Things to Do & See in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Things to Do & See in Queen Elizabeth National Park : Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular visited safari destination in Uganda because it harbors a diversity of wildlife species over 95 mammal species including rare tree-climbing lions, spotted hyenas, sitatunga, Serval cats, Mongooses, leopards, large forest pigs, hippos, Buffaloes, elephants, crocodiles, Jackal, genial, black and white colobus monkeys, spotted hyenas, waterbuck, warthogs, topi, Uganda Kobs among other,600 species of birds and primate’s species among others. More to that, the park is located in the western part of Uganda in the districts of Kamwenge, Rubirizi, Rukungiri, and Kasese, approximately a 5 to 6 hours drive. Visitors who wish to avoid the long driving time from Entebbe can use a chartered flight from Kajjansi airstrip or ‘’EBBE’’ Entebbe International Airport to airstrips in Ishasha, Kasese, or Mweya ‘’lands at 1:20hour’’. On that day of landing tour operator usually send a driver-guide to wait for the clients and transfer them from the airstrip to the park or the booked lodge. Despite this, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest game park after Murchison Falls National Park which covers an area of about 1,978 square kilometers and was created in 1952 as a gazette national park. The visit of the British Queen Elizabeth 11 who visited the park in the early 1950s impressed the government and had to change the name of the park in her honor before it was named Kazinga National park and changed into Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park;

Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most remarkable places that justify the description of Uganda being ‘’the Pearl of Africa’’. Its beautiful scenery stuns with rewarding forests, woodlands, savanna, swamps, lakes, rivers, craters, gorges, and scenic landscapes. The international visitors who visit this park will never run short of activities. They might find it difficult to complete them.

Here are the major attractions to see and do on a visit including nature walks, game drives, chimpanzee trekking, boat cruises, and bird watching.

Game Drive Viewing

This is the main activity of the tourists who visit the park through engaging in the game drive here, you will be allowed to see the biggest number of mammals you would see in Tanzania Serengeti and enjoy beautiful scenery and landscape that is comprised of forests, savanna grassland, swamp lands, acacia woods, crater lakes, gorges, and nearby Rwenzori mountain. The game drive experience can take about 3 to 4 hours and there are three sectors where the game drive can be carried out; the Kasenyi plains, near Kazinga Channel, the Ishasha sector home for tree climbing lions, or the Katwe crater fields. The crater lakes region has a scenic landscape with large craters and salt lakes that were formed thousands of years ago. The crater’s grounds attract a lot the flamingos and classic bird species which are best visited in the drier season. The Kasenyi plains in the northern part of the park are rewarding because are the best places to adventure wildlife in the park. Kasenyi plains also attract other species like antelope species, buffaloes, and elephants and predators like hyenas and lions thus making it the perfect place to watch the battles between the big cats and herbivores animals, Things to Do & See in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Note; There are three sessions for a game drive –morning, afternoon, and Night game drive. The game drive is fabulous in all sectors you choose to visit which are being led by guides and park ranges to the best adventure for gaming from the safety and comfort of a four-wheel drive car.  The morning session is quite rewarding that allows you to observe the night hunters like hyenas and leopards retreating to their dens after feasting on the night’s kill.

Night game drive is also a perfect experience for watching lions hunting for their ‘’food’ ’antelopes’’, leopards, and Hyenas making a kill while also spotting the night savanna birds. Note, all payments are made at the information Central in Mweya or at the park gates.

Bird watching

Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the stopping safari destinations for birding as it hosts various bird species with over 600 bird species which are an inhabitant of Budongo, the Kazinga Channel, the plains, craters, and gorges like Kyambura among others. From November to Aprils millions of migratory birds can be spotted which come to escape the harsh winter in Europe making the park a true birders’ haven.  Among the bird species to encounter includes  White-tailed Lark,White-winged Warbler ,White-winged Terns ,Winding and Carruthers’s Cisticolas ,Yellow backed weavers, Yellow wagtails ,Yellow throated Cuckoo ,Swamp Fly-catcher ,Spur-winged and African wattled Plovers ,Spotted Redshank ,Slenderer-tailed Mourning Dove ,Slender-billed ,Shoebill stork ,Sedge warbles ,Verreaux Eagle Owl ,Swamp Fly-catcher ,Malachite and pied Kingfishers ,Little stint , Lesser Masked weavers ,Lesser and Greater Flamingo ,Knob-billed Ducks ,Jack Snipe ,Pink-backed pelican , Papyrus Gonolek ,Open-billed stork among others, Things to Do & See in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Boat Cruise

This boat cruise is organized along the Kazinga Channel Which is one of the best places to view wildlife in Africa. This channel connects Lake George to Lake Edward and is the main point for spotting most of the animals in the park gather to drink water, hunt, and bathe. The boat cruise takes place on the Kazinga channel that impresses many visitors on Safari in Queen Elizabeth national park. Along the boat cruise you will be able to sightsee hippos, water birds, crocodiles, and other animals can be seen on the water banks like elephants, antelopes, buffaloes, and leopards which can be seen drinking water in the shallow ends of the channel.

Spotting Tree Climbing Lions

The park is among the few places to spot these unique tree-climbing lions which can be spotted in Ishasha sectors. They can be adventured while hanging on fig trees after hunting in the morning or during the afternoon heat. Apart from seeing the tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, other animals to see include; warthogs, buffaloes, and herds of elephants among others. Note Ishasha sector is a short route that leads tourists on a visit here to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Chimpanzee Trekking –Kyambura Gorge

Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be tracked in Kyambura gorge which is a valley found in the western sections of the park. The gorge is 16 kilometers long,100 meters deep, and 500 meters wide, home to a variety of primates including Black and white colobus, Red tailed monkeys, baboons many more. The activity starts early morning with a briefing about the dos and don’ts of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking can take 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on their movements in the forests.

Once you find them one hour is given to you to watch chimpanzees and learn about their lifestyle, and behavior and take photography.

Other activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National park includes; Culture tours, visiting the lake katwe salt mines and Nature walks at the Maramangambo Forest, Things to Do & See in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National park for safari activities.

The best time to visit Queen for Uganda safari activities is throughout the year though the best time with less rain starts from June to Mid- September, and December to February.

Where to stay on Safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park has got class accommodation and affordable, ranging from budget, Mid-range, and Luxury lodges camps, and hotels. They include; Ishasha Wildlife Camp, Kataara Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Hippo Hill Camp, and Jacana Safari Lodge among others.