Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival - Entebbe
On arrival at Entebbe airport, your guide will warmly welcome you and later be transferred to your Hotel in Entebbe.

Whole day birding around Entebbe area, the Botanical Gardens for the Orange weaver, a variety of Sunbirds, Weavers, some water birds, if time allows bird Lutembe Beach for Black Herons and a variety of Terns, Gulls and other water birds (this depends season).

Lunch, Dinner and Overnight at Botanical Hotel Entebbe. FB.

Day 2

Mabamba Swamp - Kampala City
After early breakfast you will set off on the southward road to Mabamba Wetland. This is the nearest site for the Shoebill, Lesser Jacana, Blue Swallow, Black-Shouldered Nightjar, Afep Pigeon, Blue Breasted Bee-Eater, Papyrus Gonolek, White Winged Warbler.

Mabamba bay has grown into one of the most interesting and spectacular site for bird watching in Uganda. Apart from Murchison Falls National Park, Mabamba bay is the only place and site (so far rated as the best in Africa and/or the whole world) where the elusive Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) can be spotted at any one time of the day, approximately 38% of the global population of the Blue Swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea), and the globally-threatened Papyrus Yellow Warbler plus other birds of global conservation concern. It is also a habitat to rare plant species like Scadoxus species. Recently, Mabamba has become one of the strong holds for the migrant Blue Swallow with over 100 individuals recorded every year. Mabamba has been surveyed in recent years and now boosts of over 260 species with one day’s record of 157 species (Bird Life International).

Mabamba Wetlands; Mabamba wetland in the Mpigi swamps is an easily accessible birding hotspot on the shores of Lake Victoria. It offers the best opportunity to see the rare and globally threatened Shoebill Stork. The wetlands also support many other species of birds. The Papyrus Yellow Warbler and the Blue Swallow are also found here. Other species are Gull-billed Terns, White-winged Black Tern, Whiskered Terns, Grey-headed Gulls, Goliath Heron, Pygmy Geese, Swamp Flycatcher, Slender-billed Weaver, Lesser Jacana, Black-shouldered Nightjar, Afep Pigeon, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Papyrus Gonolek, and White-winged Warbler. The Sitatunga a very hard to see antelope has also been sighted in these swamps.

Dinner and Overnight at Serena Hotel - Kampala. FB.

Day 3

Kampala-Bwindi Impenetrable
You will depart from Kampala by road and head south-West to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Have a stopover for some informative talk and photographic opportunity at the Equator and then continue to Mbarara for Lunch. Travel through the ‘Switzerland of Uganda’ with rolling green hills through the highlands, with views of the Virunga volcanoes of Rwanda and the Congo. The road will then lead us to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home of the mountain gorillas and you will sleep to the sounds of the mountain rainforest.

Overnight at Gorilla Resort/Buhoma community Bandas (Full Board)

Day 4

Bwindi (Trekking Gorillas)
Early morning, have a hearty breakfast to give you the energy needed for Birding( Optional- tracking gorillas), a reasonable degree of fitness is required for the Experience. Report to the ranger station for registration and a talk by one of the rangers Before 8:00 am. You will trek through thick creepers and undergrowth with your guides to find the Birds (Gorillas), which trek can take from half an hour to 9 hours. The steeply forested landscape is incredibly dense but criss-crossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. It’s amazing to sit, watch and photograph the gorillas in the forest among, listening to them marvel and grumble to each other. It is an extraordinary feeling being with these beautiful creatures left, which is allowed for only 1 hour! Other mammals in the forest include the endangered mountain gorilla, rare golden monkey, buffalo, elephant, black fronted duiker, bushbuck, leopard, giant forest hog and many others.
OR
In case you have a free afternoon, take a guided walk on the Munyaga River trail, which leads to three delightful crystal clear waterfalls views of epiphytic ferns, tree ferns, orchids colorful butterflies or have a guided village walk to see how the Ugandans live!

