22 Days Uganda Birding Tour

Uganda Fact file

Uganda is a landlocked country and lies west of Kenya, east of DR Congo, north of Rwanda and Tanzania, and south of South Sudan. Uganda got its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country, including the capital Kampala. The populace of Uganda was hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations moved to the southern parts of the country

Uganda has a population of almost 42 million, ranking it as the 35th largest country in the world in terms of population. With an area of over 93,000 square miles, it is the 81st largest country in the world by area. The capital city of Uganda is Kampala, and it is also the largest city.

Uganda Tribes

There are an estimated 52 tribes existing in Uganda. All these tribes have their own customs that are still practiced to this day. Uganda is the second-largest producer of bananas in the world, falling second only to India. The country produces an estimated 11 million tons annually

Even though Uganda is a landlocked country, it has many large lakes. The south of the country is heavily influenced by one of the world’s biggest lakes, Lake Victoria, which contains many islands. Uganda’s main cities are located in the south, near this lake, including the capital city of Kampala.

Uganda Lakes

Besides Lake Victoria there is Lake Albert, Lake Edward, and the smaller Lake George. Lake Kyoga is in the center of the country and is surrounded by extensive marshy areas.

National Parks

Uganda also has 60 protected areas, which includes ten national parks, two of which – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Ruwenzori Mountains National Park – are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

These places are home to many endangered species, such as birds, plants, insects, mountain gorillas, and different kinds of monkeys. In the west, there are series of mountains associated with the Albertine Rift, the Western Great Rift Valley, the Albertine Rift region spans the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania, and extends over a distance of 1,000 km. Albertine Rift is an area of extraordinary endemism and contains many species threatened with global extinction, chiefly within the mountain forest habitats

Over 50% of birds, 39% of mammals, 19% of amphibians, and 14% of reptiles and plants found in mainland Africa occur in the Albertine Rift .

With a rich diversity of bird species, friendly people, pleasant climate, attractive, green landscapes, which makes Uganda a great destination for birdwatching

Plus well- established birding sites, add to this a good number of Albertine Rift bird endemics and the opportunity to see Gorillas and Chimpanzees. The key to Uganda’s birdwatching success is its variety of habitats: arid semi-desert, rich Savannah, lowland, and montane rain-forests, vast wetlands, volcanoes, and an Afro-alpine zone.

Uganda covers an altitude from 650 to 5000m. Uganda’s remarkable avian diversity-1,008 species attributed to its location at a transitional point between the East African savanna, the West African rain-forest, and the semi-desert of the north. Most of these Uganda’s specials are West African and Congolese forest birds