Birding & primates Safari Overview
Expect the best of an Africa trip on the birding & primates safari maximizing the variety of what the African wild can give. A birding and primates safari gives the best sceneries of the wild ranging from mountain Rwenzori (5,109m) mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, savannah grassland game like lions, elephants, buffaloes, kobs, also hot springs, the river Nile and Murchison water falls all combined in;
- gorilla trekking
- chimpanzee tracking
- Game drives
- Boat cruises
- Nature walks
- Hiking
Highlights on the Birding & primates safari
Arrival and departure: Kigali- Entebbe
Day 1- arrival and transfer while birding to lake Bunyonyi crater
Day 2- Bwindi Impenetrable gorilla trekking and birding
Day 3- Queen Elizabeth birding and tree climbing lions
Day 4- Queen Elizabeth birding, game drives and boat cruise
Day 5- Kibale N.P chimpanzee tracking, birding and nature walks
Day 6- Semuliki hot springs, birding, primates and forest walks
Day 7- Murchison falls N.P- game drives and birding
Day 8- Murchison Rothchild’s giraffes, birding and boat cruises
Day 9- birding to the top of the water falls and transfer to Kampala
Day 10- Departure
Detailed birding & primates safari itinerary
On arrival, you will be picked by our guide and taken embark on a 3 hour journey from Rwanda to Uganda to lake Bunyonyi; one of the most beautiful lakes in Africa. Some of the most amazing attributes of the lake are being the deepest crater lake in Africa, the 29 islands located in its waters which toured by use of a boat/canoe and safe waters with no crocodiles and hippos. The lake harbors over 200 bird species with the gray crowned crane being one of the most remarkable birds, Pied kingfisher, Malachite kingfisher, Cinnamon-chested Bee eater, Bronzy sun bird, Pied wagtail, Grey shrike, Grey crowned crested crane, Hadada ibis, Swamp fly catcher, Black heron, Great cormorant, Fan-tailed widow bird, Streaky seed eater, Speckled mouse bird along with breathtaking sceneries of the volcano mountains ad slopes of Muhavura will leave you stunned at this beautiful lake and its surrounding as a result making it a true birding haven.
Accommodation: Bird’s nest @ Bunyonyi resort (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Continuing with this birding and primates safari, next activity will be gorilla trekking. On arrival you will have a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. The trek into the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 1 hour before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. After the trek, you will have an experience with the Batwa people who have for all their life time co-existed with the forest and its species.
During this nature walk in the forest trails you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region some of which include; black bee-eater, regal sunbird, handsome spurfowl, giant kingfisher, bar-tailed trogon, mountain masked apalis, strange weaver, white tailed blue fly catcher, yellow-eyed black flycatcher, red-headed bluebill, yellow-chinned sunbird, purple-breasted sunbird, Chapin’s flycatcher, Rwenzori nightjar, blue-headed sunbird, pink-footed puff back, crowned hornbill, Shelley’s crimsonwing, bushshrike, black-billed turaco, Doherty’s bushshrike, mountain oriole, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, brown-capped weaver, Waller’s starling, red-faced woodland warbler, African emerald cuckoo, dusky crimson wing, dwarf honeyguide
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
The 3rd day will find you at queen Elizabeth national park; Africa’s second best birding destination with over 660 recorded resident bird species and migrant species between June and September. The park has the highest concentration of birds per square kilometer thus giving a non-stop bird spotting experience. Uganda an outstanding birding haven of all forest, swamp, highland, grassland and Albertine endemic for example the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species found nowhere else in East Africa, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail among others, the African big 5; elephant herds, lion families, leopards, hippo herds, hyenas, wild dogs, Uganda kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, raptors, sun birds and many more awaiting your memorable tour in this game park.
You will head out to the Kazinga channel (a river connecting lakes Edward and George) for a morning boat cruise through queen Elizabeth national park. At this experience you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippos which are numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, water birds and other land birds coming in to quench their thirst, elephants, lions and other land wild game like water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus among others also coming in onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. After the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more of the birding & primates safari viewing at more lion prides and elephant herds, leopards, raptors and vultures, reptiles, monkeys, wild dogs among other creatures, scenery views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori and its slopes as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famously known for tree climbing lions; a character of lions known for on 2 places in Africa particularly this park being one of them.
