Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda's second largest National Park that is located in southwestern Uganda in the Albertine Rift region. The park offers breathtaking landscapes and rich wildlife and is arguably one of the most beautiful parks in Africa! Established in 1952 as Kazinga National Park, the park was renamed two years later as Queen Elizabeth National Park to commemorate the visit of her royal highness Queen Elizabeth II of England. The park covers 1978 square kilometres of one of the most diverse ecosystem in Africa including series of crater lakes, lush forests, savannah grasslands, woodland and acacia harbouring a wide range of animal, plant and bird species. It is little wonder the park has been one of the most popular safari destinations in Uganda. It is also because it is easily accessible even with public means of transport. The park boosts as a UNESCO world heritage as well as an Important Bird Area. The park is in the region of rolling green plains, east of lake Edward and south of the Rwenzori mountains.
The park is home to over 95 mammal species, which are the main attraction of the visitors to the park. It inhabits thousands of hippos that populate the water shores of Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George to Lake Edward - known to have the largest herd of hippos. The park is an open savannah spread with acacia and euphorbia trees that provide a habitat for leopards, elephants, lions, Uganda kobs, Topi, hyenas, and big herds of buffaloes. Some of the big cats in the park are: lions, leopards, civets, genals and serval cats. The park has all the big five with the exception of the Rhinos. The park also hosts the Kyambura gorge, an 'underground' forest, 100m below the Kichwaba escarpment, which harbors ten primate species, including chimpanzees, olive baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, etc. A plethora of giant forest hogs, schools of hippos among others are usually seen in the tourist villages on the Mweya Penisula. The Mweya Penisula is found on the northern bank of the stunning Kazinga Channel where it merges with Lake Edward.
Queen Elizabeth national park is a birdwatchers haven with over 600 bird species and is an important Birding Area (IBA) by Birding International. It has the highest number of birds found in any protected area in East Africa. Lake Munyanyange adjacent to the park is a bird sanctuary as well as a migratory location for the lesser flamingo from August to November. Other areas for birdwatching include the Kasenyi plains, launch cruise on Kazinga channel and Kyambura gorge.
Queen is also gifted with the Maramagambo forest which hosts a variety of monkeys and birds. Inaddition to this, the park is also punctuated with a various plains; Kasenyi and Ishasha plains that offer scenic views of wildlife. It is within the Ishasha sector of the park that one can find the tree climbing lions. To compliment the biodivesity, the park is also decorated by the Kazinga channel, a grandeur that connects Lake George and Lake Edward, altogether offering spectacular sights of hippos and other widlife. It is this interplay of the forested landscapes, water sources and magnificent plains that makes Queen Elizabeth National Park a very exceptional destination.
In addition to the amazing wildlife, Queen Elizabeth has a rich cultural history with a lot of fishing villages adjacent to the park. Being a biosphere reserve (allowing conservation and human activities within the protectd area,) the park glows with a number of fishing villages like Hamukungu. This avails visitors with opportunities of engaging with local communities and enjoying the stories, music and dance. The visitors can get to engage in the daily activities of the locals like harvesting and cooking a quick vegetable meal and making crafts. All this helps one acquire a perfect understanding of the African tradition.
Numerous crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth give incredible scenery. Have stopovers at Nyamununka crater lake also known as the hospital for animals, many visit it to have their wounds treated or the aging animals for its waters that contain Sulphur. Take a trip to the salt mining craters, Lake Katwe or Lake Bunyampaka. Enjoy the sun set over Lake Edward and Rwenzoris in the backdrop. Search for the famous tree-climbing lions found in Ishasha the southern sector of the park
Access Queen Elizabeth national park from Entebbe international airport using scheduled/charter flights. Otherwise, Queen Elizabeth national park is majorly reached by two routes; Kampala to kikolongo via fortportal and kasese as well as Kampala to kyambura via Mbarara and ishaka which take approximately 7 - 8 hours. The kampala- Kasese via Mbarara route is decorated with different National Parks, starting from Lake mburo, Kibale National park among others. It is somewhere along these routes that the lengthy distance finally reveals to you yet another eco-region that has seen thick and thin over the years.
The climate within the park is conducive. Since Queen Elizabeth National Park is near the equator, the place experiences uniformly warm temperatures throughout the year and two rainy seasons. The area is usally wet during March to May and September to December. During this time, the park's environment is usually beautiful and offers chances of watching migratory birds. However, the best time to visit the park is during the dry season that happens between December to February and June to September.
The activities in this park include; Bird Watching, Cultural/Community Experiences, Chimpanzee Tracking in the Kyambura Gorge, Game Drives, Boat Safaris on Kazinga Channel, Lion Experiential Tourism, Nature and Forest Walks.
