Discover birders paradise in the Pearl of Africa! Go in search of the rare Shoebill Stork, find the Crested Crane and enjoy the rich, colourful birdlife.
This birding safari takes you to the surroundings of Kampala, where the Heritage Trails and Mabamba Swamps are found. Then travel to Jinja and go west to Lake Mburo National Park. Go in search of the rare Shoebill Stork, find the Crested Crane and enjoy the rich, colourful birdlife.
Day 1 : Arrival You will be welcomed by our representative who will transfer you to your hotel in Entebbe. Depending on the time of arrival you might spend the afternoon at UWEC, home to captive animals and over 170 species of birds. This includes 7 species of weavers, such as the rare Northern Masked Weaver and Orange Weaver, etc. Overnight at Boma Guesthouse.
Day 2 : Heritage Trails After a delicious breakfast transfer to the Heritage Trails. Here you will enjoy 4 hours of birding on the best trails around Kampala, with over 170 species of birds! Look out for the Brown Twin Spots, Moustached Warbler, Fain tailed Widow bird, White headed Barbets, Blue Monarch, Striped Kingfisher, Black Bishop, Black headed Gonolek, Klass’, Diederik’s Cuckoo and many more. Lunch at the park, relax while birding and later in the afternoon return to your hotel. Overnight at Boma Guesthouse.
Day 3 : Mabamba Swamp Early transfer to Mabamba Swamp, 50 km west of Kampala. Look out for many different birds on our way to the swamp, like the Papyrus Gonolek, White winged Warbler, Northern Brown throated Weaver and Weyns Weaver. Mabamba Swamp is one of the best places to spot the rare Shoebill Stork. But also many other species can be found here, like the Allen’s Gallinule, Grey herons, African Water Rail, Goliath, Purple and a variety of egrets and ducks. The best way to enjoy the rich birdlife is by canoe and you might even have the luck to encounter the elusive Sitatunga Antelope, adapted to swampy habitats. Later in the afternoon continue to Kampala to your hotel. Overnight at Cassia Lodge.
Day 4 : Mabira Forest & Source of the Nile After breakfast we transfer towards Jinja, the famous origin of the mighty river Nile. About an hour drive from Kampala we will stop at Mabira Forest for a walk through the tropical rainforest. Species such as the Yellow whiskered Greenbul, Leaf love, Grey spotted Woodpecker, White spotted Fluff tail, Grey throated Barbet, Yellow throated Tinker bird, Blue breasted Kingfisher, African Pygmy, Red tailed Ant Thrush, Chin spot Batis, Weyn’s Weavers, Red headed Malimbe and many more fascinating species that are living in this forest. We continue to Jinja for lunch and a visit to the Source of the Nile. Here we will make a boat trip to the genuine origin of the famous river. Besides the many water birds like the African Fish Eagle, Open billed Stork, Long tailed Cormorant, White Egret and Pied Kingfisher, you might see monitor lizards hiding in the bushes. In the afternoon return to Kampala for overnight at Cassia Lodge.
Day 5 : Lake Mburo National Park Today we leave the capital city and head towards the southwest. After a 4 hours drive we will reach Lake Mburo National Park, popular with birders and the only park in Uganda where you can find the zebra. As we enter the park and head towards the accommodation it is likely you will see some wildlife like impalas, topis, zebras and buffaloes. Look also for birds such as the Crested Francolin, Bare faced Go-Away bird, Common Scimitarbill, Spot-Flanked Barbet, Lilac breasted Roller, Northern Black Tit, Trilling Cisticola and Brown Parrot. We will make an evening game drive along the Kigambira loop. Species that may be seen are the localized Red Faced Barbet, Black Collared Barbet, Red Headed lovebird, Lead colored Flycatcher and Green capped Eremomela. Dinner and overnight at Mantana Tented Camp.
Day 6 : Lake Mburo National Park Early start of the day as we will go for a nature walk guided by a ranger. Lake Mburo is the only national park where you can experience a safari on foot. You will encounter several species of wetland and savannah birds, impalas and other wildlife. After breakfast you will go on a boat ride on the lake and enjoy the rich birdlife and the hippos that are cooling off. Late in the afternoon a game drive along the Zebra Track may reveal bird species such as Coqui Francolin, Black Bellied Bustard, African Wattled Plover, Rufous Chested Swallow etc. Also look out for elusive leopard and other nocturnal species. Dinner and overnight at Mantana Tented Camp.
