Summer birding holiday trip; A 5 days Uganda birdwatching safari
Peak summer birding holiday trip overview
Special summer birding holiday trip in June and July on a Uganda safari featuring 600+ bird species including shoebills, flamingos, pelicans, central Africa tropical forest species, savannah grassland species, riverine species, papyrus/ swamp species, Albertine rift endemics, Rwenzori region species, sunbirds, ducks, bushrikes, eagles, kingfishers among others. Bird watching along Africa wildlife game drives will make your safari a complete life memorable trip.
Arrival and departure: Entebbe
- Day 1- Mabamba shoebills swamp
- Day 2- Queen Elizabeth from Ishasha
- Day 3- game drives, boat cruise & to Semuliki
- Day 4- Semuliki to Kampala
- Day 5- botanical tour & depart
Detailed Summer birding holiday trip/ safari itinerary
Day 1 Mabamba shoebills swamp
On arriving at Entebbe international airport, you will be picked by our guide to recreational resort for a brief rest and refreshment and after there you will set out to the mabamba swamp which is also Ramsar site to see the endangered shoebill. Mamba swamp tour is carried out on boats that move from the lake Victoria shoes into the narrow water stretches of the swamp; a tour lasting for 3 hours. Summer birding holiday trip will come with an opportunity to watch many other swamp endemics and water birds. After the shoebill tracking, you will set off to Queen Elizabeth national park a journey that will involve some stopovers for example at the equator land mark along the Kampala-Masaka highway and numerous bird species flying in the forest and swamps around lake Victoria basin.
Accommodation: Kyambura gorge safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Queen Elizabeth game park is Africa’s top summer birding spot with unique sightings as you engage in early morning and evening game drives. Expect wonderful scenic views of the Rwenzori mountains, exception and unique 660+ recorded bird species that live in the park with other immigrant species especially from June to September from other parts of the world making Uganda an outstanding birding haven. Uganda, Queen Elizabeth national park harbors forest, swamp/ papyrus, highland, grassland and Albertine endemic for example shoebills, the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species for example black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon woodpecker etc.
Savannah grassland game drivees will furthermore guarantee sightings of elephant herds, lion prides, leopards, hippo herds, hyenas, wild dogs, kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, Nile crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, warthogs, buffalo herds, giraffes, crater lakes, mountain Rwenzori snow caps 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 summer birding holiday trip 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.
Ishasha sector birding
Following the boat cruise, you will continue with the bird watching experience in Queen Elizabeth national park on game drives around and beyond Kazinga channel into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing, crater lakes, escarpments, the great rift valley, scenic views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famously known for tree climbing lions.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
This day will find you at 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 geothermal 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 or bananas and boil them at the hot water point. Semuliki game 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 and bird species. the park has 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species.
Birds at Semuliki national park
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, 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, antelopes, sitatungas, warthogs, nile crocodiles. Later in the afternoon, you will continue with the birding tour enroute to Kampala.
Accommodation: Imperial resort hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Day 5 Kampala & departure
Botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake are common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both non-native and indigenous. These plants are categorized into indigenous and foreign fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems. After this chilling tour, you will have a relaxing time as you get ready for your departure. The lengthy of this tour will depend on your time of departure.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Park entry fees
- All activities on the itinerary
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Government taxes
- Airport transfers
- Bottled drinking refreshments
- Driver & guide
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor
- Tipping & gratitude
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Anything not mentioned
Your safari route map
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