Queen Elizabeth National Park
Known as the Medley Of Wonders, Queen Elizabeth National Park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by the Late Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Park is home to over 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species. It covers an area of 1,978km² and is located in Kasese District.
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Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. The park’s diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes, and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for a classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees, and over 600 species of birds.
Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, Buffalo, and Elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob.
Flora And Fauna
Queen Elizabeth National Park comprises of open grassland and savannah which tends to be moist and woody in the west than the Eastern part, Thorny Acacia dominates this savannah habitant with the high concentration of candelabra shrub a cactus that grows along the kazinga channel and on the kasenyi plains.
Queen Elizabeth National Park harbours over 95 mammal species and boasts 20 carnivores like the Lion, Leopard, Side Striped Jackal and spotted hyena among others. It’s also known for its high populations of hippos which is at over 5,000, Elephants at over 3,000, Cape Buffaloes at over 10,000. Other mammal species that can be found in Queen Elizabeth National Park include Waterbucks, Warthogs, Uganda kobs, Topis among other.
It also hosts chimpanzees which can be found in the Kyambura Gorge.
Things To Do While In The Park
- Game Drive
Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are so rewarding as you have an opportunity to spot any different types of mammal and bird species. Queen Elizabeth National Park being a home to over 95 mammal species, many mammals can be sighted such as Elephants, Lions, Buffaloes, Leopards, Uganda kobs , Topis, Oribis, Jackson Hartebeest, Leopards, hyenas,warthogs, bushbucks, Waterbucks among others.
- Boat Cruise on the Kazinga Channel
The boat cruise on the Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park is a two hours ride which gives visitors and opportunity to see and come closer a variety of wildlife such as buffaloes, hippos, elephants and many bird species.
- Chimpanzee Tracking
Chimpanzees Tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is done in the Kyambura Gorge and it’s one of the activities done in the park. Here tourists track chimpanzees in the gorge and when they have identified a group, they spend one hour with them. Also other types of primates can be seen in the gorge such as the Vervet monkeys, baboons , white and black colobus monkeys among others.
- Bird Watching
Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to over 600 bird species thereby being one of the great spots for the bird lovers to sight many different bird species such as Flamingos, Shoebill Stork, African Skimmer, Double toothed barbet, Palm nut vulture, Black Headed Gonolek, Saddle Billed Stork, the Martial Eagle, Grey crowned crane, Black Headed Weaver, Grey crowned Heron, Lappet Faced Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, White Browed Coucal, Common WaxBill, Helmeted Guineafowl, Piping Hornbill, Yellow Rumped Tinkerbird, African Fish Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, African Finfoot and many others.
- Nature WalksThese guided nature walks in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be carried out in Maramagambo Forest, the Kyambura Gorge, the Mweya Peninsula and a hike along the Ishasha River.
- Hot Air Balloon SafarisThis is one of the two National Parks in Uganda where you can take a Hot Air Balloon Safari, rise at dawn over the savannah and watch the sun rise and then glide over the park above the treetops where you can see the most wildlife from below.
Tourist Attractions
- The Tree Climbing Lions of Ishasha
The Ishasha Sector has the famous tree climbing lions that climb up the fig trees and acacia trees.
- The Kazinga Channel
The Kazinga Channel is a wide, 32km long nature channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George. It’s one of the popular tourist attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
- Kyambura Gorge
Often referred to as the Valley Of Apes. It’s one of the tourist attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park where tourists who wish to do Chimpanzee tracking can encounter chimpanzees and other primates species.
- The Mweya Peninsula
The peninsula juts out into Lake Edward & from its shores, you see the vast expanse of the lake, the lush green hills of the Rwenzori Ranges & the winding Kazinga Channel. It’s truly a stunning sight.
- Lake Katwe
It’s known for its high salt concentration and has a rich history of salt mining by the local communities
- The Kasenyi Plains and Lake George
The open savanna of Kasenyi is the best setting of real African safari experience with dream photographic opportunity of the Uganda Kob breeding ground that attract lions, warthogs grazing down on their knees, large dark elephants, buffaloes and numerous grassland bird species.
- The Equator
It’s a perfect spot for pictures in Queen Elizabeth National Park where the earth separates itself into two hemispheres which is the North and Southern Hemisphere.
- The Swamp between Lake George and Kikorongo.
Birding enthusiasts consider this is one of the best spots for you to sight the rare shoebill stork and many native birds and endemics like papyrus gonolek and papyrus warbler and white winged warbler and during the northern winter big number of migrant waders and waterfowl.
How To Get To The Park
Most travellers choose a Uganda Safari to be able to visit the various destinations inclusive of Queen Elizabeth National Park which is one of the most sought after parks in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth National Park is between the Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri districts in southwestern Uganda and can be accessed both by air and road according to the traveller’s preference.
- By Road
- Kampala to Mbarara to Bushenyi The tarmac road from Kampala via Mbarara town and Bushenyi leads to the centre of the park and covers a distance of 420 km while the north through Fort Portal covers a total of 410 km to the Mweya Peninsula, the main tourism hub.
- Kampala to Kasese to Fort Portal to Bushenyi The park can be accessed on the tarmac road through Mbarara to Kasese to Fort Portal covering a distance of 410 km. The park is 5-6 hours from Kampala on the road via Mbarara.
- Queen Elizabeth national park can also be reached from Bwindi National Park via Ishasha sector, which is south of the park and takes 2-3 hours and 3-4 hours to Mweya sector from Bwindi.
- By Air
Queen Elizabeth National Park is also accessible by air through the nearby airstrips of Kasese, Mweya or Ishasha by scheduled flight or chartered aircraft from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield. Aerolink flies from Entebbe to Kihihi Airstrip everyday, which is convenient for visiting both Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Where to stay
Elizabeth National Park has a wide range of Accommodation options ranging from luxury( high end) to mid range to budget lodges to make sure every traveller is catered for. Examples of the lodges in Queen Elizabeth National Park include; Elephant Plains Lodge,Kikorongo Safari Lodge,Simba Safari Camp,Mweya Safari Lodge,Katara Lodge,Buffalo Safari Lodge,Kyambura Gorge Lodge Kingfisher Safari Lodge,Kyangabi Crater Lodge,Elephant Hab Safari Lodge,Park View safari Lodge,Engiri Game Lodge,Irungu Forest Safari Lodge,Bush Lodge,Aardvark Safari Lodge,Twin Lakes Safari Lodge,Enganzi Game Lodge,Marafiki Safari Lodge
- Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
This park is open all through the year though game viewing is at its best during the dry season of January to February and June to August where most of the game converges near the water sources. During the rainy seasons of April, May and September to October, some roads are slippery and impassable though this is the perfect time to conduct a Birding Safari. The park is located directly on the equator, lying on the rift valley at an altitude range of 480m to 1390m. At a low altitude the temperatures range from 18°C to 28°C receiving heavy rains of about 1250mm during the rainy months of March-May and September-November.