Detailed Itinerary

Day 1:     MEET AND GREET

On arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will meet our company representative who will warmly welcome and transfer you to your Hotel in Entebbe or Kampala. But depending on your time of arrival you may go birding in either the botanical gardens or the Uganda Wildlife Education center. Any of these places is a good representative of Uganda`s bird species hence they can inaugurate one to the different bird species in the country. Overnight at The Boma Guesthouse or Cassia Lodge

Day 2:      TO SEMULIKI NATIONAL PARK

After an early breakfast, we will embark on our journey to Semuliki National Park taking the road through Fort Portal and to Bundibugyo to reach the park. This route has beautiful mountains of the moon sceneries plus tea plantations. On arrival but with several stopovers, you will go for an afternoon birding at the entrance of the park. That passes through beautiful Borassus savannah and extensive grass lands that harbor bird species such as the African grey horn bill, common scimitar bill, helmeted guinea fowl, crested francolin etc. Dinner and Overnight at Hotel Vanilla

Day 3:      BIRDING IN SEMULIKI

After an early morning breakfast, armed with your packed lunch, you will embark on a full day birding expedition on the Kirumira trail. This early morning birding offers you species like night jars, African scopes owl, and pearl spotted owlet just to mention but a few. Being a home to some of the congo bird species, this birding safari will also reward you with birds like, red breasted sparrow hawk, African piculet, African pied horn bills, zenkel, red billed, piping, dwarf and pygmy kingfishers, Nkurengu rail, honey guide red rumped tinker bird, rufous sided broad bill, black chested cuckoo, green tailed bristle bill, white bellied, white thighed, black and white casqued, forest scrub robin, fire crested alethe, red bellied and blue billed malimbe, black wattled, swamp palm bulbul, black bill and white crested horn bill, leaf love etc.Dinner and Overnight at Kibale Forest Camp

Day 4: TO KIBALE FOREST N P

Early in the morning after breakfast, you will transfer to Kibale National Park to the Sebitoli birding site. This site is recommended as the best birding site in Uganda. On arrival in the afternoon you will have lunch and embark on another birding fascination. Look out for specials species like, Toro olive and Cameroon sombre green buls, African black duck, Joyful, cabanis, Brown-capped Weaver, Brown and scaly breasted illadopsis, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Pink-footed Puff Back,  Bocage’s Bush-shrike, Green-throated Sunbird, Green-breasted Pita, African pita, -headed Sunbird just to mention but a few.  Dinner and Overnight at Kibale Forest Camp  

Day 5: IN KIBALE N P

Early in the morning after breakfast go for a guided birding trip as well as chimpanzee tracking in the Kanyanchu area where you will watch out for birds like; Northern Black Flycatcher, Palm-nut Vulture, Black-winged Bishop, White-faced Barbet, and White-headed Saw-wing. Birding by the roadside may also yield birds like the Slender-billed, Joyful Greenbuls, Ashy Flycatcher, Grosbeak, Brown-capped, Black-necked Weavers, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Masked Apalis, White-chinned Prinia, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Yellow White-eye, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Great Blue Turacco, Grey-throated Barbet, Red-headed Malimbe, Pettit’s Cuckoo Shrike, Bush Shrike, Blue-throated Sunbird, Purple-headed Starling, Emerald Cuckoo, White-breasted Negro-finch. You will have picnic lunch in the forest then head to the Bigodi wetland sanctuary through the Magombe swamp to see birds such as papyrus canary, papyrus Gonolek, brown headed Tchagra and mosque swallow. Dinner and Overnight at Kibale Safari Lodge  

Day 6:     QUEEN ELIZABETH NP (MARAMAGAMBO FOREST)

After early breakfast, with our packed lunch we will transfer to the Maramagambo Forest for birding. We shall be on a look out of the Yellow-bellied and Jameson’s Wattle-eyes, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed and Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Brown and Grey-chested Illadopsis, Shinning Blue Kingfisher, Brown-eared Woodpeckers, Narina Trogon, Least Honey guide, Grey Greenbul, Brown-chested Alethe, and the African Fin foot. The trail through the forest leads past a bat cave, which is rather impressive, and if we are lucky we may come across a Python that lives in the cave and feasts on the bats. We will then head to the lodge and relax. Dinner and overnight at Bush Lodge

