Welcome to Birdquest
UGANDA
Shoebill, Albertine Rift Endemics & Gorillas
Birdquest's Uganda birding tour is a classic African bird and wildlife adventure, featuring some amazing birds as well as the incomparable Gorillas of Bwindi, close encounters with Chimpanzees and many other mammals. Our Uganda tour provides comprehensive coverage of this beautiful and bird rich country, including its famous Albertine Rift endemics, the strange Shoebill and the gorgeous Green-breasted Pitta.
Sunday 2nd June -
Saturday 15th June 2013
(14 days)
Northern Uganda Post-Tour Extension to Tuesday 25th June (10 days)
Leaders:
Nik Borrow and local bird-guides
Group Size Limit: 9
Tour Category: Easy for the most part, occasionally Moderate (and one optional fairly Demanding hike for African Green Broadbill)
The incomparable Shoebill is in its very own monotypic family. The best place for seeing them is the papyrus swamps of Uganda (Pete Morris)
Winston Churchill described Uganda as a fairy tale land, calling it the ‘Pearl of East Africa’. Here the ancient kingdoms of Buganda, Bunyoro and Ankole flourished long before the first European explorers came in search of the source of the Nile. In colonial times it was regarded as the most beautiful and potentially the richest country in East Africa. Now, after many years of civil turbulence under Idi Amin and Milton Obote, Uganda has settled down once more under the rule of President Museveni and has rebuilt its important wildlife tourism industry.
Uganda is indeed a beautiful country: a green and fertile land of high plateaus, luxuriant forests, papyrus-fringed lakes and great swamps. It is also a land of contrasts. Here one can see the vast inland sea known as Lake Victoria, the source of the White Nile, and papyrus swamps where the bizarre and endangered Shoebill can still be found. On the open plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park, antelopes, buffalo and elephants can be watched against a backdrop of the mysterious Rwenzori range, Ptolemy’s fabled ‘Mountains of the Moon’. In the west there are great forests which cover huge areas and are home to many Chimpanzees and Gorillas, as well as one of the most exciting selections of forest birds in Africa. Uganda is undoubtedly the friendliest country in East Africa and offers visitors the opportunity to experience unspoilt African wilderness at its best.
Ours is the most comprehensive tour available to one of the richest countries in Africa for birds, appealing to all those who dream of seeing the amazing Shoebill, the exciting forest species of the ‘Albertine Rift’ and, of course, the incomparable Gorillas.
This superb tour takes us first to the shores of Lake Victoria around Entebbe where we will be looking in particular for the extraordinary Shoebill, as well as the migratory Blue Swallow.
From Entebbe we head for western Uganda, where our first port of call will be the superb forests of Kibale National Park. This is one of the best places in Africa to see Chimpanzees, and a fantastic selection of forest birds including the rare, elusive and beautiful Green-breasted Pitta. Joyful Greenbul, Masked Apalis and the attractive Grey-winged Robin. We even have chances for Red-chested Owlet and the pretty White-collared Oliveback.
Continuing southwards past the Rwenzori Mountains we reach the open plains and impressive craters of Queen Elizabeth National Park with its rich array of both large mammals, with likely species including Lion, huge number of Hippos and the impressive Giant Hog. There is even a good chance of coming across a Leopard. QEII, as it is known, also has a rich avifauna and in addition to specialities such as African Crake and Brown-chested Plover, we are also likely to find a wide range of more widespread African birds, including the impressive Goliath Heron to the magnificent Martial Eagle.
Eventually we travel onwards to the remote southwestern corner of Uganda and the great Impenetrable Forest. Here the Gorillas have their stronghold and the forests at Buhoma are rich in bird species that are endemic to the Albertine Rift, such as the characterful Short-tailed Warbler, Chapin’s and Yellow-eyed Black Flycatchers, Kivu Ground-Thrush, Red-throated Alethe and the strange Jameson’s Antpecker (split from Woodhouse’s), while specialities of broader distribution include the handsome White-bellied Robin-Chat.
After spending some time at lower altitudes we will climb up to Ruhija, where another suite of specialities await us, including Handsome Francolin, the stunning African Green Broadbill, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grauer’s Warbler, Archer’s Robin-Chat, the gorgeous Regal Sunbird, Purple-banded Sunbird and Strange Weaver.
