Birding Maramagambo Forest
Looking for Birding Maramagambo Forest? Maramagambo forest is located in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It’s specifically located in the southern Sector and stretches from the Kichwamba Escarpment area to the Lake Edward area. It derives its names from the local stories of how a group of villagers who got lost within the forest for several days and couldn’t find their way. They finally got out of the forest and couldn’t say a word for a while hence the name MARAMAGAMBO which translates as END OF WORDS.
This forest is famous for bat caves. The formerly volcanic tube caves have a lot of bats that inhabit here and this also attracts Pythons since they prey on them. Maramagambo forest is also home to many more wildlife other than bats such as; the Chimpanzees, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, warthogs and many more;
There are also birds in Maramagambo Forest like; African Finfoot, Black Cuckoo, Black Coucal, African Emerald Cuckoo, Yellow bill, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Little Grebe, and Red-chested Cuckoo.
The Bunyaruguru culture in the area is also something that you are bound to check out. The food, dances and many stories about the ancient life.
Other things to do at Maramagambo Forest
There are a lot of things you can to or attractions you can see in Maramagambo forest, here are some of them:
Visiting the bat caves
The bat caves are as result of the volcanic tubes on the forest and they are now inhabited by bats and these also attract pythons which prey on the bats.
Nature walks
This forest has beautiful canopies and strong undergrowth which facilitates a lot of wildlife survival. There are plants and animals you will see while on nature walks. There are several trails in the forest that you can explore. Here are some of the wildlife to expect; the Chimpanzees, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, warthogs and many more; and birds like; African Finfoot, Black Cuckoo, Black Coucal, African Emerald Cuckoo,Yellow bill, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Little Grebe, and Red-chested Cuckoo. The walks will be between 2 to 6 hours.
Birding in Maramagambo Forest
Maramagambo forest is one of the birding destinations in Queen Elizabeth National Park; this national park is the best birding destination in Uganda behind Murchison falls National Park. There are several birds species here and here are some of the birds to expect; the Rwenzori Turaco, White napped pigeons and Forest fly catchers. Other bird species include the Ross’s Turaco, Fawn-breasted wax-bill, Sulphur-breasted bush shrike, Dark-capped yellow warbler, Bat hawk and African green pigeon.
Primate viewing
There is no organized primate viewing here as it is not a famous activity here but you can have the primate viewing though the nature walks. The nature walks can also be done at night to see the nocturnal animals like the bush babies.
Cultural experience
There are caves here by the people in the ancient Uganda to run away from the dictatorial regimes. People in the area also come here to run away from the misfortunes and calamities of the world as they believe these caves have the powers to do so. Visit the Maramagambo forest and enjoy these and more cultural experiences.
How to Access Maramagambo Forest for birding
Maramagambo forest is located in Queen Elizabeth National Park and to access it by road; you will drive about 410km from the city Kampala. It will take about 6 hours by road. You can charter a flight from Kajjansi or Entebbe Airport to the Mweya Airstrip and then a short drive to the forest.
The best time to visit Maramagambo forest for birding
It is okay to visit Maramagambo forest anytime of the year, but depending on the activity you want to do, it usually advisable that you visit this forest during the dry month. The dry months are June to September and December to February. The rest of the months are soggy and wet. This forest is a rain forest and it is bound to rain anytime.
