Overview
13-Day Uganda Ultimate Birding & Gorilla Safari takes you Mabamba swamp. LLake Mburo National park. Bwindi impenetrable forest, Queen Elizabeth National park. Kibale National park. and Semuliki National Park
This is Uganda’s big one. 13 days, 6 major birding areas, 3 forest types, and the Big 3 experiences: Shoebill stork, mountain gorillas, chimpanzees. You’ll chase Albertine Rift endemics in Bwindi, Congo biome birds in Semuliki, savannah species in Mburo and Queen, and lowland forest specials you can’t see anywhere else in East Africa.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Entebbe/Kampala → Mabamba Shoebill → Transfer to Lake Mburo
Your Fuga bird guide meets you at Entebbe Airport welcomes you and gives you a briefing. We drive 1 hour to Mabamba Bay Wetland on Lake Victoria. Board a canoe for 2-3 hours poling through papyrus.
Target: Shoebill stork, plus papyrus gonolek, blue-headed coucal, blue-breasted bee-eater, malachite kingfisher.
Lunch in Kampala, then 4-5 hours drive southwest to Lake Mburo National Park. Check into a lakeside lodge. Evening birding around the lake: African fish eagle, brown-chested lapwing, black-bellied bustard. Lake Mburo is Uganda’s smallest savannah park but holds 315 bird species.
Day 2: Lake Mburo Boat Cruise → Transfer to Bwindi
5:30am boat cruise on Lake Mburo, 2 hours. The lake is quiet at dawn. African finfoot, white-backed night heron, giant kingfisher, pied kingfisher, African jacana. Hippos surface and impala drink on the banks. After breakfast we drive 6-7 hours south to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Ruhija sector. The road climbs into the Kigezi highlands — terraced hills, cold air, misty forest. Check into a forest lodge 10 minutes from Buhoma trailhead. Early sleep. Bwindi is high altitude and you need energy.
Day 3: Birding Mubwindi Swamp, Ruhija
Dawn start on Ruhija trails and forest edge. Ruhija has 23 Albertine Rift endemics. We target what we missed yesterday: stripe-breasted tit, dusky crimsonwing, strange weaver, mountain masked apalis, black-faced rufous warbler.
Mixed flocks move fast through canopy. Fuga tours guides carry scopes and playback to get birds into view. Afternoon birding the road to the swamp for cinnamon bracken warbler, Neumann’s warbler. Bwindi holds 350 bird species. In 2 days you can tick 120-150.
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking, Bwindi Ruhija
Wake Up at 5am. and take an early breakfast Drive 20 minutes to Ruhija park office. Briefing at 7:30am, then into forest. Gorilla trekking is 2-6 hours hiking steep slopes. When you find them, you get 1 hour with a family of 8-15 mountain gorillas. Silverback, females, babies playing. It’s quiet, intense, and unforgettable. Birding bonus on the trek: African hill babbler, montane sooty boubou, Rwenzori double-collared sunbird. Out by midday. Rest afternoon. Legs will be done.
Day 6: Birding Buhoma Trails
Drive 2 hours down to Bwindi Buhoma sector, 1,400m. Lower altitude = different birds. Buhoma trails for: short-tailed warbler, grey-throated barbet, chestnut-capped flycatcher, blue-headed sunbird, white-bellied robin-chat. Visit the Buhoma community craft shop if you want. Overnight Buhoma.
Day 7: Birding Buhoma → Transfer to Queen Elizabeth
Morning birding around Buhoma lodge: black bee-eater, black-billed turaco, narina trogon. Then 4 hours drive north to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mweya area.
Afternoon birding along Kazinga Channel road. Stop for black-rumped buttonquail, flappet lark, martial eagle. Check into Mweya lodge overlooking the channel.
Day 8: Kazinga Channel Boat → Transfer to Semuliki National park
am boat cruise Kazinga Channel, 2 hours. This is one of Africa’s best birding boat rides: Pink-backed pelican, African spoonbill, yellow-billed stork, grey-headed gull, verreaux’s eagle-owl, African skimmer. After cruise, 4 hours drive northwest to Semuliki National Park. Semuliki is Uganda’s only true lowland tropical forest, part of the Congo Basin. The bird list is totally different here. Check into a lodge near Sempaya Gate.
Day 9 & 10: Full Days Birding Semuliki NP
wo full days for Congo biome birds. Semuliki has 441 species, 46 of which are Uganda specials you won’t see elsewhere. We walk Sempaya and Kirumia trails at dawn. Targets: Congo serpent eagle, yellow-throated cuckoo, red-billed dwarf hornbill, black dwarf hornbill, piping hornbill, white-thighed hornbill, spotted greenbul, yellow-throated nicator, rufous-sided broadbill, lyre-tailed honeyguide. Hot springs birding for Nkulengu rail if you’re very lucky. Fuga guides spend 2 days here because Semuliki birds are skulking and you need time.
Day 11: Semuliki → Transfer to Kibale NP
4-5 hours drive east to Kibale National Park, Fort Portal area. Kibale is mid-altitude forest with 375 bird species. Afternoon birding around lodge: African grey parrot, black-and-white-casqued hornbill, brown-chested alethe, green-breasted pitta if lucky.
Day 12: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bigodi Wetland
Wake up at 5am start chimpanze trekking in Kibale. Briefing, then into forest 1-3 hours. Kibale chimps are habituated and active. You’ll hear them before you see them — screaming, branches crashing. 1 hour with them once found. Birding on the trek: red-tailed bristlebill, brown-eared woodpecker, little greenbul.
Afternoon Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, 30 minutes away. Boardwalk for great blue turaco, papyrus canary, white-winged warbler, yellow-billed barbet. Community guides run it.
Day 13: Kibale Birding → Transfer to Kampala/Entebbe
Final morning birding Kibale forest edge: grey-winged robin-chat, joyous greenbul, yellow-rumped tinkerbird.
After breakfast, 5-6 hours drive back to Kampala/Entebbe via Mubende to catch up with your flight or overnight. 13 days, 6 parks, 600+ birds, gorillas, chimps. This is the Uganda birding tour everyone talks about after.
End of Tour