RTT-EXP005 - Uganda Birding & Gorilla Explorer

Take an early game drive through the misty tracks of Lake Mburo National Park to catch the early risers on the park's savanna plains. Lucky birders may catch sight of the elusive leopard and some exotic wild animals. Still, you must take advantage of rare bird sightings in the early hours of the drive.

Punctuated with many lakes surrounded by swamps, Lake Mburo National Park has various water-loving bird species, such as the Pelican, Black crake, Heron, cormorant, and fish eagle. The mysterious shoebill is sometimes sighted in the fringes; look out for its big shoe-like head.

You will also take a boat ride on the calm waters to get closer to some riparian birds, including crocodiles and hippos.

Stay: Rwakobo Rock Lodge

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

You will have an early birding drive to tick off the list of some birds you still need to get as you leave the park to drive southwest to Lake Bunyonyi - the place of many birds.

You will drive via Kabale, the last town, before you check in at a beach cottage. There's so much to marvel at, including the Virunga Mountains chain forming a curtain over the island-dotted lake and the hilly landscape.

Lake Bunyonyi is one of the richest bird habitats in Uganda; you won't stop turning your neck once you take an evening walk around your lodge.

Lake Bunyonyi is famous for its green and lush terraced hills punctuated by over 200 bird species, including water birds and some migratory birds, especially around Nyombi swamps. With the region's bird-watching expert, you will explore the lake fringes in a fisherman's boat to islands dotted across the lake.

You will visit the legendary Akampene Island, where historically, the Bakiga dumped unmarried pregnant girls. Besides the dark history behind many of the islands, it is an excellent Uganda birding spot.

Among the birds to expect are the grey crowned cranes, levillant cuckoo, white-tailed monad, slender-billed baglafetch, weavers, African harrier hawk, egrets, cardinal woodpecker, grey crowned cranes, African kingfisher, and herons.

Stay: Bunyonyi Lake Resort Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

You will catch a motorized canoe from your beach lodge and cross Lake Bunyonyi to Muko Jetty, 2 hours away. Your guide will pick you up and drive through the hilly landscape, on a dirt road, for 2 hours to reach your cottage at the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

The journey introduces you to enchanting landscapes across the rift valley. For two hours, you will drive around the Impenetrable Forest with occasional glimpses of the misty jungle.

At the lodge, you can walk around the community for a few sightings of Bwindi's rare birds.

Stay: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed), and Dinner.

Your gorilla trekking adventure begins as the day breaks over Bwindi's lush rainforests. At 7:30 am, the excitement is palpable as you arrive at the trekking centre, just a short distance from your lodge. The air crackles with anticipation during a briefing from park rangers. They'll outline the guidelines to ensure both your safety and the gorillas' well-being. You will also be assigned to a specific gorilla family based on your fitness level and preferences, ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime.

With your small group and experienced guides, you set off into the depths of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The forest is a vibrant tapestry of towering trees, tangled vines, and a chorus of exotic bird calls. The gorilla trek can be challenging, navigating the dense undergrowth and undulating terrain, but the thrill of discovery propels you onwards. Your guides expertly track the gorilla family, sharing their knowledge of gorilla behavior and the park's rich ecosystem along the way.

Suddenly, your heart races as the guides signal the gorillas' proximity. Every rustle of leaves heightens your senses. And then, the moment arrives. Amidst the emerald foliage, a majestic silverback gorilla emerges, his family close behind. Time seems to stand still as you observe these gentle giants in their natural habitat; their playful antics, tender interactions, and powerful presence will leave you in awe. The hour you spend with them is an unforgettable reminder of our connection to the natural world, and the importance of protecting these incredible creatures.

Stay: Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed), and Dinner.

You will get on the trail at about 8:30 am after a short briefing with your walking safari guide at the lodge. You must hit the trails in the misty early morning hours so that the intense afternoon sunrays find you under the jungle canopy. You travel with a local guide and two armed rangers for security. Go light; just your backpack with lunch, a camera, and walking. It takes about 4-5 hours to walk the trail.

The trail offers some of Africa's best montane-forest (mountain-forest) bird watching. There are about 350 bird species, with 14 not recorded elsewhere in Uganda. On this trail, you could see some of the 23 birds unique to the Albertine Rift (90% of all Albertine Rift endemics), including Neumann's warbler and blue-headed sunbird. Migratory birds are present from November to April.

Two trails meet somewhere in the rainforest and snake down to Buhoma town; you will have to select one. The longer one takes about six hours and strays along the Kashasha river and over several ridges. The shorter one starts at Kashasha River, down Nteko valley, and wanders along Ivy River. You must drive about 15 kilometers to Nteko village to start the Ivy River Trail. However, both trails deliver the same jolt of adventure for avid birders.

On the other side, you will meet up with your driver, who will drive you through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth and check you into a bush camp for overnight. In the dying light, look out for the tree-climbing lions lounging in fig trees or leopard lacking in the bushes.

Stay: Ishasha Wilderness Camp

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed), and Dinner.

From the arduous mountains and rainforests, this day calms down the Uganda birding expedition with another savanna wilderness expedition on < a href="https://www.nkuringosafaris.com/queen-elizabeth-national-park/">the plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will start the day with a sunrise safari game drive through the southern tracks of the park from Ishasha Sector northbound.

You can see numerous bird species accentuated with wild game. Look out for the Martial Eagle, Lesser Flamingoes, Black-rumped Buttonquail, African Skimmer, Ovampo Sparrow hawk, Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, White-tailed Lark, Saddle-billed Storks, Red Footed Falcon, Papyrus Gonolek, and Papyrus Canary among others.

Tree-climbing lions are a specialty of the Ishasha sector. You will also see giant forest hogs; buffalo are beautiful as they are often reddish brown due to interbreeding with forest buffalo from the rainforests. Many interesting antelope species, such as Uganda kob, topi, and bushbuck, will definitely cross your tracks.

In the evening, you will visit the Katwe salt works to catch some salt-lake birds like flamingos, Pelicans, plovers, and stilts. Check-in at another camp in the northern section of the park.

Stay: Katara Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed), and Dinner.

You will have an early bird-watching expedition in the Maramagambo Forest. From this tropical moist forest, you will see different forest birds such as Hornbills, Kingfishers, and Sunbirds. Other highlights are Bat Cave, where thousands of Egyptian Fruit Bats stay, a small bluish transparent Blue Lake, and Hunter's Cave.

You will then proceed to Mweya Jetty, reaching in time for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel.

There is prolific birdlife around the Kazinga Channel to keep your eyes in action for more than two hours on a boat safari. Prominent birds on the channel include the African Shoebill, Yellow Billed Stork, Great White & Pink-Backed Pelicans, Open-Billed Stork, Saddle Bill Stork, Great and Long Tailed Cormorants, Darters, Black Crake, and Jacana.

Hippos, elephants, and crocodiles are common sightings on the banks of the Kazinga Channel.

Stay: Katara Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (packed), and Dinner.

Early morning game drive or birding in the Kyambura gorge and there after transfer to Entebbe via Mbararararara with lunch stop at the Igongo Cultural Centre.

Optional Accommodation Papyrus Guesthouse Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Packed), Dinner

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