Whether you’re a seasoned safari goer or a first time traveler, there are a variety of reasons as to why you should visit Queen Elizabeth National park. It is the oldest park in Uganda garzetted in 1952 to protect and preserve the wildlife around. Located in the western part of Uganda and covers bout 1,978 square kilometers of land. This makes it the second largest national park after Murchison Falls.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations because of its beautiful scenery and diverse wildlife attracting tourists from all over the world. The park is home to a wide range of species including trees, animals, birds, savannah and the hardwood. It hosts about 95 mammal species, 600 bird species plus a lot more to offer to make your journey memorable and adventurous.
There are several reasons as to why you should visit Queen Elizabeth National Park and among them include;
Game Drives
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are one of the top remarkable Uganda safari activities you should experience. It’s one of the best ways to witness wildlife including four(4) of the (5) big animals in the park. The park has places where game drives mainly take place and that is the Kasenyi plains and Mweya plains due to their high concentration of animal species. Kasenyi plains are famous because of the large number of Uganda kobs which attract lions, leopards and spotted hyenas. It is easy to access as it is adjacent to the main road. Kasenyi also has other interesting features like Lake George, craters and lots of birds
The Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are twice a day. In the morning from 6:30 to 10:30 and in the evening from 4:30 and is one of the exciting time of the safari as you watch leopards in trees protecting their catch, lots of Uganda kobs and waterbucks grazing, large herds of buffalos in many areas of the park, herds of elephants and warthogs. Those who go for the morning drive get a chance to catch the sunrise which is very colorful and those who head out for an evening game drive also capture very stunning views of the sundowner.
Boat Cruise
Queen Elizabeth national park has a large number of mammal species in the park, the boat cruise is one of the perfect ways to explore the whole life at a glance as you sail along the Kazinga channel. The Kazinga Channel is one of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s most spectacular sites and one of the water bodies in the park. It is a 32 km wide channel that connects lake George to lake Edward. The Kazinga Channel attracts most of the large mammals in the park which gather for swimming, eating and grazing along the shores, making it a great spot for watching wildlife.
The Kazinga channel hosts the largest number of hippopotamus, the world’s three highest in the world, visitors can also see Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, lions, monitor lizards and many antelope species along the Channel shores. A boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel also offers the best birding experiences in the park with over 58 species that harbor along the shores such as African Shoebill, African Skimmers, Black Bee Eaters, Black Crake, Crested Crane, Darters, Great and Long Tailed Cormorants, Great White and Pink-Backed Pelicans, Jacana, Marabou Stork, Open-Billed Stork, Pink-Backed Pelicans, Saddle Bill Stork and Yellow Billed Stork.
The wide range of animals and the Kazinga Channel’s birds made a boat cruise along the channel one of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s top activities. It has also helped to become the most visited Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. The cruise cost $30 and takes place in two sessions between 9 a.m in the morning and lasts for 3 hours while the afternoon starts at 2:00 pm and lasts for 3 hours up to 5 p.m. respectively.
Kyambura chimp trekking
Uganda is the primate capital of Africa. This is because of the several sites for chimpanzee trekking in the country. This activity is done in Kibale Forest, Budongo forest, Kyambura gorge and Kalinzu forest. These offer an opportunity to travelers who have interest in visiting the habituated chimpanzee families.
Lion tracking experience
This is another way of watching lions in the Kasenyi plains of Queen Elizabeth national park. Besides the usual game drives, this is more less a research about these predators in the area. Radio collars are placed in the necks of lions for easily monitoring of their movements. Researcher will explain to you the different things about the behaviors of these lions.
Lion tracking is done in the morning (8am) hours and is guided by a researcher. The activity involves searching for the location of the lions, learning about their behaviors and viewing them. Unlike the usual game drive, lion tracking is done by a few people. A lion tracking permit costs $50 for foreign tourists and UGX100,000 for citizens of East Africa.
Bird watching safaris
With over 1,000 bird species, Uganda is the best birding destination in Africa. It has vast places that offer extremely high satisfaction for the experience. Queen Elizabeth is one the places that offer extraordinary birding experiences. The park hosts over 600 bird species which are in several places. These include savannah, forests, wetlands and bushes and thickets and therefore a good destination for birders. Kazinga Channel is one of the places where several birds are seen. Common bird sightings at this site include Pied kingfishers, African fish eagle, Water-thick knee, Spoon-billed stork, Hammerkop, and African Jacana. Also, Great egrets, Little egret, Egyptian geese, Pink and White backed pelicans, Malachite kingfisher and many others.
Nature walks
With nature walks, you get the best of hidden treasures within Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Nature walks are done in Maramagambo forest, Kyambura Gorge, and Mweya peninsular.
The Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
The best time to visit queen Elizabeth national park is during the dry season. This runs from June to October and also December to February when there is little or no rain. During this season, it is easier to access the park through the tracks leading to the inner parts of Kasenyi. The steep slops and sides of Kyambura gorge are also much easier to climb during the dry season.
How to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth national park is located in southwestern Uganda in many districts. These are Kamwenge, Rubirizi, Ibanda, Rukungiri and Kasese along the western arm of the east African rift valley. The park is very accessible by either road or air transport.
By Road
It takes about 6 hours to reach Queen Elizabeth national park on the Masaka-Mbarara-Kasese highway. There is an option of passing via Mityana-Fort Portal-Kasese highway which takes about 8 hours. This route offers a chance to view this beautiful tourism city which is also the cleanest town in Uganda.
By flight
Charter aircrafts operate from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi to Mweya airstrip. You can also choose to land in Kasese airfield and drive to Queen Elizabeth national park for about an hour.