11 Days Primates & Birding Tour

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival for our Birding and Primate Tour
Arrival, meet our representative and transfer to the hotel for overnight stay in Kampala / Entebbe. Early arrivals will visit the Entebbe Wildlife Education Centre.

Day 2: Birding to Masindi
Early morning drive northwest through the famous Luwero Triangle birding enroute to Masindi. Today we have excellent birding is the savannahs looking out for specials northwards. Our over night will be at Masindi Hotel or New Court View Hotel.

Day 3: Birding and Primate viewing to the Royal Mile
We start early with a drive to the Royal Mile enroute we stop to look out for Cabanis Bunting, Dark Capped Yellow Wabler, Grey Headed Olive Back, Black Bellied Firefinch, Brown Twinspot, White Thighed Hornbill, Brown-backed Scrub- Robin, and birds expected in the forest include the Forest and Chestnut Capped Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Narinas Trogon, Little Green, Collard, Olive and Green Sunbird, Western Black-headed Oriole, Dusky Long-tailed and African Emerald Cuckoo, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Yellow and Grey Longbill, Forest Robin, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Ituri Batis, Tit Hylia, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Green Crombec, Crested and Red Headed Malimbe Red-headed Bluebill, Cassin’s Spine Tail and Hawk Eagle, Little Greenbul, Slender-billed Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul and Plain Greenbul, Sabine’s Spinetail, Yellow Billed, Hairy Breasted and Yellow Spotted Barbets, Black Billed Turaco, among the primates we expect the Blue, Valvet, Red Tailed monkeys, Olive Baboon and the Chimps.

Day 4: Birding and wildlife safari to Kibale N.P – Uganda
Today, we shall start after an early breakfast and begin our birding and wildlife safari with a long drive to Kibale National Park. We may have a chance of birding the main Road where we expect to encounter large crowds of Olive Baboons, Black and White Colobus Monkeys, red Colobus Monkey, Red Tailed and Velvet Monkeys. kibale National park is popular for hosting 13 primate species including the closest living cousins on man – the Chimpanzees. Stay in Ndali Lodge, Primate or Nature Lodges.

Day 3: Chimps and other primate tracking safari and Bird watching
After Breakfast, go for chimpanzee tracking. Other primates include the L’Hoest’s, Red Colobus, Red-tailed, Olive Baboon, Gray-cheeked Mangabey and many others. In the Afternoon we shall visit Bigodi wetland which is managed by the local community. Here, we expect to spot the Elusive Sitatunga Antelope in the Papyrus and several other interesting species of birds like the White-winged warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Carruthre’s Cisticola etc.

Day 4: Birding and wildlife safari in Kibale and to Queen Elizabeth
This day, we stay very early and enter the forest, our main purpose will be to find the Green Breasted Pitta, other specials we look out for include the Long Legged Buzzard, Red Capped Robinchat, Brown and Scaly Breasted Illadopsis, Green Hylia etc, after we transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The journey takes us through Uganda’s beautiful scenic areas with a clear view of the Mountains of the Moon. We shall reach in the evening and a game drive enroute is always rewarding Queen Elizabeth in the second largest national park in Uganda. In terms of diversity this park is having the biggest birding checklist in Uganda and perhaps the whole world with so far 612 species recorded. Special birds of this park include Harlequin Quail, Blue Quail, Red Capped Lark, African Crake, Common Buttonquail, Broad Tailed Warbler, Martial Eagle, African Skimmer, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Amur Falcon. Primates include Olive Baboon, Valvet Monkey, Tantalus Monkey, in the Chambura gorge we find the Chimps, Blue and Red Tailed Monkey. Dinner and over night stay in Mweya Hostel, Mweya Safari Lodge or Jacana Lodge.

Day 5: Birding and Wildlife Safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda
Early morning birding and later in the afternoon we embark on a boat ride along the Kazinga channel where we get close to big schools of Hippos, Buffalos, and Crocodiles close to the waterside. There is a variety of bird species, Including Saddle billed stork, both species of Pink-backed and Great Pelicans, and other migratory species. The African Skimmer, Striated Heron, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-knee, Three-banded Plover, Marsh, Green, Wood and Common Sandpiper, Gray-headed Gull, Plain Martin, Lesser Swamp-Warbler and Yellow-billed Ox-pecker are on the birding list to be sighted here.

