A complete birding circuit: the shoebill, Budongo, Kibale, Semuliki, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi, Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Mburo.
With more than a thousand species, Uganda rewards time. This route links its best birding habitats in one circuit: papyrus and the shoebill at Mabamba, forest at Budongo, Kibale and Semuliki, savannah and wetlands at Queen Elizabeth, and montane forest at Bwindi.
Your driver-guide is a birder and the days follow the light. Between the bird walks there is game viewing, so the trip is rich for a partner who prefers mammals.
Uganda
Luxury safari
Handpicked luxury lodges and camps, chosen for their setting, service and guiding.
Private safari
Your own vehicle and guide for the whole journey, never shared with other travellers.
Made to measure
Change the pace, a lodge or an activity and we rebuild the itinerary around you.
Start any day
Travel on the dates that suit you, subject to lodge and permit availability.
Solo travellers welcome
Priced for one on request, with the single supplement shown under Rates.
Pace and fitness
Balanced, fitness: moderate.
Start at Mabamba Swamp, where a local guide paddles you through the papyrus channels in search of the shoebill. In the afternoon walk the Entebbe Botanical Gardens, where lake birds and monkeys share the shore, and settle in at The Boma.
Overnight
The Boma Entebbe (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
A quiet boutique guesthouse in a leafy garden, ten minutes from Entebbe airport.
Drive north to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and track southern white rhinos on foot, with birds along the trails. Continue to the Nile and Nile Safari Lodge.
Overnight
Nile Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Timber bandas on the south bank of the Nile, with a pool above the river.
Leave early for Budongo Forest and a morning walk along the Royal Mile, known for the chocolate-backed kingfisher, hornbills and many forest species. Return for lunch and a rest, then take an afternoon game drive.
Overnight
Nile Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Timber bandas on the south bank of the Nile, with a pool above the river.
Take the morning launch down the Nile to the delta, where shoebills stand in the papyrus. Sightings are never guaranteed, but the delta gives you the best odds in the park. In the afternoon walk to the top of the falls.
Overnight
Nile Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Timber bandas on the south bank of the Nile, with a pool above the river.
Drive south to Fort Portal and Kyaninga Lodge, on the rim of its own crater lake, with birds along the shore as the light fades.
Overnight
Kyaninga Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Hand-built log cottages above a crater lake, with the Rwenzoris behind.
Walk the Bigodi Wetland in the early morning for great blue turacos and the many forest species that gather there, then spend the afternoon on forest trails in Kibale with your guide.
Overnight
Primate Lodge Kibale (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
The only lodge inside Kibale Forest, a short walk from the chimpanzee briefing.
Cross the foothills of the Rwenzori to Semuliki, the one corner of Uganda where Central African birds reach their eastern limit. You sleep at Semliki Safari Lodge, on the edge of the reserve.
Overnight
Semliki Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Uganda's first luxury safari lodge, tucked into the woodland of the Semliki Valley.
Drive south to Queen Elizabeth for an afternoon game drive across the Kasenyi plains, then watch the evening birdlife from Mweya Safari Lodge, high above the Kazinga Channel.
Overnight
Mweya Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
The classic lodge of Queen Elizabeth, on the Mweya Peninsula above the Kazinga Channel.
Take the launch along the Kazinga Channel while the water birds are at their busiest, then drive south through Ishasha to Bwindi Lodge.
Overnight
Bwindi Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Eight bandas facing the forest in Buhoma, a short walk from the gorilla trek briefing point.
Spend the day on the forest trails around Buhoma with your guide, looking for montane forest birds, and end with the waterfall walk.
Overnight
Bwindi Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Eight bandas facing the forest in Buhoma, a short walk from the gorilla trek briefing point.
Drive to Lake Bunyonyi and settle in at BirdNest Resort. Paddle a dugout canoe between the islands in the late afternoon, when the birdlife is most active.
Overnight
BirdNest Resort (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
A calm lakeside hotel on Bunyonyi with a waterfront deck and heated pool.
Drive north to Lake Mburo and Mihingo Lodge, with a game drive in the late afternoon among zebra, impala and eland.
Overnight
Mihingo Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Tented rooms on a rocky ridge above a waterhole, next to Lake Mburo.
Walk with a ranger in the morning, then take the afternoon boat trip on Lake Mburo for fish eagles, African finfoot and waterbirds, with hippos and crocodiles on the banks.
Overnight
Mihingo Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Tented rooms on a rocky ridge above a waterhole, next to Lake Mburo.
After breakfast drive back to Entebbe, stopping at the equator, and arriving in the afternoon.
The Boma Entebbe (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
A quiet boutique guesthouse in a leafy garden, ten minutes from Entebbe airport.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Nile Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Timber bandas on the south bank of the Nile, with a pool above the river.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Kyaninga Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Hand-built log cottages above a crater lake, with the Rwenzoris behind.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Primate Lodge Kibale (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
The only lodge inside Kibale Forest, a short walk from the chimpanzee briefing.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Semliki Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Uganda's first luxury safari lodge, tucked into the woodland of the Semliki Valley.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Mweya Safari Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
The classic lodge of Queen Elizabeth, on the Mweya Peninsula above the Kazinga Channel.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Bwindi Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Eight bandas facing the forest in Buhoma, a short walk from the gorilla trek briefing point.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
BirdNest Resort (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
A calm lakeside hotel on Bunyonyi with a waterfront deck and heated pool.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Mihingo Lodge (opens the property’s website in a new tab)
Tented rooms on a rocky ridge above a waterhole, next to Lake Mburo.
Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Important to know
Rates per person
| Season | Solo | 2 people | 3 people | 4 people | 5 people | 6 people | 7+ people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High season (Jun to Oct, Dec to Feb) | US$9,150 | US$7,750 | US$7,285 | US$7,285 | US$7,285 | US$7,285 | Get quote |
| Low season (Mar to May, Nov) | US$8,020 | US$6,800 | US$6,392 | US$6,392 | US$6,392 | US$6,392 | Get quote |
Prices are per person, in US dollars, and depend on the number of travellers sharing the vehicle and guide. They are sample rates for planning and will be confirmed when you enquire, as lodge and permit prices change each year. Sightings of any single species cannot be guaranteed, but the route is built to give you the best chances.
Best time for this trip Jun to Sep, Dec to Feb
Pack light, neutral colours for game drives, a warm fleece for early mornings, a sun hat, good sunscreen and insect repellent. Binoculars are provided in the vehicle, but bring your own if you are a keen birder or photographer.
Made to measure
Every Uwera safari is private. Slow the pace, add a night by a lake, swap a lodge or bring the children: tell us in your request and we will rebuild the itinerary around you.
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