Day 7:  TO BWINDI IMPERNATRABLE NP

Today you will transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park but watch out for birds and game en route. Arrival and relax at the lodge. Depending on the time of arrival, we may enjoy birding on the self-guided Munyaga trail. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the best birding spot in Uganda and it is home to over 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics.  Some of the birds include: Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Banded Prinia, Black-faced Apalis, Black-throated Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Mountain Masked Apalis, Red-throated Alethe, Yellow-eyed Black-Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Ruwenzori Batis, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, White-bellied Crested-flycatcher, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Mountain Illadopsis, African Hill-Babbler, Dusky Tit, Blue-throated Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Grey-headed Sunbird, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Sooty Boubou, Pink-footed Puff back, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, White-napped Raven, Montane Oriole, African Golden Oriole, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Narrow-tailed Starling, Waller’s Starling, Strange Weaver, Brown-capped Weaver, Black-billed Weaver, Dusky Crimson wing, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Magpie Mannikin, Yellow-crowned Canary, Thick- billed Seedeater, Streaky Seed-eater, African Green Broadbill, Shelly’s Crimson wing, Oriole Finch, Mountain Buzzard, Ayre’s Hawk-eagle, Handsome Francolin, Black-billed Turacco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Wood-Owl, Ruwenzori Nightjar, Scarce Swift, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Black Bee-eater, (Western) Bronze-napped Pigeon, Red-chested Owlet, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, Elliot’s Woodpecker, African Broadbill, Western Green Tinker bird, African Green Broadbill, Lagdens Bush Shrike, Pettit’s Cuckoo-shrike, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Archer’s Ground Robin, Toro Olive-Greenbul, Ansorge’s Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied Robin-chat, Olive Thrush, White-tailed Ant-Thrush, Grauer’s Rush-warbler, Short-tailed Warbler, Neumann’s Warbler and Red faced Woodland-Warbler .Dinner and Overnight at Kitandara Luxury Tented Camp.  

Day 8:  WHOLE DAY GORILLA TRACKING BWINDI

Very early in the morning after breakfast, you take a short transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park headquarters for briefing before setting off for mountain gorilla trekking as well as birding. Look out for birds such as Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater,  Kivu ground thrush, Mountain Buzzard, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Sooty Boubou, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, African Hill-Babbler, Ayre’s Hawk-eagle, Black-and-white Shriker-flycatche white bellied Robin-chat and slender billed starling Dusky Tit, Ashy Flycatcher, Chin-spot Batis, Rwenzori Batis,  Dusky-blue Flycatcher,  Doherty’s Bush-shrike. Bird along the main track- in the afternoon as you descend to the camp, then move along the long trail to Bwindi for more birding adventures. Dinner and Overnight at Kitandara Luxury Tented Camp

Day 9: BIRDING ON THE NECK CONTINUING TO RUHIIJA.

Early morning after breakfast go birding in the ruhiija area and look out for birds like the Grey-throated Barbet, Red-tailed and Shelley’s Greenbul, Common Buzzard, Red-throated Alethe, African Shrike-flycatcher Ayres’s Hawk-eagle,  Black Bee-eater and Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater to mention but a few. Dinner and Overnight at Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge (standard room) 

Day 10:  WHOLE DAY BIRDING IN BWINDI

Early in the morning after breakfast go for birding on the long trail to Mubwindi. Watch out for Grauer’s (African Green) Broadbill the beautiful Regal Sunbird and Archer’s Robin-Chat, Dwarf Honey guide, Stripe-breasted Tit, Ruwenzori Apalis and African Hill Babbler (sometimes treated as a separate species), Ruwenzori Hill Babbler), the rare and localized Grauer’s Scrub-Warbler and Caruthers’ Cisticola, Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, African Green Broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Grauer’s Broadbills, Archer’s Robin-chat, Eastern Mountain-Greenbul, Strange Weaver, Black-headed Waxbill, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood hoopoe, Waller’s Starling, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Ludher’s Bush shrike, Handsome Francolin and Montane Nightjar. As you do your bird search, you have an opportunity to search for gorillas too. Dinner and Overnight at Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge (standard room)  

Day 11: TO LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

After your early morning breakfast, drive towards Lake Mburo National Park. You will do some birding along the entrance road to Rwonyo and later in the afternoon watch out for acacia associated bird species like Green backed woodpecker, African Fin foot, Brown-chested Plover, Southern Ground Hornbill, Spot-flanked, Red-faced and Black-collared Barbets; White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Caruthers Cisticola, Papyrus Gonolek, Yellow-billed Oxpecker and Northern Brown-throated Weaver. You will also have chances of viewing mammals such as Zebra, Topi, Elephant, Eland, Impala, Buffalo, Water Buck,etc. Dinner and Overnight at Mburo Safari Lodge

Day 12: LAKE MBURO TO ENTEBBE/KAMPALA

Transfer back to Kampala drive along the lake side track and Kigambira loop, Watch out for birds like White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Yellow-backed Weaver, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Blue-headed Coucal, and other swamp species. At the swamp, most of the birding activity is by canoe, paddled by our local site guides. Look out for the Shoebillboth in the sky and down on the marsh. You will also watch the Swamp Flycatcher, African Purple Swamp-hen, African Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, African Pygmy Goose, White-faced Whistling-duck, Squacco, Rufous-bellied and Purple Heron, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Winding Cisticola, Goliath Heron, Black Crake, African Marsh Harrier, Hamerkop, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Common Waxbill, Yellow-billed Duck, Blue-headed Cuckoo, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Intermediate Egret, Osprey, Long-toed Lapwing, African Pied Wagtail, and Red-billed Fire-finch. You will arrive in the evening to spend the night at at The Boma Guesthouse or Cassia Lodge

Day 13: SHOPPING AND AIRPORT DROP OFF

Today as you wind up your great trip enjoy your breakfast and set off for a day of shopping in the city of Kampala/Entebbe. Later we will transfer you to the airport in time for your departure flight back home.