Day 6: Forest birding in Maramagambo forest
After an early breakfast, with a picnic lunch we head to the Kyambura gorge, another day in search for the chimps and other primates after which we proceed to the Immaramagambo forest for birding along the crater lake showers. A few specialties at Imaramagambo forest include the Yellow-bellied and Jameson’s Wattle-eyes, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed and Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Brown and Grey-chested Illadopsis, Shinning Blue Kingfisher, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Narina Trogon, Least Honeyguide, Brown-chested Alethe, and the African Finfoot. We later get to our lodge for dinner and over night stay.

Day 7: Birding safari to Bwindi Via Ishasha
After breakfast, we start birding to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Through the seasonal Ishasha sector which provides greater chances of viewing the tree climbing lions on a lucky the leopard is also sighted. We have stopovers to look out for interesting savannah birds. These include Black Lored and Arrow-marked Babbler, ovambo Sparrow Hawk, Stout, Zitting, Wing snapping and Trilling Cisticolas, Violet-backed Starling, Brown Snake Eagle, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Lesser and Greater Honeyguide, Grassland and Plain Backed Pipit, Black Cuckoo, Fork-tailed Drongo, Senegal Thick-knee, Blue-naped Mousebird. Stay at Gorilla Resort or Buhoma Community Campsite.

Day 8: Gorilla Tracking Safari
On this day, we set of early, with packed lunch, to the park headquarters for a briefing prior to Gorilla Tracking. The gorillas are gentle animals and it is an unforgettable experience to photograph them as they interact. It is a wonderful experience to stare in to the eyes of these gentle giants; watch them in awe as they play and go about their daily activities. It is indeed a “once in a lifetime” experience that you must never miss. Each encounter is different and has its own rewards; you are likely to enjoy the close view of adults feeding, grooming and resting as the youngsters frolic and swing from vines in a delightfully playful display. Gorilla tracking involves part or one day in the Impenetrable Forest. Sometimes the gorillas can be located within an hour or so, but at other times it sometimes takes an entire day of quite hard trekking to find them and return, so you need to be physically fit if you wish to maximize your chances. Very occasionally, in spite of all efforts, the gorillas prove elusive.

Day 9: Birding to Lake Mburo National Park
After breakfast, we drive to Lake Mburo National Park. We shall reach the park late in the afternoon and we have a game drive enroute, we expect to encounter herds of zebras, topis, elephants, elands, impalas, buffaloes and primates like the Velvet and Tantalus Monkey and the Olive Baboons. Birds will include Bare-faced Go-Away Bird, White-headed, Red Faced and Spot-flanked Barbets, Black-headed Oriole, Green Capped Eremomela, Arrow-marked Babblers, Common Scimitar bill, Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike, Brubru, Trilling Cisticola, White-winged Tit, Chinspot Batis, Red-headed Weaver, Tabora Cisticola, Golden-breasted Bunting, Lilac-breasted Roller, Buff-bellied Warbler. Later we check in at Rwonyo Rest Camp or Arcadia Cottages.

Day 10: Morning Birding on boat and transfer to Entebbe or Kampala
Today we wake up early and do a morning walk while birding in this savannah park expecting to se what is mentioned on day 9 of this tour later we proceed for the boat, before transferring to Kampala. On the boat we expect the African Finfoot, Giant Kingfisher, White Backed and Black Crowned Night Herons and many other water birds. Transfer to Kampala or Entebbe and stay at Lindsay Cottages or Sophie’s Motel.

Day 11: Wildlife and Primate tour to Mabamba
We start early with a drive to the Mabamba bay our main target being the Shoebill Stork, papyrus Gonolek and the White Winged Wabler. Around July we expect the Blue Swallow, Pallid harrier and other water birds. Later transfer to Entebbe International Airport to catch your flight back home. End of our birding and primate watching safari.