The shoebill at Mabamba, forest birds in Kibale and Semuliki, and savannah birds in Queen Elizabeth, finishing at Bwindi with a flight home.
Uganda has more than a thousand species of bird, and this route reaches the places where the specialities live: the shoebill in Mabamba Swamp, the forest birds of the west, and the savannah and water birds of Queen Elizabeth.
Your driver-guide is a keen birder, the days are paced around dawn and dusk, and each lodge is chosen for its grounds as much as its rooms.
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 dawn at Mabamba Swamp, where a local guide paddles you through the papyrus channels in search of the shoebill, with blue-breasted kingfishers and jacanas along the way. After lunch you drive west to Kibale and Primate Lodge.
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.
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. Walk the forest trails with your guide, looking for hornbills and species you will not find anywhere else in Uganda. 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, with a first walk on the Buhoma forest trails before dinner.
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.
Take an early forest walk with your guide, then drive to Kihihi airstrip for the flight to Entebbe.
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
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$4,440 | US$3,760 | US$3,534 | US$3,534 | US$3,534 | US$3,534 | Get quote |
| Low season (Mar to May, Nov) | US$3,890 | US$3,300 | US$3,102 | US$3,102 | US$3,102 | US$3,102 | 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. Light aircraft have a soft-bag limit of 15 kg per person including hand luggage, so leave the hard suitcases at home.
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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