Wildlife of Uganda

/ per person

(0 Reviews)

Region : south and east of the country

Duration : 13 OR14 days with an optional day in Ssese Island (in case of morning arrival in Entebbe)

Type : Birding & Naturalist

Activities :

Game-drives: 1 in Lake Mburo National Park, 2 days in Queen Elisabeth National Park, 2 days in Murchison Falls National Park
Walking Safaris: a 2-3 hours walk in Lake Mburo National Park, one day in Kibale Forest, a 2-3 hours walk in Bigodi swamp, 2 days in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a 2-3 hours walk in Nkuruba Reserve, 1 optional rhino tracking excursion in Ziwa
Boat Safaris: 2 hours on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elisabeth N.P , 1 hour on Victoria Nile to Murchison Falls, and 2-3 hours in Mabamba swamp

Physical level: easy

Comfort: nights in guesthouses & lodges**(*)

Period: all year long, avoiding the rainy period from 20th october until 10th december

Group: 3 to 8 participants (maximum 2 vehicles)

Sneak preview:

« For magnificence, for variety of forms and color, for profusion of brilliant life -plant, bird, insect, reptile, beast-… Uganda is truly the Pearl of Africa ». So wrote Winston Churchill in his book My African Journey in the 1900s.

With Eric, French, and his assistant, Ugandan birder, both biologists, we set off to explore this uniquecountry which conceals over 200 volcanoes, beautiful savannas, primary forests, numerous lakes and swamps. Following the Occidental Rift Valley, whose deep lakes and fierce mountains border Congo, our itinerary offers an incredible array of ecosystems and animal//bird species. The specificity of Uganda being numerous primates (mountain gorilla, Schweinfurth chimpanzee, red colobus, guereza colobus, Patas, red-tailed and L’Hoest monkeys, mangabeys…) plus astonishing bird variety, cumulating East African, Virunga & Ituri West African species : an opportunity to observe several of Uganda’s 1073 bird species (representing 60 % of bird species found in Africa and 11 % of the whole world’s total bird species!).

Uganda birdwatching importance: Uganda harbours a large number of predominantly Central African species which does not occur elsewhere in East Africa. Lying at the meeting place of 5 biomes of Central and Eastern Africa – each with a characteristic avifauna; this « smallsize equatorial country » of 237,000 km² , 25% being covered by lakes, ranks high amongst the wealthiest destinations for birds in the world. These 5 biomes comprise of Sudan-Guinea Savannas, the Guinea-Congo Forests, the Lake Victoria basin, the Afrotropical Highlands and the Somali-Masai biomes. Its fantastic diversity of habitats supports a checklist of 1073 bird species. Over three-quarters of these birds are residents ; and afro-tropical migrant species breed here. 24 of these species are endemic to the Occidental Rift Mountains (including some sunbirds, chats, warblers, apalis and turacos). Because of the topography, habitats change quickly inside a short distance and consequently the number of species in a particular area can be huge.

We will find all the African great fauna in Lake Mburo, Queen Elisabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks: we also will find elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, buffaloes, lions, leopards, hyenas, warthogs and many different antelopes and mongooses…

Besides, we might observe:

endemic or specific animals to Uganda: Ugandan kob, 14 primate species, including the formidable Mountain Gorilla and the facetious Chimpanzee, clouds of multicoloured butterflies, etc.
amongst 1073 bird species: the rare shoebill stork, Rwenzori and Ross’s turacos, also Nathan’s francolin, African Green Broadbill, handsome Francolin, Regal Sunbird and Blue-headed Sunbird, masked apali, blue-headed bee-eater, Cassin’s spintail, the elusive and beautiful Great Breast Pitta, papyrus gonolek, blue breasted bee-eater, Carruther’s cisticole, Angola swallow, Swamp flycatcher, Olive bellied sunbird, Black-winged stilt, Madagascar Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Wayne’s Weaver, 53 different raptors…

Strong points:

A stunning variety of ecosystems: semi-arid savannas in Murchison Falls, dry and rain pristine forests in Queen Elisabeth, Kibale and Bwindi, lakes and swamps of the Occidental Rift Valley.
Lake Mburo, Queen Elisabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks offer us the African remarkable fauna: buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, big cats and elephants.
In the forests of Kibale, Nkuruba and Bwindi, we discern many rare forest bird species.
Our boat trips in Mabamba swamp, on the river Nile in Murchison Falls National Park and on Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park avail to us the opportunity to observe many water birds, hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, buffaloes and elephants…
2 extremely experienced passionate guides, both biologists living in Uganda

13 / 14

Naturalist Safaris

Uganda

From our gallery

Tour Plan

Day 1: Meet > transfer to hotel:

Meet and transfer to your hotel near Lake Victoria, booked on Bed & Breakfast basis. In case of a morning arrival in Entebbe Airport, we proceed to Ssese Island by speed boat (1hour), to enjoy the Lake Victoria sceneries . On the next day, we take a 30 minutes boat ride to meet our driver for a short transfer to Masaka & Lake Mburo.

