18 days Uganda birding & primates safari; Best birdwatching tours
Overview for 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari
18 days Uganda birding & primates safari to the most highly bird populated national parks like Queen Elizabeth national with 660 bird species followed by Kidepo game park, Murchison falls national park, lake Mburo national park, Kibale forest national park, Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park etc. Uganda’s game parks have unique savannah, riverine and forest bird species for example shoebills, sun birds, eagles, turacos, parrots, ostriches, geese, falcons, hawks, flamingos, pelicans, horned bills, pigeons, storks, Kingfishers etc. Primates (gorillas & chimpanzees) trackers shall also have a great opportunity of their inspiration being fulfilled while on Uganda’s 18 days bird watching & primates tour.
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- arrival transfer to Ziwa
- Day 2- birding & rhino tracking
- Day 3- birding & transfer to Kidepo
- Day 4- birding & game drives in Kidepo
- Day 5- birding and hiking in Kidepo
- Day 6- transfer to Murchison birding
- Day 7- birding & boat cruise at Murchison
- Day 8- birding and hiking top of Murchison water falls
- Day 9- birding, chimp tracking and forest walk
- Day 10- Semuliki, birding and hot springs
- Day 11- birding, chimpanzees & forest walk at Kibale N.P
- Day 12- birding to Queen Elizabeth N.P
- Day 13- birding & game drives at Queen Elizabeth park
- Day 14- birding & boat cruise Kazinga channel
- Day 15- birding & tree climbing lions at Ishasha sector
- Day 16- gorilla trekking & birding at Bwindi impenetrable forest
- Day 17- birding at Bunyonyi to Kampala
- Day 18- botanical birding, nature walk & departure
Detailed 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari itinerary
What to see on Uganda’s 18 days birding & primates safari? Uganda’s stature and position along the equator contribute to its good weather that has seen it favor a lot of birds in its game parks. Enjoy this bird watching experience along with Africa’s big 5 game, big apes- mountain gorillas & chimpanzees, unique geographical features & snow capped mountains, great rift valley and landscapes found nowhere else in the world than in this pearl of Africa nation. Start planning your safari from United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Spain, Dubai, Australia, India and from all elsewhere in world to explore Uganda’s beauty with birds, gorillas & chimpanzees.
Our guide will pick you up from the airport to a resort or hotel for some rest at the shores of Lake Victoria- Africa’s largest fresh water lake– for a rest as you chill in the cool lake breeze, scenic endless water horizons and numerous green islands and swampy shores that can also be visited by boat cruises, speed boats or canoes. Lake Victoria shores harbor numerous bird species with kingfisher being common and almost visible all over, Egyptian geese, water ducks, eagles, kites, marabou storks, white egrets and these shores become more interesting in the period between June and September when hundreds of immigrant bird species from Europe fly in to settle at the shores of this lake.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Setting off with a walking safari while watching out for birds, rhinos and towards the swamp areas, the park has over 300 bird species of forest, woodland and swamp residence including the shoebill thus you will be granted another chance to see this spectacular bird, grey crowned crane, African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, African grey hornbill, African pygmy kingfisher, red-billed ox-peckers among others. Ziwa rhino sanctuary has more than 40 white southern rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, leopards, swamps with papyrus endemics like the shoebill, African wild cats, warthogs, reptiles among other species.
Accommodation: Ziwa rhino wildlife ranch (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Most typical of an African wilderness, Kidepo valley national park is a vast untampered savannah grassland that tends to dry when it’s hot and all green when rains set in harboring the second highest bird species population in Uganda recorded at 475 species for example ostriches, secretary birds, eagles, red throated bee-eaters, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Kori bustard, dark chanting goshawk, red and yellow barbet, purple heron, Karamojong apalis, red billed ox-pecker, pygmy falcon, Ethiopian swallow, Jackson’s hornbills, golden pipit, chestnut weaver, rose ringed parakeet among others.
Wilderness game drives in Kidepo valley game park
Kidepo valley game park also has 83 mammal species such as elephants, zebras, buffaloes, rothschild’s giraffes, kobs, hartebeests, blue monkey, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, wild dogs, jackals among others. Expect to enjoy views of big buffalo and elephant herds. Wilderness nature walks and hikes to higher altitudes of Kidepo valley game park will get you to have vast scenes and wild game as you wind up the day to drive out of the park head to Murchison falls national park.
