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Birding Holiday Uganda, Private Driver Guide: Endemics + Gorilla Trekking

Birding Holiday, Uganda: Jinja + Murchison Falls to Bwindi
7UPC19E

19 NIGHTS

FROM $10,767

Per person sharing

Flights quoted separately

Birding Holiday Uganda Private Driver Guide Endemics Gorilla Trekking

On this specialist birding in Uganda, explore this beautiful country with your own expert private driver guide, searching for endemics & many other species. Visit Mabamba Wetlands near Entebbe, Mabira Forest near Jinja, Royal Mile & Budongo Forest, Murchison Falls, Kibale Rainforest, Queen Elizabeth Park, Bwindi with optional gorilla trekking & Lake Mburo. All transfers & park fees included. Price is for 2 people (reduces as number in group increases).

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• Birding Holiday Uganda	• Mabamba Wetlands	• Jinja - Mabira Forest	• Budongo Forest & Royal Mile
• Murchison Falls	• Kibale Rainforest & Chimps	• Queen Elizabeth Park	• Bwindi Gorilla Trekking option
• Lake Mburo & Endemics	• Uganda, Private Driver Guide

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• Birding Holiday Uganda	• Mabamba Wetlands	• Jinja - Mabira Forest
• Budongo Forest & Royal Mile	• Murchison Falls	• Kibale Rainforest & Chimps
• Queen Elizabeth Park	• Bwindi Gorilla Trekking option	• Lake Mburo & Endemics
• Uganda, Private Driver Guide

Day 1

You will be met at Entebbe Airport by your birding guide and transferred to your hotel.

Check into your Entebbe hotel and relax under warm blue African skies.

Day 2

This morning leave Entebbe early and travel with your birding guide to the nearby Mabamba Wetlands, as this is one of the best places in East Africa to see the elusive Shoebill stork.

These wetlands are one of Uganda's most important birding areas and a RAMSAR site of international importance. After a few minutes travelling in a small canoe, the papyrus reeds open up into flat grassy wetlands where a number of these shy birds are regularly seen. Shoebills are easiest seen in the morning when they stalk their main prey - mudfish and frogs - but they can be spotted throughout the day. They stand absolutely still for long periods waiting for their prey to move, then suddenly strike with marvellous speed.

You can also hope to see the Blue swallow, Grey-rumped swallow, Papyrus gonolek, Swamp flycatcher, African fish eagle, Hammerkop, Fan-tailed widowbird, African jacana, Lesser jacana, Northern brown-throated weaver, Blue-breasted bee-eater, Winding cisticola, White winged black tern, Purple swamphen, Orange, Golden-backed and Yellow-backed weavers and a variety of egrets, kingfishers and sandpipers. You may even see a Rufous-bellied heron.

After an included picnic lunch, we drive 3.5-hours east to Jinja - the second largest city in Uganda, situated at the source of the River Nile. We check into our lodge in Jinja, where the River Nile flows out of Lake Victoria and begins its epic 4,150 miles (6,700 km) journey to Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

Day 3

Today enjoy a full day of bird watching in Mabira Forest with your birding guide.

Mabira is one of the largest tropical forests in Uganda, where you can hope to see a wide variety of forest dwelling species, as well as some primates and many colourful butterflies. Birds you can hope to see include the Crowned eagle, Yellow longbill, Grey longbill, Sooty boubou, Blue-breasted kingfisher, Shining-blue kingfisher, Forest wood hoopoe, Jameson's wattle-eye and Chestnut wattle-eye. You can also see a varity of hornbills, greenbuls, cuckooshrikes and much more. A boxed picnic lunch is included today.

Day 4

This morning we leave Jinja and travel 4.5-hours to Masindi in northwestern Uganda, birding en-route as we travelling via the Luweero Wetlands and the Kafu River Basin.

As we drive past numerous small farms, birding is initially limited - but we will arrive in good woodland by lunch time and hope for a great afternoon¹s birding as we look for the Banded snake eagle, Vinaceous dove, Meyer¹s parrot, White-crested turaco, Speckle-breasted woodpecker, Red-shouldered cuckooshrike, Short-winged (siffling) cisticola, Yellow-bellied hyliota, Brown-backed scrub robin, Eastern black-headed batis, Brown babbler and Copper sunbird, among others. A boxed picnic lunch is included.

Afterwards we check into our hotel in this small town.

Day 5

After an early breakfast, we drive 1-hour to Budongo Forest with a packed lunch today for a full day of birding.

