Are you a birder, then this 7 days bird watching tour with chimpanzee & gorilla safari is your ultimate safari tour to Uganda. Uganda is Africa’s excellent destination for bird watching safaris and tours. The varied habitats of Uganda’s oldest Bwindi forest mean it is the ideal habitat for a variety of bird species.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has over 350 recorded bird species. These include 23 endemics (90% of all Albertine Rift endemics), such as the short-tailed warbler and blue-headed sunbird. So, you will have an opportunity to meet Africa’s rarest shoebill stork.
Both, the game drives and the boat trips offer an opportunity for one to come across distinct birdlife in Uganda. This 7 days birdwatching, chimpanzee & gorilla safari is more that what you expect.
7 Days Bird watching Tour with Chimpanzee & Gorilla Safari Itinerary:-
Day 1: Arrival Entebbe Airport-Entebbe
Upon arrival at the airport, you will be warmly welcomed by our guide who will then take you to The Boma Hotel Entebbe or Cassia Lodge in Kampala (mid-range facility) for an overnight stay. Meal plan. bed & breakfast.
Day 2: Kampala – Kibale Forests – Part of 7 Days Bird watching Tour
Leave Kampala after breakfast for the fascinating drive through papyrus swamps and thick jungle of the Nile Delta to Kibale National Park, just below the Rwenzori mountains. Get on an afternoon guided Bigodi wetland walk in the crater lakes area of the park, for an outstanding bird watching experience. Take on one of the trails in the park to look for the stunning green-breasted pitta, fire-crested Alethe, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, colorful butterflies and other species of primates.
Dinner and overnight at Primate Lodge – Forest Cottages (mid-range lodge). Meal plan: breakfast, lunch & dinner.
Day 3: Kibale National Park – Queen Elizabeth Park
In the morning you will have breakfast being transferred to Kibale park headquarters for a briefing before setting off to the forest in search for the chimpanzees. The forest walk will be guided to provide information not only on chimpanzees and primates but also on small organisms, that makes it interesting.
The walk will reward you with other primates such as the grey-cheeked mangabeys, and colobus, and red-tailed monkeys. After chimpanzee trekking you will drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park for an evening two hour boat cruise along the famous Kazinga channel. This is a worthwhile opportunity to see hippos, buffaloes, kobs, elephants, and warthogs among others. This trip also enables visitor chance to see spectacular water bird species.
Dinner and overnight stay at Enganzi Lodge (mid-range lodge). Meal plan breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 4: Queen Elizabeth – Bwindi
Begin your day with a cup of coffee and an early morning game drive along Kasenyi and Queen’s Mile. This makes visitors encounter elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs, lions, Uganda kobs, crater lakes and a variety of bird species. Thereafter, you will drive through the Ishasha sector; which takes you through the unique western rift valley escarpment.
If time allows, you will take on a mini game drive in the Ishasha sector to search for the tree-climbing lions, before proceeding to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is the lushest highland rain forest on earth, filled with primates and exotic birds.
Dinner and overnight stay at Silverback Lodge (mid-range facility). Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 5: Bwindi Gorilla Trekking – Part of 7 Days Bird watching Tour
Begin the day with breakfast as you get ready for your gorilla trekking experience, which begins at 8:00 am with a briefing from the staff of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). Ensure that you carry along with you a rain jacket, drinking water, snacks, and jungle boots among others.
The guides will lead you inside the jungle to see the shy primates for a group you have been booked for.
Do not forget to take your lunch boxes and all the necessary gear to track the rare mountain gorillas – perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on earth. There are about 650 mountain gorillas left in the whole world! The tracking may take between 2 and 6 hours but it’s well worth the effort.
Dinner and overnight stay at Silverback Lodge (mid-range facility). Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 6: Bwindi – Kampala
After early breakfast, you will drive back to Kampala, with a stopover at the Equator crossing line and lunch en-route.
Overnight stay and meals at Cassia Lodge (mid-range facility). Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Day 7: Mabamba Wetland – Entebbe Airport Out
This day you will have an early morning transfer to Mabamba wetland swamp en-route to Entebbe Airport, in search for the prehistoric looking great shoebill stork. Here, we also find some aquatic birds and marsh harriers, and if time allows search for the beautiful painted Pygmy goose. You will later be dropped off at Entebbe International Airport for your flight back home. Meal plan: breakfast & lunch.
7 Days Bird watching Tour with Chimpanzee & Gorilla Safari Includes:
- Airport Transfers
- Transportation by a 4wd safari vehicle
- Accommodation and meals as per the itinerary
- Chimp permits
- One Gorilla permits per person to be secured and paid for in advance
- Birding excursions
- Canoe ride at Mabamba for Birding
- Park fees
- Game drives
- Services on an English speaking Professional Bird guide.
Excludes: –
- Airfares, visas or insurance, tips to local guides, porterage or laundry, soft or alcoholic, drinks or mineral water (excl. water in the vehicles), Items of a personal nature, any meals not indicated
- above, any tours not mentioned from the itinerary above