9-Day Birding Usambara Mountains

Arrive at the airport, where you will be greeted by our crew and sent to your accommodation in Arusha. You will meet our expedition leader in the evening for a tour briefing.

On this day, we're heading to Same, with planned birding stops on the Maasai Steppes and in the South Pare Mountains. We'll be on the lookout for arid-zone birds in the Maasai Steppes, hoping to spot D'Arnaud's Barbet (Black-capped), Pringle’s Puffback, Acacia Tit, Pink-breasted Lark, Scaly Chatterer, and other species that call this area home.

Later, we'll move on to the South Pare Mountains, where we'll search for the South Pare White-eye, a bird found only in this particular mountain range. After our birding, we'll make our way to Same for the night.

Early morning, we will bird locally around the Mkomazi area, head back to the hotel for breakfast, and drive up to Magamba forest, West Usambara, for our next adventure for the rest of the day.

Full-day birding. We will explore the lush Magamba nature forest reserve in the West Usambara Mountains, looking for endemics such as the Usambara Akalat, Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, Usambara Weaver, Usambara Thrush, and other region specialities. 

Enjoy morning birding in Magamba before transferring to Amani Nature Reserve in the East Usambara Mountains. Spend the evening birding in the botanical garden. Overnight stay at Amani Rest House.

For the next two days, we'll be on the lookout for some of the region's most elusive native birds. This includes the Banded Green Sunbird, Usambara Akalat, Usambara Hyliota, Fischer’s Turaco, Green-headed Oriole, Mombasa Woodpecker, Spot-throat, Fraser's Eagle Owl (Usambara), Kretschmer's Longbill, Tanzanian Illadopsis, Long-billed Forest Warbler, and a host of others.

We will continue with our excursion in the morning and drive to Same Town evening for an overnight.

On the final day of our adventure, we'll make our way back to Moshi/Arusha, possibly stopping at the Nyumba ya Mungu dam, depending on your flight time. This will give us a chance to spot a wide variety of birds.

The area around the dam features dry Commiphora-Acacia woodland, which slopes down towards the lake. This diverse habitat allows us to see both shoreline and woodland birds.

After lunch, we'll say our goodbyes before heading to the airport or your hotel, ready for your next destination.