Finally, after a visit to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in the extreme southwest, in search of the wonderful Ruwenzori Turaco, Lagden’s Bush-Shrike and Ruwenzori Double-collared Sunbird, we will visit the dry bush country, woodland, lakes and swamps around Lake Mburo, where we will look for the rare and localized Red-faced Barbet, as well as African Finfoot and with luck White-backed Night Heron.
During the optional post-tour extension we will first explore Mabira Forest near Jinja, at the Source of the Nile, in search of a number of forest specialities including Forest Wood Hoopoe, Yellow-eyed Bristlebill, Sooty Boubou and Weyns’s Weaver.
From here we travel northwards to the Lake Kyoga region in search of Uganda’s sole strict endemic, Fox’s Weaver before heading northwestwards to the Masindi area.
Murchison Falls National Park, where the White Nile flows into Lake Albert, and the Masindi area itself are rich in birdlife. Here we will search for Shoebills whilst admiring hordes of Hippopotamus and also see a marvellous variety of other birds, including Heuglin’s Francolin, the spectacular Pennant-winged Nightjar, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Foxy Cisticola and Puvel’s Illadopsis.
Nearby, the rich Budongo Forest teems with birds, including the rare Nahan’s Francolin and Ituri Batis, and also a good selection of primates.
Birdquest has operated tours to Uganda since 1994.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels/lodges are of normal Birdquest standard almost throughout, but please note that in some of the more remote lodges electric power is limited to evenings and early mornings. At Mgahinga we stay in a conventional lodge while at Lake Mburo we stay in a safari-style tented camp type lodge. Both are very pleasant establishments, but please note that the toilets are earth closets and the showers are filled with hot water brought by the staff in buckets in true African safari style! At Ruhija we will stay for two nights in a fairly simple lodge. Road transport is by 4x4s and roads are mostly good.
Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy, but occasionally moderate and there is an optional fairly demanding hike to search for African Green Broadbill. The optional gorilla tracking involves part or all of one day in the Impenetrable Forest. Please bear in mind that whilst the gorillas can usually be located within an hour or so, without more than moderate grade hiking involved, it can occasionally take up to three hours or more of quite strenuous trekking to find them (and a similar time to return), although the skilled tracker-guides and porters manage to make this less of a challenge than it would first appear. Very rarely, in spite of all the efforts of the tracker-guides, the gorillas prove elusive.
Climate: Most days will be warm or hot, dry and sunny but overcast conditions are fairly frequent and there may well be some rain. At higher altitudes temperatures range from cool to warm.
Bird/Mammal Photography: Opportunities are quite good.
Gorilla Tracking: This is optional, but almost everyone wants to do it as it is a highlight of any visit to Uganda. Nowadays we have to secure permits an extraordinary 2 years in advance and they cost a remarkable US$500 per person (and are included in the tour price), so we strongly suggest you use yours! If you definitely do not want to use your permit you should inform us: our agents may be able have it cancelled and if they succeed you will receive a refund of its value less the Uganda park service’s cancellation charge.
Part-Tour Option: Subject to space being available, it is possible to take the Northern Uganda extension only. Please contact us for further information.
Tour Price: (provisional): $6300 Entebbe/Entebbe. Post-Tour Extension: $4240. Price includes all transportation, all accommodations, all meals, bottled water, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $821. Post-Tour Extension: $454.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
The amazing Penant-winged Nightjar is fairly common in Uganda during the summer months (Pete Morris)
214 photos
View Gallery Photos From UGANDA
An hour with the magical gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one of the most exciting and memorable wildlife experiences anywhere! (Pete Morris)
Green-breasted Pitta is a much-wanted though elusive denizen of Kibale Forest (Pete Morris)
Kibale Forest is probably the most reliable site in the world for finding Chimpanzees. Watching the antics of these beasts nas they chase each other around screaming is another of those unforgettable experiences. (Pete Morris)
Greyish Eagle Owl is often split from Spotted Eagle Owl these days and is common around Murchison Falls (Pete Morris)
The tiny African Green Broadbill is tough to find in the forest canopy (Nik Borrow)
The beautiful African Dwarf Kingfisher seems strangely easy to see in Uganda (Pete Morris)
Our visit to Mgahinga will enable us to see the spectacular Ruwenzori Turaco (Pete Morris)
Birdquest LLC, 3721 Executive Center Drive, Suite 268, Austin, TX 78731
Ph: 512-343-1700, Fax: 512-343-1701
top of pageWebsite crafted by the Accent Design Group.
|
|
|
|