Day 2: Kampala > Lake Mburo National Park:

We embark on a long scenic ride, have lunch and enjoy an unusual equator stop. On arrival at Lake Mburo N.P. (260 km², ranging from 1200 to 1800 meters altitude), we go for a sundown game-drive: an occasion to see elands, zebras, impalas, buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, bushbucks and reedbucks among other mammals. The birdlife is rich with 332 recorded species in this park. Nestle-in at our lodge.

Day 3: Lake Mburo > Kisoro:

We inaugurate a walking safari with a ranger (2 to 3 hours on flat open savanna ground), maintaining silence while approaching wildlife. We then take a 7h transfer to Kisoro via the mountainous Bunyankore kingdom; with lunch en route. We check-in for 3 nights near a lake, close to the 3 volcanoes of Mgahinga N.P. bordering Rwanda and Congo (34 km², ranging from 2100 to 4127 meters altitude).

Day 4: Mgahinga National Park:

We follow snaking routes to Mgahinga N.P. headquarters, where we venture on trekking the endangered Golden Monkeys, and maybe also the giant forest hog, the buffaloe, duikers and bushbucks, and other species... After picnic, we meet the original pygmy inhabitants of the forest with our Twa guide, learning how they use medicinal plants, hunt, cook, build their huts, sing and dance, pray, etc.

Day 5: Mgahinga day to track Gorillas or Bwindi « gorilla habituation day »*:

After the briefing, we follow our ranger-guide into the gorilla sanctuary. On sight of the gorillas, we keep calm and watch them feed, play and we fully exploit the strictly one hour allowed in their presence. Mgahinga forests are ancient forests with a diversity of flora and fauna for you to see, feel and experience. Back to our lodge, we can rest or go for a scenic walk along the lake. *OPTIONAL Gorilla « habituation » in South BWINDI Forest (1 hour drive from our lodge): instead of 700$ for 1 hour interaction with the group of gorillas, if « gorilla tracking » in Mgahinga, you spend more time with the Bwindi gorillas during this 4h interaction – 1500$. This habituation experience restricts the persons to a maximum of 4.

DAY 6: Kisoro > Queen Elizabeth National Park:

After a picturesque transfer via Bwindi Forest, we access Queen Elizabeth N.P. via its southern gate (1978 km², ranging from 900 to 1350 meters altitude). The Ishasha section is renowned for the tree-climbing lions: we shall employ a network of trails to create viewing avenues of the great predators hanging in trees. After picnic lunch, we proceed to our lodge, observing birds, elephants en route…

Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park:

We set about on a sunrise game-drive. The vast savanna plains, swamps and forests of Queen, pocked by 72 extinct young volcanoes, being home to about 95 mammals and over 600 bird-species ! After lunch, a boat-ride on Kazinga Channel: a thread of water which is a lifeline to crocodiles, monitor lizards, hippos and a wide range of water birds. Return and spend the remaining part of the day in the wild.

Day 8: Queen Elizabeth > Kibale Forest National Park:

After a sunrise game-drive and a lunch in Kasese, we proceed to Toro subregion: Kibale Forest N.P. (766 km², ranging from 1100 to 1600 meters altitude) home to 13 species of primates and over 400 species of birds ! We settle-in at our lodge in cottages with a natural forest breeze. Birdwatching session before dinner as the birdlife is prolific here.

Day 9: Chimpanzee Habituation Experience:

After briefing by our ranger-guide we enter the Kibale sanctuary to embark on our « Chimpanzee Habituation day ». Back to our lodge in the afternoon, relax OR engage in a 2 hours walk on Bigodi swamp to see more primates and birds, including black and white colobus, red colobus, mangabey, red tail, vervet and L’Hoest monkeys, also various turacos, hornbills, sunbirds and parrots, etc.

Day 10: Fort Portal > Murchison Falls National Park:

Early scenic transfer to Nkuruba Crater Lake Reserve for a walk with a Mutooro botanist; we look for arboreal monkeys, e.g. Red Colobus, Uganda black-and-white Colobus, red-tailed monkeys and amazing birds. Overviews on Lake Albert on our way to Murchison Falls N.P., the Uganda's largest National Park, covering an area of 3,840 km2 and offering 451 bird species and 76 mammal species!

Day 11: Murchison Falls N.P.:

We go for an early morning game-drive. After lunch, we set about on a boat-cruise on the Nile waters to the bottom of Murchison Falls; on the way, lookout for crocodiles, hippos and birds. The ride finally reveals the spectacular Falls. At this point, we leave the boat and take an approximately 45 minute hike to the top of the falls.

Day 12: Murchison Falls > Ziwa Sanctuary > Kampala:

Early breakfast and we go for a last game-drive, en-route to « Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary », a 70 km² exceptional conservation ranch. This is a special occasion to approach on foot and observe silently the extremely endangered white rhinoceros. After lunch at Ziwa, we proceed to Kampala and Lake Victoria hotel; settle-in for the rest of the evening.

Day 13: Mabamba Swamp > Entebbe:

We embark on a morning Mabamba Swamp exploration by boat, listed as a Ramsar Site (a 100 km² marshy bay). Looking for the shoebill, the lesser jacana, the blue breasted bee-eater, thewhite-winged warbler, the Carruther’s cisticole, etc. Transfer back to Entebbe and a visit to the famous Botanical Garden, if time allows. Proceed to Entebbe airport for your onward flight back home.

Wildlife of Uganda