Culture and birding holiday in Uganda

This 19 day tailor made trip covers all of Uganda’s cultural and wildlife wonders. Get ready for gorilla and chimp tracking, and the stunning Queen Elizabeth National Park. Private driver/guide included.
Gorilla tracking and trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Rafting on River Nile Jinja Town Birding in Mabira Forest Sipi Falls Mount Elgon Pian Upe Game Reserve Kidepo Valley Murchison Falls Lake Bunyonyi Lake Mburo National Park Kigezi Highlands Rwenzori Mountains National Park Kibale Forest Chimp tracking Kampala Kasubi Tombs Namugongo Shrine
Price
£8470 excluding flights
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Duration
20 Days
Type
Tailor made
Group size
Maximum 6 people
More info
Price based on two people sharing accommodation.
Group size is Maximum 6 people per guide.
Make enquiry

Description of Culture and birding holiday in Uganda

This Uganda holiday is a cultural, wildlife and birding odyssey, which takes in myriad adventures in this great country. With lots of unexpected thrills along the way your tailor made, independent journey starts with some birding in Mabira Forest followed by white water rafting on the River Nile, as the great river has its source here. And that is just for starters. Experience game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park where you can see four out of the Big Five, with plenty of others to marvel at too. Go chimp tracking in Kibale Forest, on another wildlife safari in the home of Rothschild’s giraffe in Pian Upe Game Reserve and ostrich tracking in Kidepo Valley National Park.

For wildlife enthusiasts who enjoy their feathered fauna, the birding options in Uganda are out of this world. Such as the endangered Lammergeyer in Mount Elgon National Park, the Fox's weaver or shoebill stork in Murchison Falls or Nahan’s francolin and Cassin’s spinetail in Budongo. For up close and personal wildlife experiences at the other end of the scale, the highlight for many is gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

As this is a tailor made trip, we can organise a mix of accommodation for you, but hikers will enjoy some of our more remote mountain lodges, and wildlife fans will love our selection of safari camps. As well as a few hotels tucked in at some cultural heritage spots along the way. We also include a few days in Kampala at the end of this trip, to give you plenty of time to take in some of the country’s historical spots such as the Kasubi Tombs, the Uganda Museum and the Namugongo Shrine.

Map

Price information

£8470 excluding flights
Convert currency:
Price based on two people sharing accommodation.
Group size is Maximum 6 people per guide.
Make enquiry

Departure information

This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements

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Holiday information

Top tip:
If you want to include gorilla tracking on this trip, the Uganda Wildlife Authority offers 25 per cent discount in April, May and November.
Trip type:
Tailor made, with driver guide.
Activity level:
Fairly active, and reasonable fitness required.
Accomm:
Eco lodges, hotels and safari camps.
Solo travellers.
Solo travellers welcome.
Included:
Gorilla permit, transport in 4WD, driver guide, accommodation, most meals, national park entrance fees, drinking water, all activities in itinerary.
About this holiday company:
This Uganda based tour operator has been in the gorilla trekking business since 2002, and is wholly dedicated to responsible gorilla trekking, in their home country and also in Rwanda. A member of the Uganda Association of Tour Operators, their leader guides are also experts in hiking, birding and rafting. You get the picture. They’ve got this.
Dietary requirements:
Vegetarian, vegan and other dietary requirements can be catered to on this trip. Let us know any requirements when booking and we will work with the hotels and lodges to ensure suitable meals are provided for you.

Responsible Travel

As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) holiday so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.

Planet

This is a Birding and Wildlife Safari adventure that takes you across Uganda to in several destinations and we ensure that you participate in the conservation efforts geared to saving the endangered species of the wild in Uganda. This trip is directly involved in wildlife conservation in that we plan for our guests to visit research and conservation areas during their safari like the Semiliki wildlife reserve in the western part of Uganda.
En-route to the Bwindi forest from Queen Elizabeth National Park we get to support the Chimpanzee community project for conservation of the Chimps in this region. This work is solely done by the local people with the help of donations from visitors touring the region.
We also get to use renewable energy most of the time since most of the places we stay at use solar power. All places we choose to stay in during the Gorilla tracking experience use solar power for lighting, charging, and boiling water. They also use Eco-toilets which are also environmentally friendly.
This safari involves driving long distances both to the destinations and during game drive therefore we always find ourselves moving with packed food and drinks. This we do using plastics recyclable bottles especially for water and other beverages and paper packs for food that are also biodegradable. This is good for our environment and keeping our surrounding clean.

People

Visit the communities of Busoga, Bunyoro, Batwa and Tooro whereby you get to see the local people and support their culture and crafts which they normally sell in their shops. These crafts are locally made and are sold cheaply than the ones sold in the city; also you get to see how they are made.
The remote community of Mubako in Murchison falls Park is a cluster of traditional thatched huts around a clearing, where villagers gather to escape the midday sun under the shade of a large tree. Mubako’s small craft shop sells carved wooden sculptures and hand-woven items made by community members. At dusk, the local cultural groups perform vibrant songs and dances around the campfires of local lodges, accompanied by the beautiful sound of the adungu. Originating from this region, this instrument is made of cowhide and twine, and the harmonies of the various-sized adungus against the backdrop of a Nile sunset are magical. There are few economic opportunities in this region and the climate makes farming hard, but with the money generated through tourism, the community can buy produce from local markets, pay school fees and support a nursery for 90 children.
During Gorilla tracking and village walks, we encourage the visitors to use local porters or helpers to carry their luggage and this provides direct employment to the local community since they are paid a wage directly for their service
In the regions of Bwindi, Nkuringo or Buhoma, there are local libraries and craft shops owned by local people and our visitors get an opportunity to walk through these places and support the people. Also there is a Batwa Experience program where you will get to step back in time to see how the Batwa lived for millenia in the Bwindi forest and the income generated at the site returns to the Batwa to strengthen their entire community through the Batwa Development Program (BDP), a community collaboration to help the Batwa help themselves.
We also get the opportunity to visit local schools like in Ruhija and clinics that need support from tourists like donation like in Bwindi Nkuringo. During the free day we visit either a school or their local clinic and part of the tours fees you pay is contributed to support the children with stationery, clothing and medicine for the community.

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