Accommodation: Apoka safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Today you will head out to sections of the Murchison falls national park to continue exploring this vast grassland, palms, acacia trees, swamps, savannah and its remarkable wild game. Murchison falls game park has more than 450 recorded resident bird species such as; the Abyssinian ground hornbill, Denham’s bustard, long-tailed nightjar, black-headed lapwing, long-toed lapwing, black-billed barbet, Senegal thick-knee etc. Forest birding will have you get more glance at the park’s forest species & primates while doing chimpanzee tracking in Budongo or Kaniyo Pabidi forests of Murchison falls game park.
Top of the falls and boat cruises
Trekking up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic liters 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. While on the boat cruise, you will have more sceneries of various water birds like 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.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Walking through the tropical forest, you will come across chimpanzees and other primate species along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species which include; black bee-eater, Abyssinian ground thrush, crowned eagle, black-eared ground thrush, blue-breasted kingfisher, red-fronted tinkerbird, purple-breasted sunbird, little Greenbuls, blue-headed sunbird, dusky crimson wing, African pitta, yellow-rumped tinkerbirds, black-throated apalis, brown-chested alethe, masked apalis, red-faced barbet among others.
Forest birding & primates
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. 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.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
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. This vicinity 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 and bird species. the park has 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species.
Birds & mammals in Semuliki game park
Some of the birds in Semuliki national park 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, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and other species with very limited ranges such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher and the orange weaver. Mammal and primate species include; chimpanzee, 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.
Accommodation: Semuliki safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Queen Elizabeth national park has the highest concentration of birds per square kilometer thus giving a non-stop bird spotting experience making Uganda an outstanding birding haven of all forest, swamp, highland, grassland and Albertine endemic such as 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, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon woodpecker 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.
Kazinga channel and riverine bird species
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 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari 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.
Lion tracking & safari game drives
From the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing at more lion and elephant families, ostriches, cheetahs, 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: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Hiking into the tropical montane forests will last between 45 to 3 hours 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 the 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari is a 99% chance given the gorilla population at Bwindi impenetrable forest. Winding up with 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.
Birdwatching tours on gorilla tracking safari
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, bush shrike, black-billed turaco, Doherty’s bush shrike, mountain oriole, brown-capped weaver, Waller’s starling, red-faced woodland warbler, African emerald cuckoo, dwarf honeyguide
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Lake Bunyonyi; one of the most beautiful lakes in Africa with some of the most amazing attributes as the deepest crater lake in Africa, anchoring 29 islands located in its waters which are toured in boats/canoes. Bunyonyi harbors over 200 bird species with the gray crowned crane being one of the most remarkable birds, Pied kingfisher, Malachite kingfisher, Bronzy sun bird, Pied wagtail, Grey shrike, Grey crowned crested crane, Hadada ibis, Swamp fly catcher, Black heron, Great cormorant, Streaky seed eater, Speckled mouse bird etc. will leave you stunned at this beautiful lake and its surrounding.
Accommodation: Imperial resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 18 Botanical gardens & departure
Walking tours at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. Botanical gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both foreign and indigenous. Botanical park gardens have more than 400 recorded bird species that inhabit these gardens such as; blue headed Coucal, white egrets, red-chested cuckoo, black cuckoo, African cuckoo, laughing dove, rock pigeon, Egyptian goose, yellow-billed buck, red-billed duck, spur winged goose, white faced whistling duck, blue turaco among others.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
When is the best time for an 18 days Uganda birding & primates safari?
An 18 days’ Uganda birding & primates safari is a marvelous trip for bird lovers and primates trackers is perfect Africa travel itinerary in the continent’s most concentrated game parks for mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and unique bird species. Perfect 18 days birding & primates safari itinerary is best done during Uganda’s summer/dry season months of June- August and December- February. Wet/rainy season months of March- May and September- November are also a goldmine as most of the birds are found in their nests without need to migrate in search for water & food. Wet season months are also favorable for low budget travelers as they are considered low season with less tourists traffic and thus low cost of amenities. Let’s start planning your Africa travel journey to Uganda speaking with our experts at Travitude safari tours.
Inclusions
- Park entry fees
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Airport transfers
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- All activities indicated in the itinerary
- Driver & guide
- Bottled drinking water/ refreshments
- Laundry
- Government taxes
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor
- Tipping/ gratitude
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned
Your safari route map
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