A broad road through one of the richest areas of the forest - known as the Royal Mile - gives us good access to many of the forest specialties found here. We hope to see many of the following: Crowned hawk-eagle, Nahan's francolin (partridge), Crested guineafowl, White-spotted flufftail, African emerald cuckoo, Sabine's spinetail, Cassin's spinetail, African dwarf kingfisher, Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Blue-breasted kingfisher, Blue-throated roller, White-thighed hornbill, Black-and-white-casqued hornbill, Speckled tinkerbird, Yellow-throated tinkerbird, Yellow-spotted barbet, Hairy-breasted barbet, Yellow-crested (Golden-crowned) woodpecker, Grey, Plain, White-throated, Icterine and Red-tailed greenbuls, Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush (Fraser's rufous thrush), Black-capped and Buff-throated apalis, Rufous-crowned eremomela, Lemon-bellied crombec, Yellow-bellied longbill, Green hylia, Yellow-footed, Fraser's forest (African forest) and Grey-throated flycatchers, Forest robin, the rare Ituri batis, Jameson's and Chestnut wattle-eyes, Chestnut-capped flycatcher, Red-bellied (Black-headed) paradise flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Grey-headed, Green, Little green and Olive-bellied sunbirds, Western black-headed oriole, Purple-headed glossy-starling, Yellow-mantled weaver and Crested malimbe.

Day 6

This morning we drive 2-hours to Murchison Falls National Park.

This wildlife-rich game sanctuary is situated on the banks of the River Nile, downstream from the famous waterfall after which it was named. This verdant reserve was favoured by Winston Churchill, who called Uganda the "Pearl of Africa". It is a relatively undiscovered gem and the premier game reserve in the country. It is one of the best wildlife conservation areas in the whole of Africa.

We travel via the Kanio-Pabidi section of Budongo Forest so that we can search for the secretive Pulvell's illadopsis in its only East African habitat as well as other forest birds. We spend the full day birding, with a boxed picnic lunch.

We also visit the top of Murchison Falls, where the waters of the river squeeze through a narrow 23-ft (7 m) gorge, creating a thunderous roar as they hits the rocks below, before checking into our lodge.

Day 7

This morning enjoy a private boat ride along the Nile River to the thundering Murchison Falls.

This will give you a second chance to spot a Shoebill stork in the dense papyrus searching for frogs, if you failed to see one at the Mabamba Wetlands. You should also see the African darter, Grey, Purple and Squacco herons, Yellow-billed and Great egrets, Sacred ibis, Saddled-billed stork, African jacana, Spur-winged and Long-toed lapwings, Senegal thicknee, Red-throated bee-eater and many Pied kingfishers diving into the water. Along the way you may also see large pods of hippo and some crocodiles. At the base of the falls you may see Rock pratincoles leaving their perches to hunt through the swirling spray.

Our afternoon is devoted to birding in Murchison Falls National Park, a magnificent 3,893 square mile sanctuary that offers easy game viewing on its open plains. This game reserve is famous for its huge herds of Ugandan kob (an antelope similar to the impala) as well as its buffalo, elephant, giraffe, baboon and monkeys. You may also see warthog, Jackson's hartebeest and hopefully lion.

In its savanna grasslands and mature woodlands we search for the White-headed vulture, Brown snake-eagle, Bateleur eagle, Martial eagle, Grey kestrel, Heuglin's francolin, Crested francolin, Helmeted guineafowl, Small buttonquail, Black-bellied bustard, Denham's (Stanley) bustard, Speckled and Blue-naped mousebird, Crowned and African grey hornbills, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Grey woodpecker, Flappet lark, Northern crombec, Red-winged grey warbler, Spotted morning thrush, Sooty and White-fronted chats, Brown-throated wattle-eye, Beautiful sunbird, Lesser blue-eared starling, Yellow-billed oxpecker, Yellow-mantled and Red-collared widowbird and maybe the very local White-rumped seedeater.

If we stay out late, we can hope to see one or more of the night birds found here, such as the Greyish (Spotted) eagle-owl, Long-tailed nightjar or Pennant-winged nightjar.

Note: The national park opens at 6.30 am and closes at 7 pm. Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in Uganda.

Day 8

This morning we travel back to Masindi, heading south towards Lake Albert and Buganga Game Reserve with a packed picnic lunch.

