martial Eagle, Banded Snake Eagles, and Bateleur.
In the afternoon we embark on a boat trip down the Kazinga Channel. This incredible area for waterbirds will afford stunning views of African Skimmer, Pink-backed Pelican, Saddle-billed, African Open Billed and Yellow-Billed Stork, Hamerkop, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-knee, and over-summering Palearctic migrants
After lunch, go for a Launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel at 15.00 hours. Kazinga channel is a natural strip that joins Lake Edward to Lake George and actually, this is one of your highlights of this safari. Dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After an early breakfast, transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. We have a chance of birding on the main road or one of the trails in the forest. Spend a night in Kibale Forest.
Day 9: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bird Watching in Kibale Forest National Park
Have an early breakfast by 7.00 am and proceed to the park headquarters at Kanyanchu for briefing before going on the chimpanzee trek and bird watching in Kibale Forest. You will carry packed lunch from the lodge and lots of drinking water. Kibale Forest National Park has more than 335 bird species recorded. A network of forest trails from the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre allows you to search for a number of species from the vicinity of the main road such as Nahan’s francolin, and African pitas.
There is a large block of rainforest that offers some excellent forest birding. The best forest birding is along the main road from the Kanyanchu center. Species such as scaly francolin, marsh Tchagara, the scarce grey-headed olive-back, and a host of seed-eaters such as fawn breasted black-crowned wax-bills and green-backed twin spot, among others, can easily be spotted.
While in the forest, you will watch out for flocks of the rare and localized white-naped pigeon in flight overhead or sunning themselves on the treetops in the early morning. Fruiting trees attract birds such as Narina trogon, pied hornbill, yellow-spotted, hairy-breasted, and yellow-billed barbets.
The secondary forest and thicket around Kanyanchu is also a productive birding area for the African goshawk, the majestic ground eagle, and masked Apalis. Large, noisy flocks of grey parrots fly over the campsite to their roost in the evening. After lunch; we shall go for a nature walk in Bigodi Swamp. Spend a night in Kibale Forest.
Day 10: Transfer to Hoima
14 Days birding tour Uganda Wildlife Safari Uganda-Gorilla Tracking, today we leave early for Masindi. Spend a night in Hoima
Day 11: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Have breakfast and drive to one of the best of Uganda’s bird-watching spots, the Royal Mile. This is Uganda’s historically known leisure spot for the traditional King, hence the name Royal Mile. Key species include African dwarf and Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Yellow and grey Long bills, Olive-bellied Crombec, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Crowned eagle, Forest Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, African Emerald Cuckoo, Yellow-mantled Weaver, yellow-browed Camaroptera, Green Crombec, Crested Malimbe, and red-headed bluebill. Thereafter, transfer to the park for an overnight stay.
Day 12: Game Drive and Boat Cruise in Murchison Falls National Park
After an early breakfast, go for an early morning game drive that usually starts at 7.00 am. Return to the Lodge for a late breakfast at 11.00 am. After lunch, go for a Launch cruise to the bottom of the falls; the hippos and crocodiles are amazing. Don’t miss the water birds as well. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 14: Departure to Kampala
After an early breakfast with a packed lunch, visit the top of the falls. Enjoy and marvel at the mighty Nile being forced in a seven-meter crevice to thunder 45 meters below in a series of cascades that can be viewed at different points at the summit. Continue to Entebbe; arrive in time for your evening flight.
End of the Uganda Birding & Gorilla Tracking Safari
Please note that this is a guideline program that may be customized according to travelers’ needs and preferences. The variations are normally made to improve the tour and your experience
- All our tours/safaris can start and end in Kigali Rwanda or Entebbe Uganda with no extra costs
- Our tour consultant is at your disposal for any information you may need 24/7
- We do all your airport transfers in Kigali or Entebbe
- We arrange accommodation for you day before the tour starts and on the day tour ends with no extra costs
Transportation & Guides
We use both standard 4×4 customized safari vans and 4×4 luxury customized safari Land cruisers as our road mode of transport for game viewing, taking photos wildlife filming and photography, all our safari vehicles has pop up roofs for proper game viewing and easy for to take as much photos as you can, with also charging system for your cameras, phones and also every client is guaranteed of a window seat for easy view.
Our drive/guides are very professionally and well trained, we know every successful safari needs a great guide, majority of the comments from our clients regarding our services are centered on the professionalism of our guides, returning clients request the same guide on their second and third trip.
Includes:
– Meet & greet services airport transfers to/from Entebbe airport,
– Accommodation and meals on safari as above,
– One Chimp & Gorilla permit per person
– Bottled water in the safari vehicle,
– Full-time services of English speaking driver/guide,
– All park entry fees and set activities on the itinerary.
Excludes:
– Visas,
– Personal travel insurance and items of a personal nature.
– Charter/Scheduled flights also an optional extra.
– Plus all expenses of personal nature like tips, drinks, etc.
COST PER PERSON SHARING TWIN/DOUBLE ROOMS.
Cost per person sharing Price(USD)
1 person 5630
2 people 5285
3 people 5045
4 people 4875
5 people 4655
6 people 4390
Request a quote for this trip
Uganda Bird watching Safaris
Uganda is well known as the best African birding watching destination, also Uganda has a diversity of bird species that are not spotted anywhere else in Africa, Uganda also is the only country in Africa with many bird-watching destinations in Africa which have made Uganda a birding paradise in the whole world. Uganda has more than 1010 bird species which is more reason for anyone to come and enjoy Uganda bird watching safaris, Uganda has various National parks with the biggest habitat for the most bird species in Uganda and Africa.
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