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park ;Bwindi Impenetrable National Park offers the best montane forest birding in Africa. It is considered a key destination by birders with Uganda on their itinerary. Amongst the numerous possibilities are no less than 23 of Uganda’s 24 Albertine Rift Endemics, including spectacular, globally threatened species such as Shelley’s Crimsonwing, and African Green Broadbill. Other species that draw bird watchers to Bwindi include Short-tailed Warbler, Chapin's Flycatcher, Red-throated Alethe, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Blue-headed Sunbird, Handsome Francolin,Rufous-chested Fluff tail, Bar-tailed Trogon, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Tullberg’s and Elliot’s Woodpeckers, Petit’s Cuckoo-shrike, Shelley’s and Red-tailed Greenbuls, Equatorial Akalat, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Neumann’s Warbler, Banded Prinia, Black-throated Apalis, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, Northern Double-collared Sunbird and Stuhlmann’s, Waller’s and Narrow-tailed Starlings. The park also has good populations of gorilla and a trek to see these primates can be incoprated into a birding itinerary.

Overnight at Gorilla Resort/Buhoma community Bandas (Full Board)

Day 5

Bwindi - Murchison Falls National Park
After breakfast, depart early to Murchison falls and drive through the beautiful country side. Continue through the park stoppingat the top of the falls, where the longest river is forced through a narrow gap in the rock (only 7 meters wide), before ferociously plunging down 43 meters, and have a game viewing experience on the way to view buffalos, hippos, elephants and many more.

Murchison Falls National Park;This park is another popular birding destination in East Africa. It contains the famous Murchison falls which is a favorite attraction to tourists. The park is also dominated by rolling savanna and tall grassland, thick bush, and patches of forest in the higher and wetter areas. More than 400 different species of birds have been recorded here and they include, Shoebill, Pallid Harrier, Black-winged Pratincole, African Skimmer, Great Snipe, Bat Hawk, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Long-toed, Black-headed, Wattled Lapwings, Denhams Bustard, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-Billed Barbet and Teminck’s Courser. On a game drive animals like the Lion, Leopards, Giraffes, Oribis, Hartebeests, Elephants are easily located, a boat ride to the base of the falls often offers wonderful view of Hippos Crocodiles and the magnificent cascading water at a close range.

Overnight at a Luxurious Paraa Safari Lodge/Midrange Sambiya River lodge/Budget Red Chili Camp (Full Board)

Day 6

Murchison Falls National Park (Boat Trips and Game Drive).
This day,have anearly morning game drive through the park to view Giraffe, leopard, hyenas, Oribi, Elephants, lions, Bushbuck and many more. Drive back to the lodge for lunch and then take a boat trip along the Nile with views of hippos, elephants, Nile crocodiles and allows you more bird watching of species like the shoebill, colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks.

Overnight at a Luxurious Paraa Safari Lodge/Midrange Sambiya River lodge/Budget Red Chili Camp (Full Board)

Day 7

Murchison Falls - Kampala
After break fast, we will depart to Kampala arriving in the early evening with packed lunch enroute.

Dinner and Overnight at Serena Hotel - Kampala. FB.

Day 8

Kampala - Jinja( Water Rafting / Birding) - Kampala
After break fast, we will depart to jinja for water rafting or birding at Bujagali Falls; the source of the River Nile - 90 kilometers away and back in the evening. Lunch will be served in Jinja town.

Dinner and Overnight at Serena Hotel - Kampala. FB.

Day 9

Kampala City

On this day, after breakfast, you will have a full day leisure within the hotel or have a walk in Kampala City.You may go for a morning Kampala city tour, shopping in Kampala city and visiting the touristic sites within the Kampala city.

Lunch,Dinner and Overnight at Serena Hotel - Kampala. FB.

Day 10

Kampala - Entebbe - Departure
On this day, you will pack your bags ready for departure to Entebbe International Airport. Depending on your flight schedule, and proceed to the Airport fopr departure.

End of Tour

Extra Information

Inclusions -

All Meals and Accommodation while on this safari Full time safari driver/guides with associated expenses 2 Gorilla trekking permits @ US$ 500 Park entry fees, game drives, launch trips, 4x4 wheel drive vehicle with gas All Airports transfers Transport based on a 4x4 tour vehicle with pop up roof for game viewing Driver allowances and park entrance fees for vehicle and driver where applicable

Exclusions -

Tips to the Tour Guides and porters Drinks, your bar bills, phone calls, personal insurance and any other services of a personal nature like souvenirs tips and laundry etc.

Extras -

(Accommodation: Accommodation available can be grouped as Upmarket, Medium class and Low budget accommodation facilities. We have used both medium and Upmarket facilities .However in few cases, upmarket facilities have been included in medium packages and where medium facilities are not available we have used low cost).