12-day Uganda Birding Group tour

Day-by-day Itinerary details

Day 1: Arrivals in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport

Arrivals early in the morning: breakfast at Traveler’s Inn, Entebbe and later drive to Mabamba Wetland for shoebill. Lunch break at the Equator and later continue to Lake Mburo NP

Accommodation: Mpogo Lodge/Hyena Hill/Eagle’s Nest – 2nights

Please not that group tour time and date arrivals arrivals may be different for different individuals depending on the country of origin. All individuals are expected to have arrived by day 1 of the tour.

Day 2: Game/bird walk in the morning, boat mid-morning and afternoon game drive

Most of the park is dominated by tall grass savannah dotted with Acacia and Euphorbia trees. Common bird in this habitat include; Crested Francolin, Emerald- spotted wood Dove, Brown Parrot , Bare-faced Go away bird, Blue-naped Mousebird , Lilac-breasted Roller, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill ,African Grey Hornbill, Sport Flanked , White Headed and double toothed Barbets, Nubian, Bearded and Cardinal Woodpeckers, Trilling Cisticola ,Yellow breasted Apalis, White winged black Tit, Chin-spot Batis, Greater Blue Eared Starling , Marico Sunbird, Black headed Gonolek, Brown-backed Scrub-Robin, Rufous Chested Swallow, Black-bellied Bustard, African Wattled Plover, Rufous Naped and Flapped Lark, Coqui francolin, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Red faced Barbet, Crested Barbet, Red-collared Barbet, Tabora Cisticola, Bronze-winged Courser, African Finfoot, and White-backed night Heron. Migratory brown Chested Plovers can be seen from the second week of July to December. 

This park also gives us a variety of game viewing such as Buffalos, Impala, Giraffes, Warthogs, Zebra, Hippos, Waterbuck, Dwarf and Banded Mongooses, Side-striped Jackal, Bushbucks, Topi and on a lucky day you can see leopard.

Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – Ruhiija Sector/Buhoma (depends on the group’s interests)

Travel time from Lake Mburo to Bwindi is 6-7 hours. We shall have a lunch stop in Kabale Town.

Bwindi has a unique rich and varied ecosystem and has lowland rainforest and Afromontane forest. It’s considered as one of the most unique and important forests of Africa. UNESCO declared it as a Natural World Heritage Site for Humanity for its many values and because it is vital to the survival of many endangered species.

Time to have a cool drink, enjoy the sight and sounds of the rainforest.

Accommodation: Broadbill forest camp (Ruhiija) / Ride for a Waman (Buhoma)

Day 4: Optional Gorilla trekking

Birding or forest walk for those not doing the tracking

Gorilla tracking in bwindi is by far rated as number one wilderness experience in the whole world. The gorilla excursion as another highlight of your safari!

Gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It’s difficult to foresee how many hours you will hike. Expect to walk a long distance in steep and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. A good physical condition is recommended. For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.

People who choose not to gorilla trekking will go birding in the forest.

Day 5: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Afternoon game drive in Ishasha sector of the park

You will explore Ishasha, considered by many as an off-the-beaten-track destination that you will surely enjoy.

River Ishasha alone is known for a high population density of the Hippos. As we will drive over the southern circuit plains of Ishasha in the open savannah, you will likely meet large herds of Buffalo, Elephant, Uganda Kob and Topi, with occasional Leopard sightings. The Northern circuit – area near the main road is the one famous for tree climbing lions. We look particularly at the many fig trees where lions like to stay. But we also visit the Uganda Kob mating ground which is their preferred hunting area.

Accommodation: Ishasha Pride Lodge/Topi Lodge for 1night

Day 6: Visit Mweya in Queen Elizabeth National Park with a brief stop at a fishing Village.

Lunch will be at Mweya Peninsula before taking a 2-hours boat cruise along Kazinga Channel in the afternoon.

The launch trip is the most popular activity at Mweya. Kazinga Channel is a natural narrow neck of water body connecting lakes Edward and George; measuring up to 40km long, and is the most luxurious in the region; Plying these waters with comfort, elegance and attentive service, affording superb wildlife viewing from your observation deck, is far much re-assuring! Along the Kazinga Channel, there are chances of spotting the African Skimmers, snowy-capped robin, African spoonbill, kittliz plover, flamingos, Great White and Pick-backed Pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Carmorants, Common Squacco Heron, African Open-Billed Stork, White-faced Whistling, Knob-Billed Ducks and African Fish Eagle, crowned lapwing and many other shorebirds both migratory and resident. Giant Nile crocodiles basking in the sun, elephants thronging the banks, schools of hippos bathing in shallow waters, and giant forest hogs, are rarely missed.

Accommodation: Kyangabi Crater resort or other for 2nights

Day 7: Morning game / bird drive in Kasenyi tracks in the park.

