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Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari Holidays and Primate Tours Chimpanzees

Birding Holidays & Tours, Uganda - Private Guide: Shoebill Stork + Bwindi + Gorillas

Birding in Uganda: Kibale + Queen Elizabeth + Bwindi
Birding Holidays Tours Uganda Private Guide Shoebill Stork Bwindi Gorillas
7 NIGHTS FROM:
$5,295
Per person sharing
Scheduled flights quoted separately
7UPA7E
• Birding Holidays & Tours Uganda
• Private Guide
• Entebbe
• Shoebill Stork
• Kibale Rainforest
• Chimp Trekking
• Queen Elizabeth Park
• Bwindi Rainforest
• Gorillas option
• Lake Mburo

Our tailor made birding holidays & tours to Uganda travel with a private guide who is an expert on the birds of this wonderful country. With over 1,000 different species, including the iconic Shoebill stork, Uganda is a birders paradise. Also search for chimps in Kibale rainforest, visit Queen Elizabeth National Park & Bwindi, with the option of trekking to see mountain gorillas. Price is for 2 people (reduces as number in group increases).

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.
Days 2 To 5
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.
 
Afterwards, with a boxed picnic lunch we drive 5-hours through central Uganda 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 continue driving through tea plantations to our lodge situated in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountains (the 'Mountains of the Moon').
Day 6
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 7
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 8
Enjoy some final early morning birding in Lake Mburo National Park, including a private boat ride on the lake.
 
This delightful small park has rolling scrub-covered hills, open dry areas, pockets of woodland, papyrus beds, marshy lake fringes and open water. The five lakes within the park attract hippos, crocodiles and a variety of water birds - while the fringe swamps are home to Papyrus gonalek.
 
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.
 
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 in Entebbe you will have the use of a hotel day room until your transfer to Entebbe Airport for your flight home.