5 days Kigali-Uganda birding safari
Safari Overview
Arrival and departure: Kigali- Entebbe
Day 1- arrival to Bunyonyi
Day 2- Gorilla trekking to Ishasha
Day 3- queen drive, boat cruise to Semuliki
Day 4- Semuliki to Kampala
Day 5- mabamba, botanical & departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1
Destination: lake Bunyonyi
On arrival, you will be picked by our guide and taken embark on a journey 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, breathtaking sceneries of the volcano mountains ad slopes of Muhavura will leave you stunned at this beautiful lake and its surrounding.
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Day 2
Destination: Bwindi impenetrable & Ishasha
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning 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 you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region. you will set out to the Ishasha sector of the Queen Elizabeth national park best known for its tree climbing lions and one of the only 2 destinations in Africa with lions have having this behavior. These along with many other wild game like; elephants, buffaloes, leopards, kobs, antelopes, wild dogs, hyenas, ostriches, waterbucks and glamour at some of the world’s most unique bird species as the park is the second best birding haven having more than 660 recorded bird species as their home. The vast grassland and its plains will keep you amazed at the wonderful wild game and set up along with beautiful scenes of the Rwenzori mountains.
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Day 3
Destination: queen Elizabeth
This day will find you at queen Elizabeth NP for a morning and evening game drives to various parts of the park for a lot of wonderful scenic view of the Rwenzori mountains and its slopes, the exception and unique 660 recorded bird species that live in the park and supplement by other migrant species between June and September from other parts of the world 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. 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 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.
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Day 4
Destination: Semuliki NP
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 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. The 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. 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, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, warthogs, nile crocodiles. In the afternoon, you will continue with the birding experience enroute Kampala.
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Day 5
Destination: mabamba swamp and botanical gardens
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will set out to the mabamba swamp which is also Ramsar site to see the endangered shoebill. This 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. This will come with an opportunity to watch many other swamp endemics and water birds. After the shoebill tracking, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. This walking tour at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. The gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both exotic and indigenous. These plants are categorized into indigenous and exotic fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems. The length of this tour will depend on your departure time. After this tour you will rest while waiting for your departure flight.
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