Queen Elizabeth National Park is found in the Western Region of Uganda, covering the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri. The park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park but was renamed two years later after the visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England to Queen Elizabeth national park to commemorate the visit. The park occupies an estimate of 1,978 square kilometers which extends from Lake George in the north-east to Lake Edward in the south-west and includes the Kazinga Channel connecting the two lakes. The kazinga channel has the largest concentration of hippos worldwide.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination because its well-known for various wildlife species, including African buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, Nile crocodile, African bush elephant, African leopard, lion, and chimpanzee and It is a home to approximately 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species. Queen Elizabeth national park can be accessed either by a road most easily from Kampala via Mbarara town and Bushenyi which leads to the center of the park, passing just 22 km from Mweya Peninsula, the main tourism hub. Approaching the park from the south via Mbarara covers a distance of 420km while the north via Fort Portal covers a total of 410 km. Using a domestic flight from Entebbe to either kasese or mweya airstrips which all end up in queen Elizabeth national park.
En-route to the park, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy short by-passes to Lake Mburo National Park, Rwenzori Mountains and Kibale National Park, renowned for its chimpanzee tracking. The park can also be accessed from the south from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Activities in queen Elizabeth national park.
Game drives. For a classic African safari experience, a game drive via the North Kazinga Plains and the Ishasha Sector offer virtually guaranteed buffalo, antelope and elephant sightings, along with warthogs and baboons. Having an experienced guide in the early morning or an evening game drive is the most successful way to track down a pride of lions, and maybe even the odd leopard. Queen’s most elusive inhabitants are its felines: lion, leopard, civet, genal and serval cats. Lions are found throughout the park, but the most renowned which are tree climbing lions live in the southern sector of Ishasha, where they rest on the limbs of fig trees. Solitary leopards are nocturnal and fiendishly well camouflaged, making a glimpse all the more rewarding! The smaller cats are also predominantly nocturnal and best spotted on night game drives.
Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions. Somewhat off the beaten track in the far southern sector of the park, Ishasha is famous for its population of tree-climbing lions. It’s one of the few places in Africa where lions are known to hang out in trees (you’ll find them in Kidepo National Park too) and are often found lazing on the sprawling limbs of fig trees during the heat of the day. Generally, the best time to spot them is outside the usual safari drive times (11am to 5pm, basically when they’re not hunting). If it’s wet, the lions generally won’t climb.
Launch cruise at the kazinga channel. The Kazinga Channel is a haven for many captivating species that inhabit the park, and taking a boat cruise which usually lasts for 2 hours along gives visitors the chance to see hundreds of enormous yawning hippos, water bucks and buffalos while elephants linger on the shoreline.
Birding. Queen Elizabeth national park was classified as an Important Birding Area by Birding International due to having the great variety of habitats that range from savannah, wetlands to lowlands. it is home to approximately 600 bird species which is the greatest of any East African national park, and a phenomenal number for such a small area. A majority of the birds found in this area are regarded as famous birds of East Africa and are a must see for birdwatchers in Africa
Chimpanzee tracking in the kyambura gorge. The Kyambura Gorge experience is more than discovering chimpanzees in their natural environment, Vervet and black-and-white colobus monkeys are easily spotted in the trees, but the boldest of all are the baboons. This teaches visitors about the ecosystems of Kyambura Gorge’s atmospheric “underground” rainforest, including vegetation types, bird identification and behavior, and chimp and monkey ecology.
Nature walks. Nature treks are one of the more active ways to explore the landscapes and wildlife of Queen Elizabeth for example the shady Maramagambo forest, Mweya Peninsula with its scenic views, and Ishasha River, where you may spot a variety of forest and savanna species as well as having a unique opportunity to be in close proximity to the hippos on foot.
Katwe explosion- crater lake drive. The huge round basins scattered across the equator are evidence of the Albertine Rift’s bubbling volcanic activity in times past. A past which was not that long ago and occurred around the time the Egyptian pyramids were built. The explosion craters are a must-see for those with a particular interest in the region’s fascinating geological history. Even National Geographic has found this a fascinating area and has published pictures of it.
The 27km drive between Kabatoro gate and Queen’s Pavilion takes in views of the enormous craters, circular lakes, the vast Rift Valley escarpment and the Kazinga channel, Lake George and Lake Edward – all with a view of the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon.
Visit lake katwe salt work. This unusual lake is far too salty to support much wildlife – though since the 16th Century it has ensured the survival of the Katwe villagers, who spend their days under the equatorial sun, walking to the lake and harvesting salt from its milky waters.
The work here is dangerous since the saline waters do much damage to the body of those who spend all day in the lake harvesting the salt which at one time was like gold and brought wealth to the area, however today the salt from Katwe does not bring wealth since times have changed and salt is readily available from various sources.
Katwe Salt Lake Tour gives a unique insight into the fascinating yet tough process of salt mining, as well as providing an alternative income for Katwe. See villagers at work on the lake, cross the mud walkways and enter a traditional grass hut. You will also pass the nearby bird sanctuary lake, home to thousands of birds, including flamingos from October to May.
ACCOMMODATION
Queen Elizabeth National Park has a good variety of lodging to suit all budgets, both inside the park and on its periphery. The best place to stay is a lodge or campsite inside the park – this gives the best chance to see wild animals, as dawn and dusk are both fruitful times for a safari.