PWS / Birding Uganda – 21 days

Day 01.
Arrive Entebbe International Airport, transfer to Lake Victoria Hotel, meet & greet, if time permits visit the famous Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Overnight the Windsor Lake Victoria Hotel.
Lake Victoria Hotel is a renovated colonial hotel with beautiful gardens and swimming pool; it is a 4 star with 99 rooms.

Day 02.
Drive to Mabamba Swamp for a whole day birding within the Swamp and areas around Mpigi. If you are fortunate you may spot the shoebill on this day. Over night Lake Victoria Hotel.

Day 03.
Today, we drive to Entebbe Botanical gardens for a brief morning birding then proceed to Masindi, while making a few stop overs along the way to bird. Overnight Masindi hotel.

Day 04.
Drive to Royal Miles and Busingiro section of Budongo forest for full day birding. Overnight Masindi hotel.

Day 05.
Check out and drive to Murchison Falls National Park via Kaniyo Pabidi. Stop over at the forest reserve for birding. Overnight Sambiya River Lodge.

Day 06.
Early morning game drive and birding in the northern sector of the park. Afternoon we take a launch cruise to base of the Nile. Overnight Sambiya River Lodge.

Day 07.
Delta boat in the morning and top of the Falls in afternoon Overnight Sambiya River Lodge.

Day 08 .
Drive South ward to Kibale forest approximately 7.5 hours on sealed and dirt roads. The road passes through villages and plantains. Birding is excellent as the road passes through rain forest regions, agricultural land, papyrus swamps and scrubland before reaching the famous tea growing area of Kyenjojo and Fort Portal. Pass through tea plantations into Kibale Forest area, Over night Ndali Lodge.

Day 09.
Morning Forest walks in search of Chimpanzees and other primates. Walking is not difficult, paths have been made in the forest and all walks are with excellent local guides. Afternoon we do birding in forest and along the edges. Over night Ndali Lodge.

Day 10.
Early morning birding in Bigodi Swamp after lunch drive to Q.E.N.P., the drive passes through Fort Portal town and then south along the eastern length of The Rwenzori Mountains, with the hope of seeing the glaciated peaks. The drive takes approx. 3.5 hours and once again gently descends into The Great East African Rift Valley and Q.E.N.P., Over night Mweya Lodge, situated on a peninsula overlooking Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel, offering beautiful views of the park with the Rwenzori Mountains in the background.

Day 11.
Game drives in Q.E.N.P. and a launch trip (2 hours) on the Kazinga Channel to view some of the largest concentration of hippo in the world (30,000 + animals) other game and excellent birding. Q.E.N.P. is said to be the best birding park in Africa, with 560 + recorded and with a record of 296 bird species seen in one 24 hour period, Over night Mweya Lodge.

Day 12.
Maramagambo Forest walk, including bat caves where one can see thousands of bats and possibly pythons and Monitor Lizards catching bats or game drives. After lunch drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, passing through the scenic area known as The Switzerland of East Africa approx. 4.5 hour drive, Over night Gorilla Forest Camp.

Day 13.
Gorilla trek, Over night Gorilla Forest Camp.

Ref: to Bwindi Gorilla trekking info for right clothing. After breakfast take a short walk to Park Headquarters, where you meet with excellent local guides and trackers who will give a talk on the ethics of Gorilla trekking. Then clients hike into the forest to where the Gorillas were seen the night before, and then they are tracked from that point. The trek can take from 1 to 6 hours to altitudes in excess of 7,500 feet over rough and at times muddy terrain. Although the hike can be physically demanding the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trek worthwhile.

Once the Gorillas are encountered, you will forget the fatigue, as the experience is often described as being the most profound natural history experience in the world. Plenty of water is required together with picnic lunch which is usually provided at the Lodge. Cameras and plenty of fast speed film are recommended. It can rain at a few minutes notice, hence waterproof clothing is a good idea, and also zip lock bags for camera and film.

Day 14
Full day birding in Bwindi impenetrable Forest, where you may be accompanied by a native / local bird guide. Over night Buhoma homestead.

Day 15
Drive to Ruhija section of Bwindi impenetrable forest .Accommodation is at Ruhija Hostel. This section of the park provides very good birding sport with rear high altitude species.

Day 16
Full day birding in the forest and surrounding areas. Overnight Ruhija Hostel.

Day 17.
Drive to Lake Mburo National Park, Mbarara (6 to 7 hours with stops), passing through Switzerland of East Africa and eventually in to Ankole Cattle country around Mbarara. These cattle are incredible with horns larger than one can imagine. Over night Mantana Camp.

Day 18
After breakfast, we take a game drive to the acacia savannah. In our duo purpose of game viewing and birding, the game likely to be encountered includes the Burshell’s Zebra, Topi, Impala, buffalo’s, and the beautiful Eland. Afternoon we take a boat ride on Lake Mburo. Overnight Mantana Camp.

Day 19
Drive to Jinja in Eastern Uganda while bird watching en route. You may have brief stops at the Equator line, Mpabire drum shops in Mpigi. Settle in at Kingfisher Camp.

Day 20
Full day birding in Mabira Forest and areas around River Nile in Jinja.

Day 21.
Drive to EBB (approx. 5 hours), to connect on your departure flight BL