We arrive at the Butiaba Escarpment in time for a picnic lunch and check the Butiaba Marshes for the Blue-breasted bee-eater and Carruthers' cisticola. Piapiacs are numerous and tame in the Borassus fan palms and various bishops and widowbirds should also be seen. As we leave the escarpment, we will look for the Black-billed wood dove, Northern carmine bee-eater, Swallow-tailed bee-eater, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Spot-flanked barbet, Black-billed barbet, Double-toothed barbet, Red-faced cisticola, Zitting cisticola, Foxy cisticola, Moustached grass warbler, Red-backed scrub robin, Mocking cliff chat, White-shouldered black tit, Orange(Sulphur)-breasted bushshrike, Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver, Black-winged bishop, Black-bellied firefinch, Red-winged pytilia and Cinnamon-breasted bunting.

We spend the afternoon in the Busingiro section of Budongo Forest, looking along the main road for birds confined to this forest. These include the Rufous-crowned elemomera, Ituri batis, Toro olive greenbul, Chocolate-backed kingfisher, Scaly francolin and many more. We then head south to Masindi.

Days 9 To 10

This morning we travel from Masindi to the picturesque Crater Lakes region.

This is the gateway to Kibale National Park, a protected tropical rainforest that has the highest concentration and variety of primates in all of East Africa. The park is home to the bushpig, duiker, otter, leopard and large herds of elephants that migrate between Kibale and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The bird life is also outstanding.

We travel via the Sebitoli section of the park, birding in the papyrus swamps and forest patches, with a boxed picnic lunch. This site is good for species like the Masked apalis, Joyful greenbul, White-napped pigeon, Forest Starling and many more.

We then drive through tea plantations to our lodge in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountains (the 'Mountains of the Moon').

Day 11

This morning we visit the Bigodi Wetlands sanctuary, a local community initiative that is home to 8 different primate species, including black-and-white colobus and red colobus, over 200 bird species and numerous other small mammals and reptiles. Here we search for the striking Papyrus gonolek and the secretive White-winged warbler, before having an early lunch.

After returning to our lodge for lunch, we travel 3.5-hours through the scenic crater lakes region to Queen Elizabeth National Park - stopping for a photo opportunity as we cross the equator. This enormous 764 square mile (1,978 square km) wildlife sanctuary is the second largest in Uganda, with its extensive rolling grass-covered hills, wooded valleys and a series of extinct volcanic craters. The park extends from Lake George to Lake Edward, with the Kazinga Channel connecting these two great lakes.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is renowned for its river-based game viewing, but it also has a land-based game viewing area about 45-minutes from the river. Game is not plentiful here, especially during the dry season when most animals migrate to the river, but if you are patient you may be rewarded with good lion and leopard sightings. You can also hope to see buffalo, baboon, vervet monkey, waterhog, Ugandan kob, waterbuck and the elusive giant forest hog.

Day 12

Rise early today for a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park - the most visited national park in Uganda. It has 95 different species of mammal including lions, hippo, elephants and leopards, as well as over 660 different bird species. We drive to the game viewing area where we search for lion, elephant, buffalo and other animals in their natural habitat, before returning to our lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon enjoy a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. Thanks to the abundant wildlife that gathers along its shores - including huge herds of elephant, buffalo, Nile crocodile & hundreds of hippo - this cruise will be a highlight. The channel is also a magnet for great flocks of waterbirds that gather on the shores of the channel.

We can hope to see the Pink-backed pelican, Great White pelican, African fish eagle, Pied kingfisher, Malachite kingfisher, Grey-headed kingfisher, African spoonbill, Marabou stork, Yellow-billed stork, Hamerkop, Hadada ibis, Sacred ibis, Little grebe, Goliath heron, Little bittern, Black-shouldered kite, African white-backed vulture, Black-chested snake-eagle, Bateleur, Tawny eagle, Wahlberg's eagle, Red-necked francolin, Black crake, Water thick-knee, Senegal lapwing, Kittlitz's plover, White-fronted plover, Whiskered tern, White-winged tern, African skimmer, Blue-spotted wood dove, Levaillant's cuckoo, Dideric cuckoo, Black coucal, White-rumped swift, Little bee-eater, Common scimitarbill, Rufous-naped lark, Red-capped lark, Yellow-throated longclaw, Trilling, Stout, and Croaking cisticolas, Red-faced crombec, Northern black flycatcher, Black-lored babbler, Black-crowned tchagra, Tropical boubou, Little weaver, Red bishop, White-winged widowbird, Fawn-breasted waxbill, Yellow-fronted canary, African golden-breasted bunting as well as vultures, cormorants and many other species.

At some stage during your visit, do try a local Ugandan 'Rolex' - a chiapati rolled with eggs, onions and peppers.

