QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably 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. Queen Elizabeth National Park stretches the equator line; monuments on either side of the road marking the exact spot where it crosses latitude 00
Queen Elizabeth national park is located in the western part of Uganda laying between Lakes Gorge and Albert with the Kazinga Channel crossing through its 700 sq mile land area. The park was named after the Queen of England in 1954 following her visit.
Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, Queen Elizabeth national park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved sensationally into rolling green hills, embracing the 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.
Queen Elizabeth supports at least 95 species of mammals,it boasts of 20 carnivores like the Lion,Leopards, side stripped jackal and spotted hyena among others. Most of Queen Elizabeth comprises 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.
The main attractions of Queen Elizabeth national park
Tree Climbing Lions
Tree climbing lions have two populations of these unique lions in the whole world, by exploring the southern Ishasha sector to track these lions commonly seen up in the fig and acacia trees.
The Kazinga Channel
Kazinga chanel is a natural water channel which connects Lakes Albert and Gorge. Kazinga channel is home to a large number of hippos, Nile Crocodiles, elephants and hippos which can easily be seen on the thrilling Kazinga Boat Ride
Kasenyi Plains
The kasenyi plains are popularly visited by tourists on a Uganda Wildlife Safari as they are home to a very large number of antelopes, the Uganda Kobs, lions and several large predators
Kalinzu Forest
Kalinzu forest offers a very rewarding chimpanzee tracking experiences and it is located on the southeastern corner of the park. Chimpanzee tracking is done here.
The Kyambura Gorge
The green forested 100 meter deep valley is home to a large number of primates and popular for Chimpanzee families. Making it a top chimpanzee tracking point in Uganda.
Mweya Peninsular
This is a stretch of land that protrudes into Lake Edwards is commonly visited during game drives as it offers perfect game views while exploring the various game tracks. Also gives one of Uganda’s luxury accomodation with a breathtaking view in Mweysa safari lodge.
Lake Katwe Salt Works
In the alkaline Lake Katwe, salt mining works have been ongoing for several years since that is the main economic activity in the area. Consequently a large number of tourists visit here to learn and observe the traditional method of salt mining
The Katwe Explosion Crater Lakes
These lakes found in the northern part are found on the highest elevation of the park. from here tourists enjoy sweeping views of the Rwenzori Mountain ranges, the western rift valley escarpments
Best time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
The Dry season that runs from January to February and from June to September is considered the best time to visit with the peak safari time in Uganda being from June to September, while Migratory species arrive in August to December, and March to May offering the best birding time
Activities to do at Queen Elizabeth national park
Game drive
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best spots in Uganda for game drives! The Kasenyi Plains in the northeast of the park are an especially popular part of the park for animal spotting as you can find a dazzling abundance of game spread out in relatively plain view here.Some of the most notable creatures in this bushy plains region are lions, elephants, leopards, spotted hyenas, side-striped jackals, buffaloes, Ugandan kobs, bushbucks, topis and Defassa waterbuck.
A great rest stop during a Kasenyi Plains game drive is the pretty Bunyampaka Lake. This crater lake is a traditional salt mine site, like Katwe Lake. There are also cold drinks and handicrafts on sale at a handful of kiosks.
Boat Cruise
Queen Elizabeth National Park boat cruise is second to none, it takes you to the Kazinga Channel. It’s a real adventure to be able to enjoy animal-spotting from the water – one that allows you to see different animals up close.Kazinga Channel cuts across the game park, linking Lake Edward in the southwest with Lake George in the northeast. This natural channel allows water from the larger, much deeper Lake Edward to flow into the smaller, very shallow Lake George. The marshes around Lake George are a Ramsar Wetland.
Most folks who head out on a Kazinga Channel boat cruise spot many hippos, elephants, buffaloes and Nile crocodiles. You also see plenty of waterbirds, like flamingoes, pelicans, herons, storks, skimmers and kingfishers.Candelabra trees (Euphorbia candelabrum), which are large succulents, also grow in abundance along Kazinga Channel, and are a particularly striking sight.
Chimpanzee tracking at the Kyambura gorge
In the far east of the park is the 11 km-long and very pretty Kyambura Gorge. The gorge is yet another special ecosystem within the park, and one that’s home to a troop of chimpanzees!
A guided hike into the forested gorge is part of an exciting chimp tracking experience. As there’s only the one troop of chimps in Kyambura Gorge, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll see them on the hike.That said, a chimp tracking expedition is a fantastic outing regardless, as its appeal is not just about the chimps – it’s also a chance to go on a scenic hike within the park and explore a small but rich ecosystem.
Chimp tracking hikes into Kyambura Gorge take place in the morning and generally last two to three hours. You descend into the gorge and cross the river at various points over log bridges. If you’re lucky, you’ll hopefully see the chimps effortlessly gliding through the branches above you. During the hike, your guide will fill you in on all sorts of fascinating details about the chimps and their habitat.But of course one should be on the lookout for other wildlife besides the chimps! There are also other primates living in the gorge, namely olive baboons, red-tailed monkeys and black-and-white colobus monkeys. And there are other types of animals living here too, like side-striped jackals, giant forest hogs, waterbucks and jackals.The number of bird species to be found within this relatively small forest is incredible: nearly 350! These include the secretary bird, bar-tailed godwit, African finfoot, Chapin’s flycatcher, Ovampo sparrow hawk, black-rumped buttonquail, and blue-headed bee-eater.
Nature walk
Ranging from two to six hours, the hikes are lovely scenic outings. There are also two crater lakes on the edge of the rainforest which you can view on certain routes, the maramagambo forest gives you a very exciting experience of a nature walk.
Not only is the scenery a drawcard, but there’s also the chance to see some incredibly varied wildlife, and learn some interesting local history.
Maramagambo forest is home to various primates, namely vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, chimps, black-and-white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, blue monkeys, and l’Hoest’s monkeys.Maramagambo Forest has a cave filled with bats which visitors can view from a little distance. You could also potentially spot one of the pythons that like to visit the cave hoping for a bat meal.There are two nocturnal species living the forest: bush babies and pottos monkeys.
Maramagambo Forest is a truly great place for birdspotting. Species that can be found here include the bat hawk, papyrus canary, dark-capped yellow warbler, sulphur-breasted bush shrike, fawn-breasted waxbill, and eastern black-headed batis.
Your nature walk guide will also be sure to fill you on local legend and history, of which there’s quite a bit! For instance, the name Maramagambo means ‘end of words’; legend says a group of travellers got lost in the forest for many days, and when they finally emerged they were so tired and traumatised that they couldn’t even speak.
Visit the Ishasha sector and view the tree climbing lions
Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for being one of the few places in the world where lions like to climb and lounge about in trees. There are a few theories for why they do this, including the desire to escape insects and the heat. Whatever the reason, it’s a real treat to see a lion or more draped over the branches of a tree! They particularly like to climb and rest in fig, acacia and candelabra trees. It’s important to note that the region where the lions climb trees – Ishasha – is in the extreme south of the park. This is a very remote area, and it takes around three hours to drive there from Mweya. Given that most visitors would’ve already seen lions on Kasenyi Plains, and that you can’t of course even be guaranteed to find any tree-climbing lions on the day you visit, we don’t really recommend going there.
You can therefore extend a night in the Ishasha sector to have some resting time than driving more than six hours to and from.