Safari Example:
3 Days Queen Elizabeth Park Safari
Activities
Hot Air Balloon Safari at QENP
Hot air ballooning is a fairly new activity at Queen Elizabeth National Park introduced in 2015 by Uganda Balloon Safari Ltd, an experienced company licensed by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority to conduct its activities at the park. Hot air ballooning is one of those activities that is predicted to increase the popularity of Queen Elizabeth national park, especially as a honey moon destination. It is a riveting activity that seldom exceeds one hour. The 45-60 minutes flight offers by far the most spectacular views of the park. The hot air balloon carries you high above the ground, giving a birds' eye view of the entire park; its diverse vegetation zones, huge animal herds, and beautiful waters. Hot air ballooning takes place at the Kasenyi plains. Passengers are required to be at the takeoff spot as early as 5:30 am. The flight takes about 45 minutes before the passengers disembark for bush breakfast organised by Mweya safari lodge. A single balloon can accommodate up to 16 passengers making it one of the most exciting group activities at the park.
Salt Lake Visits
Where else in the world will you possibly find salty water lakes and fresh water lakes in the same catchment area? Lake Katwe in Kasese district is one of the key features that give the park its outstanding status. The lake has a distinctively attractive basin-like appearance with rectangular salt extraction cages extending from its lightly forested shores.
Salt has been extracted from the lake for about 500 years now. Ellington safaris has intelligent and well-informed our guides that will explain the salt mining process in depth and give you first hand inforation about the area. Just close to the lake (2 km away) is another crater lake, Lake Munyangange, Uganda's top salt water bird sanctuary. The lake is a habitat for a variety of bird species, the most striking of which is the lesser flamingo. Oher birds found at the lake include; black tern, pied advocate, lesser black backed gulls and black winged stilt.
Kazinga Channel Boat Safari
Popularly regarded as the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kazinga Channel is a 32-kilometre long beautiful stream that joins two lakes; Lake Edward to the west and Lake George to the east. Standing on its banks at the Mweya peninsula, it is nearly impossible to tell which direction the channel flows due to the calm deportment of its waters. The channel is shallow with a depth of between 3 – 4 meters, with the deepest end estimated at 8 meters. Boat cruises are conducted on the channel in shifts throughout the day; after lunch between 3 to 5 pm and between 11am and 1 pm basing on your preference. However, additional expeditions can sometimes be done when the number of tourists is high. Visitors are required to book early. The Kazinga boat cruise is best opportunity to observe a wide range of wildlife like semi-aquatic animals such as Hippopotamus at close range and big numbers. This natural habitant has one of the largest population of hippos in the whole world as well as a plentiful Nile crocodiles. Other animals and birds species are neither missed out on this amazing boat safari. Over 100 speices of birds flock the kazinga channel with examples like the Fish Eagles, Skimmers, Egrets, Pelicans among others Elephants, buffalos, watersbucks, antelopes and other grazers like to feed and cool down on the channel's verdant banks in the sweltering afternoons.
This Kazinga channel boat safari usually lasts for two hours and offers wonderful experiences to many visitors. Initiated in 1952, the boat safari is conducted by experienced guides who keep dissipating relevant information throughout the safari. By the end of the boat safari, you will know all the history and different facts about the Kazinga channel as well as the neighbouring communities. Getting to this grandeur is easy when one locates the mweya peninsula, which is found 20km west of the Kasese-Mbarara road.The best time to visit the kazinga channel on a safari is during the dry season, when the animals usually converge in the area for a bath and a drink. Make sure you bring a camer along to take photographs.
Bird Watching at QENP
Uganda is gifted with a plethora of bird species. The country hosts over 1061 bird species, which is over 50% of Africa's bird richness. For many interested in a birdwatching safari, Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the country's premium birdwatching destinations. The park is home to over 600 different species of birds, which is highest of any EastAfrican National Park, given a size of 1,978 km2 The extensive game park is reputed to be among the world's top five protected conservation areas with the highest diversity of bird species. Bird populations are evenly distributed across the park's diverse vegetation zones and water catchment areas, each vegetation field accommodating its own bird species. Because of such factors, the park is labelled an Important Bird Area by Birding International. In 1977, a Queen Elizabeth National Park observatory area was established for research on resident and migratory birds.For lack of space we cannot list all the bird species found in the park, but here are a few examples which fall in about five key groups: Rift valley endemics, riverine forest birds, savannah woodland birds, salt water birds, fresh water birds, migratory birds and lots of other categories.
An unsorted list of the park's bird species will likely feature the following birds: Dark Chanting Goshawk, Martial Eagle, Grey-crowned Crane, Gull-billed Turn, Eurasian Roller, White-throated Beeeater, Northern Carmine Beeeater, Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Crested Francolin, Red-necked Spur Fowl, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Stock, Sacred Ibis, Hadada Ibis, African Spoon Bill, Great White Egret, Great White Pelican, White-backed Vulture, Ruppel's Griffon Vulture, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, the Grassland African Pipit, Yellow-throated Long Claw, African Pied Wagtail, Village Black-headed Weaver, Spectacled Weaver, and hundreds of others. Bird watching is usually done as a joint activity during game drives, chimp tracking, crater lake tours, boat cruise on Kazinga channel or a visit to Katwe Salt Lake.
The park can be visited any time of the year and provides great chances to watch a variety of birds. However, migratory birds are mostly seen between November and April. Some of the popular spots for birdwatching within the park include: Maramagambo forest area, Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector, Mweya peninsula, Lake kikorongo and lake katwe areas and katuguru areas among others.
