Frequently Asked Questions - Uganda

How do I get to Uganda?
How good are the accommodations?
Who looks after us?
What is gorilla tracking?
Do I need to be physically fit?
How do we get gorilla permits?
Can we combine this with Kenya or Tanzania
Can we stay longer in Uganda?
What is the Jane Goodall Institute?
Will we see the gorillas?
When is the best time to go?
Bwindi National Park:
Uganda - Overview
Birding In Uganda:

How do I get to Uganda?

If you are adding Uganda to a safari in either Tanzania or Kenya the best way to get there is to fly from Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya Airways has a number of flights each day to and from Entebbe.

If you are starting your vacation in Uganda, or if Uganda is your sole destination, then you may consider flying directly into Entebbe. British Airways has a direct flight.

How good are the accommodations? As with all our itineraries we use the best accommodations available. In Uganda you will stay in a combination of Luxury Permanent Tented Camps, such as those at Lake Mburo and Ngamba and the Gorilla Forest Camp, and hotels, such as Lake View Hotel, Mbarara.

In each case the quality of accommodation is very good.

Who looks after us?

As soon as you pass through customs and the baggage hall at Entebbe airport you will be met by our representative. They will assist you in everyway and be available to answer your questions at all times.

What is gorilla tracking? To find the gorillas you, led by your guide and his trackers, follow the track of gorillas through the rainforest and across the mountainsides. The Mountain Gorilla moves each day in search of food and sleeps in a different location each night. Your guides have a general idea of where they will be because they will have seen them the previous day. So, you start from the place they were spotted the day before, and follow their 'spore' until you catch up with them.

Do I need to be physically fit?

The gorilla tracking can be physically demanding. You will be at altitude, the base camp is located at about 4,000 feet, and you typically go up hill from there. To find the gorillas you have to follow their tracks, and there are no paths to walk on. You need to be fit enough to walk up and down steep inclines over rough terrain.

Your guides are completely aware that you do not usually spend your days climbing up and down mountains and they go out of their way to pace the group at a sensible speed, with lots of rest stops.

How do we get gorilla permits?

The number of gorilla tracking permits is strictly controlled, with just six guests allowed to track each group of habituated gorillas each day. In Bwindi there are currently three groups we are allowed to interact with.

The permits go on sale one year in advance. The most popular times are during the summer vacation months of July and August and if this is when you plan to travel we should book your permits well in advance.

We handle the permit booking for you. Our advice is that we confirm the availability of the permits, and then design the balance of your itinerary around those dates.

Permits dates are only controlled once the permit is paid in full, currently $275 per person per day, and we highly recommend that you buy the tickets as soon as we confirm their availability. In practice, this means that we order the permits, our local representative actually buys them, and then we invoice you for the full amount.

Can we combine this with Kenya or Tanzania?

Yes. Our advice is that you add the gorilla and chimpanzee experience to the end of your Kenya or Tanzania safari. Why the end? Because the altitude of Kenya and Tanzania is typically 4,000 to 6,000 feet and spending time on safari will help prepare you for tracking the gorillas in Bwindi.

Can we stay longer in Uganda?

Yes. There is a great deal to see and do in Uganda and many people design their itineraries to take in some of the other National Parks within this beautiful country. Uganda is particularly popular with keen birders.

The National Parks of Uganda:

Uganda's national parks reflect the extraordinary diversity of the country's natural resources: fresh water lakes, swamps, mountains, forests, woodland, rolling plains and grassland.

Owing to a variety of habitats with abundant grass, Uganda supports an incredible range of biodiversity including mountain gorillas. In order to protect and effectively manage these invaluable resources on a sustainable basis, the Uganda National Parks department was established in 1952.

Presently the organization manages 10 parks.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Kibale National Park
Kidepo Valley National Park
Lake Mburo National Park
Mgahinga National Park
Mt. Elgon National Park
Mt. Rwenzori National Park
Murchison Falls National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Semuliki National Park

Will we see the gorillas?

