About This Journey
With over 1,050 recorded species in one country, Uganda is East Africa's single richest birding destination — and this seventeen-day circuit is built to prove it. From the forest specials of Budongo and Semuliki to the wetland spectacle of the Kazinga Channel and Mabamba Swamp's shoebills, this trip strings together Uganda's best birding sites into one continuous journey.
It's not birding alone, though — Kibale's chimpanzee tracking and a morning with a habituated mountain gorilla family in Bwindi are woven into the route, along with game drives in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. Whether you're chasing a life list or simply want the fullest possible picture of Uganda's wildlife, this itinerary delivers both quantity and quality.
A specialist birding guide joins your driver-guide at the key sites, and every departure is private — paced around you rather than a fixed group.
Trip Highlights
- Forest birding in Budongo and a boat safari beneath Murchison Falls
- Semuliki National Park — an outlier of the Congo's Ituri forest and one of Africa's richest birding sites
- Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
- Kazinga Channel boat cruise and chimpanzee search at Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- One unforgettable hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Shoebill stork encounters by dugout canoe in the Mabamba Swamp
- Lake Mburo's savanna birdlife, including Papyrus Gonolek and the Bare-faced Go-away-bird
Day by Day
Welcome to Uganda! You're met on arrival at Entebbe International Airport and transferred to your lakeside hotel.
Settle in over a welcome dinner and trip briefing with your guide.
- LuxuryProtea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe · Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort · Hotel No.5 Entebbe
- Mid-rangeBest Western Premier Garden Hotel · Boma Hotel Entebbe · 2 Friends Beach Hotel
- BudgetAirport Guest House · ViaVia Entebbe · Elementis Guesthouse
- Meals
- Dinner
After an early breakfast, drive north toward Murchison Falls Conservation Area, arriving at Budongo Forest in time for an afternoon birding walk — one of Uganda's best sites for forest specials, including the elusive Puvel's Illadopsis and Chocolate-backed Kingfisher.
- LuxuryParaa Safari Lodge · Nile Safari Lodge · Baker's Lodge · Chobe Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangePakuba Safari Lodge · Murchison River Lodge · Sambiya River Lodge · Fort Murchison Safari Lodge
- BudgetRed Chilli Rest Camp · Heritage Safari Lodge · Parkside Safari Lodge · Boomu Women's Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A full day tracking Budongo's forest specialities with a specialist guide: Ituri Batis, Yellow-footed Flycatcher, Nahan's Francolin, and — with patience — the White-thighed Hornbill among a long list of Guinea-Congo forest birds found almost nowhere else in East Africa.
- LuxuryParaa Safari Lodge · Nile Safari Lodge · Baker's Lodge · Chobe Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangePakuba Safari Lodge · Murchison River Lodge · Sambiya River Lodge · Fort Murchison Safari Lodge
- BudgetRed Chilli Rest Camp · Heritage Safari Lodge · Parkside Safari Lodge · Boomu Women's Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A game drive across the Buligi plains — home to lion, elephant, and giraffe — followed by a boat safari to the base of the Falls, where the Nile forces its way through a 7-metre gorge. Birding along the way turns up Rock Pratincole, a mixed flock of swifts, African Pied Wagtail, Saddle-billed Stork, and Dark Chanting Goshawk, with a chance of the near-mythical Shoebill on the papyrus fringes.
- LuxuryParaa Safari Lodge · Nile Safari Lodge · Baker's Lodge · Chobe Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangePakuba Safari Lodge · Murchison River Lodge · Sambiya River Lodge · Fort Murchison Safari Lodge
- BudgetRed Chilli Rest Camp · Heritage Safari Lodge · Parkside Safari Lodge · Boomu Women's Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A morning walk to the top of Murchison Falls, watching the Nile drop 45 metres through the gorge below, before heading south toward Hoima. Birding stops along the way may reveal Olive-bellied and Copper Sunbird and Compact Weaver.
- LuxuryKijungu Hill Hotel · The Lord's Sheep Hotel
- Mid-rangeKonTiki Hotel
- BudgetAfrican Village Guest House
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Continue south through Uganda's scenic crater-lake country to Fort Portal, with birding stops en route.
- LuxuryKyaninga Lodge · Papaya Lake Lodge · Crater Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeMountains of the Moon Hotel · Tooro Fairway Hotel · Ataco Country Resort
- BudgetFort Breeze Hotel · Kluge's Guest Farm · Fort Heights Homestay
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Semuliki is an eastern outlier of the vast Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and one of the richest sites for both flora and fauna in Africa — especially birds. A full day exploring its lowland forest and hot springs.
- LuxurySemliki Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeNtoroko Game Lodge · Mountains of the Moon Hotel
- BudgetUWA Bandas, Semuliki · Fort Breeze Hotel
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Kibale holds the highest density of primates in Africa. Track a habituated chimpanzee community through the forest, alongside Red Colobus, Red-tailed Guenon, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, and L'Hoest's Monkey.
- LuxuryPrimate Lodge Kibale · Crater Safari Lodge · Kyaninga Lodge
- Mid-rangeTuraco Treetops · Kibale Forest Camp · Isunga Lodge
- BudgetChimpanzee Forest Guest House · Kibale Guest Cottages · Chimps Nest
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A morning game drive across the Kasenyi plains, then an afternoon chimpanzee search on foot in Kyambura Gorge — the 'Valley of Apes' — a forested rift cutting through the open savanna.