Game Drives at QENP
Recognized as the park with the highest number of mammal species in Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park is an outstanding location for both morning, sunset and night game drives. Night game drives are organized for passionate tourists who wish to see the park's top predators at close range. The probability of seeing Leopards, Lions, spotted hyenas, Jackals, bush dogs, serval and other wild cats is higher at night. Grazers, primates, horned angulates, and wild pigs are the most accessible during the day. Hippopotamus, Elephants, cape buffalo, topi, water buck, Uganda Kob, Bohor reedbuck, bush buck, are all perfectly visible during the morning or evening game drive at the Kasenyi plains. Sometimes our safari vans have to wait for several minutes as a buffalo herd cross the trails. What adjectives could possibly describe the imposing sight of an enormous elephant herd crossing elegantly form shrub to shrub looking for the most succulent leaves!
The southern sector of the park, Ishasha, is famously known for its tree-climbing lions that are an exceptional attraction and one among the major highlights on all safaris taken within Queen Elizabeth National park. Here the lions are constantly spotted hanging on braches of huge fig trees. So be alert and observe all trees carefully as you drive through this beautiful savannah landscape.
Chimpanzee Tracking at QENP
In the eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park the stunning Kyambura Gorge is found surrounded by savannah landscape. The 12 km long and 1 km wide gorge is covered with dense forest. Down in the gorge flows the Kayambura River. The gorge is also known as 'the valley of apes' due to a small population of chimpanzees inhabiting the forest, which has been habituated for tourism. Chimps normally stay in groups known as troops, of about 30 – 80 and is estimated that over 24 chimpanzees in Kyambura gorge are habituated for tourism. You will also enjoy more within the atmosphere and ecosystems of Kyambura Gorge that contains numerous bird species, chimpanzees and monkeys. A plethora of plant species and vegetation that is highlighted by tall trees can also be spotted within the area.
When doing the chimp tracking at thick Kyambura Gorge forest, visitor enter a different world. From a distance the loud calls of the chimp will lead you the way right towards them. You are allowed to observe them for one hour before heading back to the starting point. In the gorge you are likely to encounter many other species of animals such as elephants, buffalos, bushbucks, primates and sometimes even lions, which come down to the river to drink and cool down.
While at the Kyambura gorge, tours last between two to three hours and start at 8am and 2pm daily. The chimps can be visited twice a day by a maximum of 6 people. Chimpanzee trekking is a very fascinating experience, involving you witnessing the activities of humans close relatives, sharing over 98 percent of their DNA with humans. The average weight of an adult male chimpanzee is estimted between 35 and 70 kilograms, with a height of approximately 3 meters while the adult female weighs between 26 and 50 kilograms with a height of between 2 and 4 feet. A chimpanzee’s life expectancy is at 40 years whereas that for those living in captivity can extend up to 60 years. A permit is required before engaging in the activity and reservations for Chimpanzee tacking are actually made at Mweya Visitor Information Centre. Currently, the chimpanzee trekking permit at Kyambura gorge costs USD 50 and this money is exclusive of the park entrance fees. This is however cheaper as compared to the cost at Kibale National Park. Other than the chimps, Kyambura goge also hosts various species of primates that include the black & white Colobus monkeys, olive baboons and the red tailed monkeys among others.
Crater Drive
One of the most beautiful parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park is the crater area. This part of the park is interspersed with many craters, some of which are covered by savannah, dense forest of filled with water and create beautiful crater lakes. From there you have a spectacular view of whole park, which should not be missed out.
If times allow, we recommend to bring along some drinks and snacks for a picnic break while enjoying the sunset in this scenic landscape.
Lion Experiential
Spice up your game drive and book the Lion Experiential. Accompanied by the park's 'Cat Doctor' you will leave the main tracks and drive on unbeaten tracks to get as close to the lions as possible. Learn interesting facts from the carnival doctor about the park's lions and have the opportunity to see the doctor in action, when he changes colars or checks on his lions.
A truly morable experience for all 'Big Cat Lovers'. The experiece enables you to learn more about the lions in a unique and more detailed way.
The experience is an initiative of Uganda Carnivore Program, which is an organisation dedicated to the monitoring, research, and conservation of predators in Uganda. The lions, which usually exist in a pride of between 3-25 individuals are usually representatively radio collared and tracked by the use of telemetry and geo fencing technology, something which presents a nearly 99% chance of seeing them. To avoid placing pressure and stress on the animals, only a limited number of people are allowed to take part in the activity. This experience of lion tracking usually lasts from between 1 to three hours (depending on a number of factors) and is scheduled either in the early morning or evening! During this experience, you are always advised to take note of nocturnal vocalizations or roars and their intensity, including hyena calls and any other distress calls from prey. At the end of the experience, you would have collected a number of skills that are used in lion tracking that include the identification of their territory using scent and scraping the ground with their hind feet among others. You would also have gained some knowledge of their group dynamics, composition and behaviors.
In order to take part in the experience, one is required to pay 50 USD to Uganda Wildlife Authority Information centre and 10 USD to the Uganda Carnivore Program. However, these payments are do not include the entry fees and you're advised to book in advance!