Day 7 : Departure On our way out of the park we will go for an early game drive along the Lakeside Track. This will give you the chance to spot some water birds like the Lesser and Great Swamp Warbler, White Winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Yellow Warbler and at times the elusive Shoebill. We transfer towards Kampala with lunch en route and a stop at the equator for photos and some shopping. Continue to Entebbe where you will be dropped at the airport for your flight home.
Included in the price: - Airport transfers Ground transport per comfortable 4WD safari vehicle - English speaking driver/guide - Accommodation in comfortable accommodations mentioned in the itinerary, based on a double room - Full board except for your stay in Entebbe and Kampala (B&B) - Bottled mineral water throughout the safari - Park entrance fees and ranger fees - Activities as described in the program
Exclusions: - International flight - Visa - Meals and drinks not mentioned above - Laundry and tips - Items of personal nature
Note: If you wish to stay in budget accommodation please notify so we can inform you about the upgrade fees. Please complete the enquiry for below more details and tailor-made safaris in Uganda and Rwanda!
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I was very impressed with the website when I was looking for a company to plan our trip to Murchison Falls. My friend and I were going to Uganda to visit my daughter and her friend who were working as volunteers with an NGO in Jinja. The four of us wanted to visit Murchison Falls.
We were pleased that the operator was able to make arrangements to suit our budget. They also accommodated our wish to be picked up in Jinja instead of Kampala.
Our driver, Beki was wonderful. Not only was he a very competent driver, but he was full of good humour and knowledge about the culture of Uganda and its animals and plants. He answered all of our questions about everything we saw on our trip to Murchison Falls and we had many as this was our first trip to Africa. He pointed out many things of interest to us and made us feel so comfortable on our trip. Beki helped to make our safri a most enjoyable and memorable experience.
The company sent us an information package and a complete itinerary before we went on our safari. I thought this was very helpful. I have only praise for their staff. If Beki is representative of all their drivers, then you are ensured of an amazing safari experience.
We thought they did a very good job of meeting our needs during our trip to Uganda. They were responsive when we asked to modify the standard itinerary - visiting a local hospital, the Kampala marketplace, and the veterinary school at the University.
At our request, they substituted an extra game drive for the scheduled activity, and accommodated our request for a different hotel in Kampala on our last days.
Our guide/driver was named David, and he answered all of our questions, maintaining his composure despite some unforeseen circumstances (car broke down, and he had to get a different driver to bring us back to Kampala).
We took the luxury option except for Travellers Rest, which we chose when the Nkuringo Lodge was not able to honor our reservations. It was an unexpected pleasure to stay at Travellers Rest -- wonderful food and friendly service at a very reasonable price. The Primate Luxury Tented Camp, where we stayed when we tracked chimps in Kibale, seems like it's not quite ready for prime time but shows promise for the future.
Overall, we were very pleased, and if we were going to make the trip again, we'd call them.
We would be delighted to provide you with information about our holiday. We have nothing but praise for this operator, both for their helpfulness throughout and their flexibility in planning our itinerary.
We had a rather unusual plan for our holiday, in that, as well as touring the game parks, we wished to seeand meet Ugandans on the ground as much as possible,and also we wished to end our holiday by being taken to Gulu, where our daughter is working as an NGO.
They responded to this by including a 2-day visit to a farm in the far south-west, near the Tanzanian and Rwandan borders, and by agreeing to drop us off in Gulu, rather than returning us to Kampala.
We visited Lake Mburo, Queen Elizabth, Kibale and Murchison Falls National Parks, in addition to Nshenyi village referred to above. All this was achieved in an 11-day itinerary, at a very reasonable cost. Our driver was fantastic. He was not only one of the best drivers I've ever come across either inside or outside of Uganda, but he was also very friendly, and most knowledgeable about all the wildlife, including the rich variety of birds we saw. He also had phenomenal eyesight; even when the road he was negotiating was particularly pitted and rough, he still managed to catch sight of birds and game a long way of, which we would have missed.
Altogether a most positive, enjoyable and educational trip. I'd recommend anyone to go; Uganda is a truly beautiful country. We look forward to returning.
I found the safari operator to be very accommodating with any special requests we had regarding the itinerary.
The Safari Lodge pool made for a perfect setting for a sunset swim, overlooking the channel filled with hippos. The lodge also provided the unique experience of waking up to a hippo grazing outside our door.