There are no guarantees in life! But, it is very unusual that a group does not find the gorillas it is tracking. The reason we prefer Bwindi to the other Mountain Gorilla habitat, is that it lies entirely within Uganda and the gorillas cannot cross international borders - which could prevent you from catching up with them.

We also strongly recommend booking permits for at least two days, and each permit for a different group of gorillas. We say this for two reasons. Firstly, if you are unsuccessful on your first day then you at least have a second chance. And, secondly, if you track different gorillas each day then if the first group was a long way off the chances are that the second will be closer to base.

When is the best time to go?

The best time to visit Uganda is late December to late February, as the weather at this time of year is generally dry (though hot). A close second is the mid-June to mid-August period. This is a very popular time with tourists and you should book your permits as far in advance as possible.

Bwindi National Park:

Bwindi's Impenetrable Forest is true African Jungle. It is so called because of the dense undergrowth, vines and other vegetation make it almost 'impenetrable'. It's mysterious and awesome. The lowland rainforest and montane forest vegetation constantly struggles to reach heights that will allow it to receive more light. Huge trees are festooned with creepers and parasitic plants such as mistletoe and orchids. Giant thickets of bamboo thrive in the humid atmosphere and, where sunlight breaks though, the elegant heliconia, or lobster claw, spreads its colorful petals.

Amongst the dense vegetation the Colobus Monkey jumps from branch to branch, chattering its warning to its fellows hidden by the foliage. Chimpanzees, in families of 20 or 30, make the rounds, searching for fruit and edible plants. The park is located in south western Uganda, covering parts of Rukungiri, Kisoro, and Kabale Districts. It was gazetted in 1991 with an area of 331 km2. It is situated in a hilly country-side that, together with some remnant lowland forest outside the boundary, constitute an important water catchment area for many rivers, supplying the agricultural land of the surrounding region.

As you walk among the shadows of the leafy canopy, this rainforest reveals the smells and sounds of Africa, just as it has been for centuries.

Without doubt, your first impression of the dense jungle will be its almost audible silence. Jungle creatures are very, very shy, but, as you pick your way along the trail, through the dense undergrowth, you'll realize that the jungle is alive. Thousands of living organisms are discreetly watching and waiting whilst you pass through their protective home and, from time to time, the complete tranquility will be shattered by a darting forest bird or group of chattering monkeys leaping through the stands of ancient trees, disturbing the secretive residents and setting up a chain reaction. Now, the ever-wary jungle comes to colorful and noisy life for a moment, until silence reigns again.

Here, in Bwindi Impenetrable, your guide will take you along river trails with delightful waterfalls, up steep slopes and into forest clearings in search of an enormous array of reserved, exquisite and exciting jungle creatures who live in this deep forest. A forest which in itself is a complex and remarkable living organism.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a magnificent verdant swathe across the steep ridges of the Albertine Rift Valley, this ancient rainforest - one of the few in Africa to have flourished throughout the last Ice Age - is home to roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas.

Looking deep into the expressive brown eyes of these gentle giants is surely the most exciting and poignant wildlife encounter that Africa has to offer - but we should not let it distract from Bwindi's broader biodiversity, a result of its immense antiquity and an altitude span from 1,160 to 2,607m.

Bwindi National Park has ninety mammal species, including elephants, the rare giant forest hog and eleven primates, of which the black-and-white colobus monkeys, with its lovely flowing white tail, is prominent.

The forest birding ranks with the best in Uganda, with 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics present.

Bwindi is one of Uganda's most recently created national parks. Formerly known as the Impenetrable Forest, the park covers 330 sq km (128 sq mi) in the south-west of the country, very close to the Congo border. It encompasses one of the last remaining habitats of the mountain gorilla, and is home to half of the surviving mountain gorillas in the world - an estimated 320 individuals.

The park headquarters is at Buhoma, on the northern edge of the park, and it's here that gorilla visits start and where you'll find the park's only accommodation.

Because of the unrest in Rwanda and eastern Congo, Bwindi has become the main place in East Africa to see the gorillas.

Uganda - Overview

For the visitor, Uganda offers exceptional diversity combining some of the best features that Africa has to offer. The country lies at the overlap between the tropical East African Savannah and the West African rain-forest zones.

