7 Days Birding and mountain gorilla safari
7 days birding and mountain gorilla safari is an amazing safari for both primate lovers and bird lovers, this safari takes you on a visit to prominent bird habitants that is queen Elizabeth national park, Mabamba swamp, lake bunyonyi and Bwindi impenetrable national park which is a residence for both birds and the critically endangered mountain gorillas.
Highlights if the safari
- Day 1- transfer to queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 2 – full day bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park
- Day 3 – bird watching in the southern sector of the park
- Day 4 – transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
- Day 5 – mountain gorilla trekking experience
- Day 6 – transfer to Lake Mburo national park
- Day 7 – transfer back to Kampala and visit Mabamba swamp
Detailed itinerary for the safari
Day 1- transfer to queen Elizabeth National Park
On the first day of the safari you will be picked wither from your hotel after morning breakfast or at the airport, you will meet your safari driver who will brief you about the safari and embark on your journey to Queen Elizabeth national park. From Kampala it is a drive of approximately 6 hours’ drive to queen Elizabeth national park, you will make a stopover in fort portal for lunch and when you reach in the park you will check into your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation is got from
Luxury: Mweya safari lodge
Mid-range: Engiri safari lodge
Budget: Pumba safari cottages
Day 2 – full day bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park
On the second day of the safari you are to have a full day of safari in Queen Elizabeth national park, the park is a home for many bird species such as Spectacular Saddle-billed, African Open Billed, Woolly necked Storks, Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Lappet-faced, White-backed, Palm-nut Vultures, African Crake, Black Coucal, Common button, Harlequin and Black-rumped Quails, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks. on this day you will wake up early in the for morning breakfast then drive to the park for a bird watching safari, in the park you will drive on kasenyi trail where you will see many birds which live in the grassy plains of the park. After the drive you will head back to your lodge for lunch and in the afternoon you drive back to the park for an afternoon boat cruise on kazinga channel. Kazinga channel is a habitant for many bird species such as shoe bills, herons, Grey Kestrel, Lappet-faced, and White-backed, Palm-nut Vultures, African Crake, Black Coucal, Common button, Harlequin and many more which are easily seen while on a boat cruise. After the boat cruise you will drive back to your lodge have dinner and stay overnight.
Day 3 – bird watching in the southern sector of the queen Elizabeth national park
On the 3rd day of the safari you are to tour the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Edward and Maramagambo forest, on this day you will wake up early in the morning for morning breakfast and then drive to the park for your bird watching experience. While in the park you will have visit Maramagambo forest you will wake on many trails navigating through the forest on which you will see many birds such as white tailed lark, pink backed pelican, African broadbill, black bee-eater, papyrus canary, white-winged warbler, papyrus Gonolex and many more. In the forest you also get to see many primates such as chimpanzees, red tail monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many more. From the forest you will drive back to the lodge for lunch and in the afternoon you will return to the park for another birding watching experience, in the afternoon you will visit lake Edward and ishasha sector where you will see many bird species such as Yellow-bill, Pygmy Kingfisher, African mustached warbler, Bateleur eagle, Black Bee-eater, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Greater honey guide, White-breasted Negrofinch and many more. After the experience you will drive back to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Day 4 – transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
On the 4th day of the safari you will wake up for breakfast, check out of your lodge and embark on your journey to the land of primates Bwindi impenetrable national park. From Queen Elizabeth national park to Bwindi impenetrable national it is a Drive of 3-4 hours, when you get in Bwindi impenetrable national park you will drive into the park, check into your lodge, have lunch and in the afternoon you will go to the forest for a forest walk looking for birds. As you through the forest you will see many bird species such as interior birds, tullberg woodpecker, the olive pigeons, stuhlmann’s starlings, dusky crimsonwing, Grey cuckoo-shrike, Stripe breasted tit, Chestnut throated apalis, montane oriole, Frasers eagle owl, black billed turaco and Rwenzori batis. After the experience you will drive back to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation is got from
Luxury: volcanoes Bwindi lodge
Mid-range: Gorilla mist camp
Budget: karungi camp
Day 5 – mountain gorilla trekking experience
On the fifth day of the safari you will wake up early in the morning for morning breakfast and then drive to the park’s headquarters for a mountain gorilla trekking experience, at the park’s headquarters you will be briefed about the experience, be assigned a group to trek and also hire porters. Then you will ascend in to the forest in search for mountain gorillas which are every exciting animals to encounter, the time taken to look for mountain gorillas depends on where they had spent the night, the family you’re trekking and the terrain. After finding the mountain gorillas you are to spend the only 1 hour with them, since the trekking takes a lot of time, you go with your packed lunch on the experience. After the experience you will return back to the park’s headquarters and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi where you will spend the night, from Bwindi impenetrable national park it is a drive of 2-3 hours.
Accommodation is got from
Luxury: Arcadia lodges Lake Bunyonyi.
Mid-range: Bunyonyi overland resort.
Budget: Paradise eco-hub
Day 6 – boat ride and transfer back to Entebbe
On the 6th day of the safari you will wake up early in the morning for morning breakfast and drive to Lake Bunyonyi where you will have a boat cruise, lake bunyonyi is a habitant for many birds from where it derives the name. On the boat cruise you see many bird such as White tailed blue monard, African Harrier Hawk, grey crowned cranes, Herons, egrets, the cardinal woodpecker, the levillant cuckoo, slender-billed baglafetch, weavers, levillant cuckoo and many more. After the boat cruise you will check out of your lodge and embark on your journey back to Kampala, from Lake Bunyonyi it is a drive of 8 – 9 hours. You are to make a stopover for lunch and you will reach Entebbe in the evening, check into your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation is got from
Luxury: lake Victoria hotel
Mid-range: 2 friends beach hotel
Budget: Gorilla Africa guest house.
Day 7 – transfer back to Kampala and visit Mabamba swamp
On the 7th and last day of the safari, you will wake up for morning breakfast then drive to mabamba swamp, mabamba swamp is famous for hosting the rare shoe bill which you will enjoy seeing and many other birds such as Angola Swallow, Swamp Flycatcher, Olive bellied Sunbird, Grey-rumped Swallow, Blue breasted Bee-eater, African Jacana, African Fish Eagle, Long tailed Cormorant, Yellow billed Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Glossy Ibis and many more. After the activity you will drive to the lodge for lunch and after lunch you will be driven to Entebbe international airport marking the end of your 7 days mountain gorilla and birding safari.
Safari inclusions
- Park entrance fees
- Game viewing fees
- All accommodation and meals expenses
- bottled mineral water throughout the safari
- Full time English or French speaking driver and guide
Safari exclusions
- Tips
- Visa fees and Air tickets
- Payment transfer fees
- All items of personal nature like laundry, phone calls, beer, etc.