Accommodation: Primates capital lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Day 5 Kibale National Park- Birding & primates safari
Birding & primates safari at Kibale forest walk will come along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and also Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species for example; black bee-eater, Abyssinian ground thrush, crowned eagle, black-eared ground thrush, blue-breasted kingfisher, white-winged swamp warbler, pin-tailed whydah, red-fronted tinkerbird, purple-breasted sunbird, little Greenbuls, blue-headed sunbird, dusky crimsonwing, African pitta, great blue turaco, green-breasted pitta, black-capped apalis, yellow-rumped tinckerbird, black-throated apalis, brown-chested alethe, masked apalis, red-faced barbet among others. Kibale national park is known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park.
Primates tracking sessions start at 08:00, 11:00 & 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 90% chance of meeting the chimpanzees; other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys. Mammal species include leopards, lions, elephants, water bucks, warthogs, giant forest hog, sitatungas, hippos, buffaloes, hyenas, jackals, and other nocturnal species. after the evening tracking you will head out of the park.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Day 6 Semuliki N.P
Recommended as one of the most gorgeous places in Africa for its remarkable features and as a landmark position between East and Central Africa thus having vegetation and forests of characteristics of both regions. Semuliki national park has hot springs that were a result of geological actions dating thousands of years back; these produce water of over 100°C producing white mist and smoke in the forests. It’s a common for visitors to buy raw eggs and boil them at the hot water point. Locals in the area also believe that the hot springs are a blessing and of supernatural healing as this hot water comes up from the ground among different rock layers filled with various minerals such as sulphate, zinc among that heal fungal and many other skin diseases.
Semuliki park is also an intersection of the east African grasslands and the central African tropical forests thus harboring numerous tree species of the west and central African forests, primates and bird species. the park has 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species. some of these include Albertine Rift Endemics such as the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species found nowhere else in East Africa, for example black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and also other species with very limited ranges such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher and the orange weaver. Mammals and also primates live there for example chimpanzees, blue monkey, black and white colobus, red colobus, olive baboons, vervet monkey, de brazza’s monkey, Mangabeys, stripped jackal, leopards, elephants, hippos, cape buffaloes, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, warthogs, nile crocodiles. In the afternoon, you will continue with the birding experience enroute Kampala.
Accommodation: Semliki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Heading out to sections of the Murchison falls national park to continue birding in its vast grassland, palms, acacia trees, swamps, savannah and its remarkable wild game. The park has more than 450 recorded resident bird species for example the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Denham’s bustard, long-tailed nightjar, black-headed lapwing, long-toed lapwing, black-billed barbet, Senegal thick-knee, yellow-fronted tinker bird, rock pratincole, speckle-fronted weaver, white-browed sparrow, eastern plantain-eater, African grey woodpecker, red throated bee-eater, grey-headed kingfisher, swamp flycatcher, standard-winged nightjar, giant kingfisher, silverbird, blue-headed Coucal, black-headed gonelek among other hundreds of species making it one of the best birding destinations in Africa.
Furthermore, you will have a trek up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic litres of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height into the “the devil’s caldron” forming a white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile.
Also having more than three- quarter of the total world population and numerous elephant herds and lion prides, waterbucks, impalas, primates, kobs, warthogs, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, leopards, hyenas, jackals among other mammals. After lunch you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have more sceneries of various water birds for example the shoebills, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless. You will also have a boat cruise to the Nile delta as it flows back to the albertine peninsular, an experience that obviously unmatchable as you watch the waters of the river Nile anchor the wild and its species.
Accommodation: Paraa safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Day 10 Entebbe & departure
On this day you will head to the shores of Lake Victoria for relaxation as you wait for your departure fight.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast | lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Park entry fees
- Airport transfers
- Border crossing fees
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimp tracking permits
- Transport- 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Driver & guide
- Refreshments (drinking water)
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees and processing
- Accommodation after the trip
- Alcohol & liquors
- Itinerary change
- Service tips, gratitude, souvenirs & snacks
- Anything not mentioned