It is a country blessed with contrasting physical features ranging from extensive plains with undulating hills to snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, meandering rivers and spectacular flora and fauna. Seven of Africa's plant kingdoms are represented in Uganda, which is more than any other country on the continent.

In addition, Uganda ranks among the top ten in the world in terms of the diversity of its mammal groups. For example, by comparison with the UK, Uganda supports five times more bird species, six times as many mammals, ten times as many reptiles and amphibians and three times the number of plant species.

Uganda is also source of the Great River Nile and Africa's largest fresh water lake, the Lake Victoria.

Such is Uganda's potential in Africa that the former British Premier, Sir Winston Churchill after his many journeys across the length and width of the African continent, concluded that the country (Uganda) was indeed the Pearl of Africa. His verdict did not only describe the wealth of Uganda's resources, but also the peaceful environment and social system in which the people of Uganda lived.

Birding In Uganda:

There can be few destinations on Earth where one can expect to find almost 550 avian species in one park alone - Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park is one. 350 species have been recorded in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest. These two parks alone are among the richest protected areas to be found anywhere on Earth. Accolades for Uganda's birding delights are rarely understated. Nigel Wheatley, for instance, in Where to Watch Birds in Africa (1995) said: "In terms of its size, Uganda is the richest country for birds in Africa. " And this immense volume and diversity occurs miraculously in a space which keen birders can cover in a relatively short visit.

The Country has an amazing diversity of habitats, and this richness is reflected in its swelling bird list of about 1,000 species, The presence of so many bird species is made possible by a rich bio-diversity that ranges from huge tracts of savanna in the east to tropical forest in the west. Rivers support this array of animal and insect life.

Birding is a lucrative business, with a clientele of about 100 million people. For Uganda, avitourism could easily be combined with scientific studies on birds.

An afternoon in the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe yields a wide array of birds, mostly water birds and others migrating from the chilly winter in Europe.

Another place to watch birds without having to journey into the interior is the capital, Kampala, where Scavenging marabou storks, hooded vultures and black kites are common in the suburban compounds of the rich.

Droves of birds are to be found everywhere in the city. Vultures have made their nests in the grounds of the city's Nile Hotel. If you take a pre-breakfast stroll in the gardens of most big hotels in Kampala, you will be entertained by eastern Grey-plantain eaters, common bulbuls, African thrushes, African pied pigtails and the Double-toothed barbet.

Many visitors have, while enjoying a drink on the popular verandah of Kabira Club, seen fang flycatchers hunting insects on the lawns. Hornbills and Ross's turacos fight for red fig.

The best way to enjoy bird watching in Uganda, however, is to hit the road and get right into the interior, where birds can be viewed in their natural habitat in thick forests.

Birds that can be seen in the marshes or wetlands surrounding Lake Victoria include the crowned crane, which you may catch doing their mating dance, and the long-crested eagle in search of fish. There are an amazing number of pied kingfishers in the wetlands. A tourist reported seeing 300 of them at one time perched on overhead electric wires.

With over 1,000 birds already recorded, Uganda has almost half the species known on the African continent and over 10% of those on record throughout the entire world!

Noted author Philip Briggs writes: "Uganda is arguably the best country in Africa for birds, with about 1000 species recorded in an area the size of great Britain."

Uganda's equatorial location, combined with the altitude and the great variety of terrain types provide an overwhelming array of opportunities for keen birders. Trained naturalist-guides with extensive knowledge of the habitats, the birds' calls and the best spots to view, add immeasurably to the pleasure of visitors, often multiplying the number of sightings many times over.

Of course, these keen local experts frequently provide their guests with rarely-experienced opportunities to observe non-avian creatures in these undisturbed environments too.

As Uganda is beginning to acquire a name for itself as one of the most significant birding destinations in the world, the next year may be the last chance to join one of these small and intimate birding groups here. This surely represents a life-crowning experience for any ornithologist.

Most of the game Lodges and Camps in Uganda have expert Guides who are skilled bird spotters and will happy to take you on walks or drives through the bush.