Optional visit to Katwe Salt Lakes in the afternoon.

The best time for game-viewing is early in the morning! We shall do that along the Kasenyi plains driving through several tracks famous for mating grounds for the Lions, the Uganda Kob lekking grounds, etc. Main targets here are Lion and Leopard.

After the game drive we break at a view point of Kasenyi salt lake.

In the afternoon, we may visit Lake Katwe (optional) to have a feel of rudimentary ways of mining and extracting salt. Close by this lake is the famous Munyanyange explosion crater that is famous for Flamingos plus many migratory waterfowls.

Day 8: From Queen Elizabeth NP to Kibale National Park.

Lunch in Fort Portal town. Afternoon nature-walk along the Bigodi Community Wetlands.

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary is a community owned and managed nature reserve. A 4km trail has been created in the wetland adjacent to the forest. The habitat here consists of a swamp surrounded by low, scrubby secondary forest and cultivation. It is the best place to see over 6 different species of monkeys and primates. Key bird species include among others; White-spotted flufftail, Green-backed Twinspot, Cabanis’s and Joyful Greenbul, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Olive-green Camaroptera, White-collared oliveback, white-winged warbler, white-chinned Prinia, Black-bellied seed cracker, Purple-banded Sunbird, Blue-shouldered Robinchat, Lesser honeyguide, Uganda Spotted and speckle-breasted Woodpeckers, White-tailed Ant-thrush, Red-capped Robin Chat, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush, Great Sparrow-hawk, Red-headed Bluebill, and Luhdher’s Bush Shrike.

On your tour, you will likely see several kinds of monkeys including black and white colobus, Red colobus, Blue Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, red tailed, Vervet, L’Hoest, etc.

Accommodation: Chimpanzee Guest House or other for 2nights

Day 9: Morning bird walk for Pitta, afternoon Chimp tracking

The pitta normally displays just before first light of the day, and is the best time to track its location for better views. Other Kibale forest birds include among others; great blue Turaco, Red-tailed and white-tailed Ant-thrush, Western nicator, dusky-long-tailed cuckoo, Jameson’s and Chestnut wattle-eyes, golden-crowned Woodpecker, brown-eared woodpecker, shining blue kingfisher, slender-billed greenbul, black-and-white casqued, African pied, and crowned hornbills, bleu-breasted kingfisher, black-and-white shrike flycatcher, African shrike flycatcher, Narina trogon, Toro Olive greenbul, scaly-throated, thick-billed and lesser honeguides, black bee-eater, yellow-potted, hairy-breasted barbets, cassin’s grey flycatcher, Bristle bill, red-capped Robinchat, white-throated greenbul, African pitta (occasional), masked Apalis, red-chested owlet, scaly-breasted illadopsis, brown illadopsis, brown-chested Alethe, rufous flycatcher thrush, western black-headed oriole, crowned eagle etc.

After lunch, we gather at the park headquarters for briefing prior to the activity. Kibale is the best place in Africa to see Chimpanzees

Day 10: Travel to Murchison Falls National Park. Lunch stop in Kagadi town

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest national conservation area and it is famous for its big game, spectacular scenery and the falls for which the park was named. Abundant Hippos, Crocodiles, Elephant, hartebeest, Buffalo, giraffe, hartebeest, Uganda Kob and Waterbuck can be seen along with occasional Lions, leopard and Patas Monkeys.

Accommodation: Pakuba Lodge inside the park

Day 11: Early morning game drive, mid-morning boat cruise and afternoon visit to the falls

Birding here is a delightful experience. White-crested Turaco, Heuglin’s Francolin, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Blue-spotted and Black-billed Wood Doves, vinaceous dove, black-billed barbet, Madagascar(occasional), Little, Blue-breasted, Northern carmine, Red-throated and Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, etc. are amongst a huge variety of African grassland species that can be seen here. The highlights for this day’s birding may be Stanley’s Bustard, spotted thicknee, secretary bird – occasional, black headed lapwing, white-browed sparrow-weaver, chestnut-crowned sparrow weaver, speckle-fronted weaver etc.

Visit the northern sector of the park in the morning. Afternoon boat cruise along the river Nile. After the bottom of the falls boat, we shall pay a visit to the top of Murchison Falls where the Nile narrows, squeezes and plunges spectacularly over the escarpment with unfathomable might!

From here we drive to Masindi and stay at Masindi Hotel.

Accommodation: Masindi Hotel

Day 12: Transfer to Entebbe for your flight.

From Masindi, we shall drive direct to Entebbe. There are optional activities. This late afternoon / evening, visit Entebbe Botanical Gardens for a leisurely walk. Along the way to Entebbe, we may also do an optional visit to the Rhino Sanctuary at Zziwa. These activities are possible especially those having a late evening / night flight.

~ end of Uganda Birding Group Tour ~