Mabamba swamp extends across more than 100km² from a shallow marshy bay on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This large papyrus swamp is listed as an Important Bird Area (IBA) and provides a haven for approximately 300 species of birds, including the papyrus gonolek, red-chested sunbird and the magnificent shoebill.

Most exciting on this excursion, of course, is the chance to see the impressive shoebill. Mabamba swamp is now possibly the most reliable place to see this rare and most sought after bird.

Mabamba wetland can be accessed using a speed boat or a motorized canoe from Entebbe's waterfront and this takes about 45 minutes each way. The swamp is laced with navigable channels which you explore in dugout canoes with the excellent help of a local guide (on arrival at Mabamba swamp you disembark from the speedboat and board a dugout canoe which can easily maneuver through the channels and papyrus).