In the west, when you reach Lake Mburo, which is surrounded by acacia, common species like the northern black tit as well as the bare-face go-away are common. In this area, the rare Red-face barbet can be sighted. This species is restricted to a small area in southern Uganda, eastern Rwanda and extreme northwestern Tanzania.

On the Mburo track, you could be lucky enough to sight the elusive Shoebill, and if frustrated in this you could be consoled by viewing the African fin foot, but you are advised to leave the safety of your vehicle only in the company of an armed ranger as buffaloes are numerous in this park. There are boat-rides, accommodation and camping facilities.

Occupying the northern slopes of the famed Virunga volcanoes is the Mghahinga National Park, which is tucked away into the extreme southwest corner of Uganda. The African sooty flycatcher, the Regal sunbird and the Rwenzori turaco are to be found in the misty, lichen-clad forests of the Virungas. There are vistas of terraced land in Kisoro, with evergreen vegetable farms and thatched homesteads hugging the fertile slopes.

Most birds in the Mghahinga National Park are found in the mountainous forest, which can take three or four hours' climb. As you enter the forest at over 2,660 meters, you can hear the shrieks of the rare Lagden's bush. This bird is quite responsive to tape-recorded sound. Here, the chances of seeing the rare Rwenzori turaco are high. There are camping facilities at the Amajambere Iwacu Community Camp ground, which lies outside the entrance.

Probably the most important of all the bird sites is the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Containing both lowland and montane forest, this park has an extraordinary bio-diversity and is regarded as the richest forest in East Africa for trees, ferns and birds.

Of the 346 bird species recorded at Bwindi, eight occur no where else in East Africa and 23 out of the 29 Albertine species are endemic. An early start in the morning offers chances of finding the striking handsome Francolin, which may be sighted, basking or feeding on the edges of the track.

You can listen to the Grauer's warbler in thrilling voice; in the flowering trees, you will find the incredible purple-breasted Sunbird, with narrow-tailed starlings in mixed flocks when the trees are in fruiting season. A few bird species are easier to see in the vicinity of the guesthouse at Ruhizha. One of the best bird watching areas in the region is at Buhoma. There is a wide track that runs south of Buhoma through the forest at Nteka.

You will easily spot the dazzling black Bee-eater and African sooty flycatcher here, because the canopies are more open. The rare and elusive red-fronted Antpecker is seen frequently on the Waterfall Trail.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is another scenic area in which you can enjoy birding. Uganda's most popular game reserve, it stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward, to the remote Ishasha River in the south. Its remarkable diversity includes a bird list of 550 species, the largest in any protected area in Africa.

Birds such as the Shoebill are common, as well as the Martial eagle, Black rumped Buttonquail, African skimmer and Papyrus canary. Queen Elizabeth has a bird observatory, which was established in 1997 to study resident and migratory bird populations in the national park, increase local awareness and guide training programs.

This kind of training is an important investment in Uganda for the future of avitourism, since there are few well-trained guides who can conduct tourists on a bird watching safari. Bird trails, hides for photographers and walkways are being built in the park.

An expert in birds and ringing, Malcolm Wilson, is particularly interested in palaearctic bird migration along the Albertine Rift. He is currently conducting long-term ringing and hopes to improve our understanding of the little-known migration route. The observatory is adjacent to the Institute of Ecology hostel at Mweya.

Within the park, the Kazinga Channel forms a natural habitat for water birds. A launch cruise leaves two or three times a day from Mweya, allowing visitors to see various species of water birds en route. Great white and pink-backed pelicans, cormorants, African open-billed storks and knob-tailed ducks are common. The Jacana is present in big numbers.

In the vast marshes and papyrus beds of Lake Kikorongo, you will find water birds feasting on small lizards, snakes and fish. The papyrus swamps provide nesting sites for the shoebill, which may sometimes be seen soaring in the sky or feeding at the edges of the marsh in the early morning and late afternoon. The Lake Edward Flats attract fewer visitors than Mweya.

Other bird watching areas include the Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo and Moroto. The Mount Elgon area is an exciting bird paradise too.