Note: Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road in any national park in Uganda. The park opens at 6.30 am and closes at 7 pm.

Day 13

After an early morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth Park, today we drive 5-hours to our lodge situated near the entrance to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest - home to over 50% of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, and also a sanctuary for colobus monkeys and chimpanzees.

Along the way enjoy game viewing on the open Ishasha Plains that are famous for their black maned tree-climbing lions. You will also see topi, a fast and highly social antelope that is not found in the more northerly parks, as well as a variety of plains game.

Afterwards we continue to Bwindi. This dense equatorial jungle is accessible only on foot and features one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, including 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species including hornbills and turacos, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species as well as chameleons, geckos and many other endangered species. It also boasts over 1,000 different flowering plants, ferns & trees.

Check into your lodge and enjoy the beautiful scenery of your remote forest surroundings.

Note: You will travel on some rough gravel roads today.

Day 14

This morning there is the option to either enjoy a full day of birding in the forest, or trek to see primates in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park - home to half the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, and also a sanctuary for colobus monkeys and chimpanzees.

This dense equatorial rainforest is accessible only on foot and features one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, including 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species including hornbills and turacos, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species as well as chameleons, geckos and many other endangered species. It also boasts over 1,000 different floral species.

After walking (or driving up to 1.5-hours) to your specified gate, rangers will allocate you to a small group of up to 8 people - with each gorilla family graded as a short, medium or long hike, based on their location the previous day. We recommend you ask your guide to request the appropriate category for you, although this cannot be guaranteed as the gorillas may have moved significantly overnight.

After a briefing, you will then track a family of endangered Mountain Gorillas, accompanied by two rangers - one at the front and one at the back. The group will walk at the speed of the slowest member, so it is important to proceed at your own pace and enjoy the experience. We strongly recommend hiring a local porter at a cost of around $15 per person, as not only is this an important source of local employment, but they will carry your backpacks and give you a hand up (or a push) where necessary. Expect to walk 1 to 4-hours each way in steep, sometimes muddy and dense tropical jungle conditions to view a family of these enormous primates and observe their behaviour up close - a rare privilege indeed.

Note: You must take a copy of your passport with you today, as this will be required to trek. You must be over the age of 15 years to track gorillas and be sufficiently fit to walk for the period indicated. Ensure you arrange a packed lunch with your lodge and carry sufficient water in your backpack (at least 2 litres). You should wear long trousers, long sleeved top, long socks (tucked into your trousers to keep out biting ants), proper walking boots and gardening gloves to protect your hands from nettles and undergrowth. Start off wearing a light fleece, as it is cold in the forest in the morning and pack proper rain gear, including a rain jacket and waterproof trousers, as it can rain at any time. A walking stick to help with the steep ascents will be provided if you don’t have your own.

You cannot be sick or have any infectious disease and no eating or drinking is permitted in the vicinity of the gorillas. Only one hour is allowed with the gorillas and you have to keep a distance of at least 7 metres. No flash photography is allowed and no touching the gorillas (although they may decide to touch you)!

Day 15

Enjoy a full day birding today along the main trail of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

We will try and catch up on any bird species missed yesterday. The forest area immediately around our lodge is classed as medium elevation, and we will be particularly looking for the large variety of birds that occur here. We will carry our lunch boxes with us and return to the lodge late in the evening.

Birds you can hope to see today include the Buff-spotted flufftail, Black-billed turaco, Yellowbill, Blue-headed coucal, Bar-tailed trogon, Black bee-eater, Elliot's woodpecker, African broadbill, Shelley¹s (Kakamega) greenbul, Common bristlebill, Petit's cuckooshrike, Red-throated alethe, Chubb's cisticola, Black-throated and Gray apalises, Olive-green camaroptera, Black-faced rufous warbler, White-browed crombec, Neumann's (Short-tailed) warbler (a highly localised endemic), Green hylia, Yellow-eyed black flycatcher, the rare Chapin's flycatcher, Dusky blue flycatcher, Equatorial akalat, Black-and-white shrike flycatcher, White-bellied and Dusky crested-flycatchers, Grey-chested and Mountain illadopsis, Blue-throated brown sunbirds, Tiny sunbird, Mackinnon's shrike, Pink-footed puffback, Luedher's bushshrike, Many-colored and Grey-green bushshrikes, Stuhlmann's and Narrow-tailed starlings, Red-headed malimbe, Red-headed bluebill and Black-headed (Kandt¹s) waxbill.