- LuxuryMweya Safari Lodge · Kyambura Gorge Lodge · Katara Lodge
- Mid-rangeEnganzi Game Lodge · Marafiki Safari Lodge · Park View Safari Lodge · Elephant Hab Lodge · Buffalo Safari Lodge
- BudgetSimba Safari Camp · The Bush Lodge · Pumba Safari Cottages
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, past some of Africa's densest hippo pods and elephant herds drinking at the banks, with craters carved into the surrounding hills and the endless Ishasha plains — whose fig trees hide the park's famous tree-climbing lions — visible in the distance.
- LuxuryMweya Safari Lodge · Kyambura Gorge Lodge · Katara Lodge
- Mid-rangeEnganzi Game Lodge · Marafiki Safari Lodge · Park View Safari Lodge · Elephant Hab Lodge · Buffalo Safari Lodge
- BudgetSimba Safari Camp · The Bush Lodge · Pumba Safari Cottages
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Travel south to Bwindi — the bird-watcher's paradise, holding 348 recorded species and around 90% of all Albertine Rift endemics, among them the Short-tailed Warbler, Rusty-faced Woodland Warbler, and Bar-tailed Trogon.
The next morning, set out with rangers and trackers for your gorilla trek, spending an unforgettable hour with a habituated family deep in the forest. An optional visit to a local Batwa community can be arranged for those interested.
- LuxuryBuhoma Lodge · Bwindi Lodge · Mahogany Springs Lodge
- Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge · Buhoma Haven Lodge · Gorilla Forest Camp
- BudgetBuhoma Community Rest Camp · Trekkers Tavern Cottages · Bwindi Backpackers Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Wind down at Lake Bunyonyi — the 'place of little birds' — ringed by terraced hills and dotted with 29 islands. Echuya Forest nearby is a stronghold for Albertine Rift endemics including Turner's Eremomela and the rare Chapin's Flycatcher.
- LuxuryBirdNest @ Bunyonyi Resort · Arcadia Cottages
- Mid-rangeLake Bunyonyi Rock Resort · Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort
- BudgetBunyonyi Overland Resort · Crater Bay Cottages
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Drive through Uganda's rolling south-west to Lake Mburo National Park, entering through the Nshara Gate. An afternoon game drive along the lakeshore track and the Kigambara Loop turns up zebra, eland, buffalo, and easily approached impala and topi.
A second day gives time for a boat trip on the lake and a guided walk — Lake Mburo holds over 250 recorded bird species, including Papyrus Gonolek, Brown-chested Lapwing, Carruthers's Cisticola, and the striking White-winged Warbler.
- LuxuryMihingo Lodge · Kigarama Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeRwakobo Rock Lodge · Arcadia Cottages Mburo
- BudgetEagle's Nest Mburo · Leopard Rest Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Drive north toward Kampala, stopping at the Mabamba Swamp — a Ramsar wetland site holding an estimated population of Shoebill Storks. Explore by dugout canoe, alongside Goliath and Purple Heron, African Water Rail, Papyrus Gonolek, and the strange, prehistoric-looking Shoebill itself. Continue on to Entebbe for the night.
- LuxuryProtea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe · Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort · Hotel No.5 Entebbe
- Mid-rangeBest Western Premier Garden Hotel · Boma Hotel Entebbe · 2 Friends Beach Hotel
- BudgetAirport Guest House · ViaVia Entebbe · Elementis Guesthouse
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A final, relaxed morning walk through the Entebbe Botanical Gardens on the shore of Lake Victoria — a superb last stop for Sunbirds, Turacos, and the raucous Woodland Kingfisher — before transferring to the airport for your international flight home.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's Included
Included
- 16 nights' accommodation in hand-picked lodges
- All meals as indicated in the itinerary (B/L/D)
- Private English-speaking Ugandan driver-guide and a specialist birding guide at key sites
- Transport in a 4×4 pop-up-roof safari vehicle, plus all fuel and bottled water
- 1 gorilla trekking permit per person (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park)
- 1 chimpanzee tracking permit per person (Kibale Forest National Park)
- Chimpanzee search permit at Kyambura Gorge (Queen Elizabeth National Park)
- Budongo Forest guided birding walk fees
- Kazinga Channel boat cruise and Mabamba Swamp community canoe fee
- All national park and reserve entrance fees for parks visited
Not Included
- International airfares
- Uganda entry visa
- Personal travel and medical insurance
- All alcoholic drinks
- Meals and snacks not indicated in the itinerary
- A porter for gorilla trekking (optional — carries your daypack)
- Optional Batwa community visit at Bwindi
- Tips and gratuities for driver-guide, birding guide, and hotel staff
- Personal expenses — laundry, souvenirs, and items of a personal nature
Accommodation
Protea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe
Paraa Safari Lodge
Kijungu Hill Hotel
Kyaninga Lodge
Semliki Safari Lodge
Primate Lodge Kibale
Mweya Safari Lodge
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Buhoma Lodge
BirdNest @ Bunyonyi Resort
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Mihingo Lodge
Ready to Plan This Safari?
Every trip we run is private and tailored around you — your dates, your pace, your budget. Tell us what you have in mind and one of our safari planners will craft it into a detailed, costed proposal.