Day 16

Enjoy some more early morning birding at around 4,900 to 6,500 ft (1,500 to 2,000 m) above sea level, before we transfer to the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, birding en-route.

We’ll spend some time at the “neck” of Bwindi Forest looking for some of the special birds this forest offers. We will make the short but slow and rough drive to the higher parts of the forest and, as we arrive on the uppermost slopes, you will realise why for so long this forest was regarded as 'impenetrable', as the dense undergrowth and steep terrain makes access very difficult indeed.

Many different species are found at these higher altitudes, including quite a few of the Albertine Rift endemics. Undoubtedly one of the most sought-after birds here is the rare and hard-to-find Grauer¹s (African green) broadbill, and it would be tremendous luck if we were to see this species.

Day 17

We will start early today with a boxed lunch and take a strenous 8-km trek through the forest to the Mubwindi Wetlands looking for special species, returning late evening.

Sometimes we find a few of the legendary Grauer¹s broadbills on a nest here, although forest elephants on the trail can sabotage our attempts. Far easier to see are most of the following: Handsome francolin, Brown-necked parrot, Barred long-tailed cuckoo, Montane nightjar, Cinnamon-chested bee-eater, White-headed wood hoopoe, Yellow-rumped tinkerbird, Western tinkerbird, Tullberg's woodpecker, Grey cuckooshrike, Slender-billed greenbul, Yellow-streaked greenbul, Banded prinia, Collared apalise, Black-faced apalise, Chestnut-throated apalise, Cameroon scrub warbler (Evergreen forest warbler), Mountain yellow warbler, Grauer's warbler, Red-faced woodland warbler, Archer's robin chat, Ruwenzori batis, White-tailed blue flycatcher, Mountain illadopsis, African (Ruwenzori) hill babbler, Stripe-breasted tit, Blue-headed sunbird, Regal sunbird, Purple-breasted sunbird, Black-tailed oriole, Mountain boubou, the stunning Doherty's bushshrike, White-necked raven, Slender-billed starling, Waller's starling, Strange weaver, Dusky crimsonwing, Dusky twinspot and perhaps the Oriole finch.

Day 18

After an early morning birding walk, we leave Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and drive 5-hours to Lake Mburo National Park. We make several birding stops en-route, with picnic lunch included, and arrive in the late afternoon.

This national park offers excellent plains game viewing and is the best place in the country to see eland, zebra, topi and impala. You should also have excellent sightings of giraffe, bushbuck, warthog, oribi, vervet and red-tailed monkeys, olive baboon, pigmy mongoose, white tailed mongoose and buffalo. If you are very fortunate you may even see leopard. There are no lions or elephants in this national park.

As we enter the park we look for special birds of the area such as the Red-headed lovebird, Brown-chested lapwing, White-winged tit, Bare-faced go-away bird and a variety of barbets (Red-faced, Crested, Black-collared). We also search for papyrus swamp species, dry savanna species and raptors.

Day 19

We will spend the whole day birding in Lake Mburo National Park today. The five lakes within the park attract hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds - while the fringe swamps are home to Papyrus gonalek.

In the morning enjoy a private boat ride on the lake looking. In the afternoon enjoy a game drive in this delightful small park that has rolling scrub-covered hills, open dry areas, pockets of woodland, papyrus beds, marshy lake fringes and open water.

We look for species such as the Long-tailed cisticola, Red-faced barbet and many others. A variety of new and interesting birds occur within this park and we hope to spot the African finfoot, Black-headed night heron, Lizard buzzard, African goshawk, Coqui francolin, Emerald-spotted wood dove, Red-headed lovebird, Bare-faced go-away-bird, Lilac-breasted roller, Green wood hoopoe, Greater honeyguide, Green-backed woodpecker, the restricted range Red-faced barbet, Mosque and Rufous-chested swallows, Yellow-breasted apalis, Broad-tailed grassbird, Grey tit-flycatcher, Chinspot batis, White-winged black tit, Grey (African) penduline tit, Violet-backed starling, Fan-tailed widowbird and Red-cheeked cordon-bleu. Two rarities occasionally seen here are the White-backed night heron and the Thick-billed cuckoo.

Day 20

Today enjoy more early morning birding in Lake Mburo National Park.

Afterwards we drive 5-hours to Entebbe with an included picnic lunch, crossing the equator along the way, where you can stop to see how water flows clockwise on one side and anti-clockwise on the other side.

On arrival you will have the use of a hotel day room, until it is time to transfer to Entebbe Airport for your flight home.

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