The sectors in Queen Elizabeth National Park
The iconic sectors to expect to explore during your Uganda tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park include Kyambura Gorge, Kasenyi Plains/Area, Ishasha, Maramagambo, and Mweya Peninsula. Each of these sectors comes with astonishing attractions and experiences for you to appreciate on a wildlife tour. The main sectors to visit for game viewing include Ishasha and Kasenyi plains –these are most popular for savanna wildlife encounters. The Kasenyi sector is located in the Northern end of the park, and the Ishasha is in the Southern part.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is surrounded by the scenic Kalinzu Forest, Kigezi Wildlife Reserve, Kyambura Gorge, and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park. It was declared a National Park in 1952, and in 1954, it was renamed after the late Queen Elizabeth II, changing its name from the original Kazinga National Park. Queen Elizabeth National Park has recorded tremendous wildlife conservation success, given the historical threats that overwhelmed it, including hunting and human settlement. Today, Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the premier destinations with abundant attractions, including the rare tree-climbing lions. Below are the main attractions to explore on a tour in this Park.
Attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park –Uganda
Wildlife
Queen Elizabeth National Park supports a diversity of animals, including over 95 mammal species. The diverse animals to explore in this Park include cape buffaloes, elephants, lions, leopards, hippos, hyenas, warthogs, Nile crocodiles, giant forest hogs, and primates. The different primates to explore in the lush forests in Queen Elizabeth National Park include olive baboons, vervet monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys. The park’s rare animals include the tree-climbing lions that survive in the Ishasha sector.
The bird species
At Queen Elizabeth National Park, there reside over 620 species of birds, including resident and endemic species. These make the park a prominent bird-watching safari destination. On a birding tour, expect to find varied species of birds such as open-billed storks, fish eagle, squacco heron, spur-winged plovers, knob-billed ducks, African jacanas, long-tailed cormorants, squacco heron, wattled plovers, Verreaux’s eagle-weaver, Pink & white-backed pelicans, thin-tailed nightjars, African skimmers, grey-wood peckers, purple-headed starling, papyrus canary, hairy-breasted barbets, green hylia, and white-spotted puff-tail.
Additional bird species of Queen Elizabeth National Park include lappet-faced vultures, hooded vultures, brown-backed scrub-robin, black cuckoo, African fin foot, black coucal, little grebe, lesser swamp warblers, papyrus canary, and shoebill storks.
The Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)
The exciting experiences to enjoy in Queen Elizabeth National Park include game drives, boat cruises, chimpanzee tracking, nature walks, birding, and more.
Game drives
Game drives are a perfect alternative to begin your safari holiday in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Park offers two game drive options: along the Kasenyi Plains and Ishasha sectors. During a guided game drive, you have the opportunity to explore more of the savanna grassland dwellers, including African bush elephants, lions, warthogs, bushbucks, Uganda Kobs, side-striped jackals, buffaloes, and spotted hyenas. A guided game drive through the savanna game tracks in Queen Elizabeth National Park allows you to enjoy the morning or afternoon sessions.
Boat cruise tours
A boat cruise mainly focuses on exploring the aquatic life; that is, hippos, Nile crocodiles, & water birds. Kazinga channel is the ideal spot to consider for boat cruise experiences. The Kazinga channel is typically a natural channel and extends 32 km, connecting Lake Edward & Lake George. You can join the morning or afternoon boat cruise session on the Kazinga channel and ensure that you are accompanied by an experienced guide from Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Bird-watching (birding tours)
Queen Elizabeth National Park is endowed with up to 620 species of birds, and these can be identified across the different habitats. The main bird-watching sites to expect to visit to enjoy sights of birds in Queen Elizabeth Game Park include Kasenyi Plains, Maramagambo Forest, Kyambura Gorge, Kazinga Channel, Katunguru Bridge Area, Mweya Peninsula, Lake Kikorongo, and Ishasha sector. Each site promises a remarkable birding safari experience.
Nature walking tours
Nature walks offer an unmatched, intimate experience, a perfect place to enjoy encounters with different animals that you couldn’t find during a guided game drive. Nature walks take you on a deeper immersion while you interact with nature. The main areas of interest for nature walking include Maramagambo Forest. Along the Maramagambo Forest walk trail, expect to penetrate through the enriching sites with diverse primates, birds, trees, and other species. Other potential nature walking trails include the Crater Lake region, Mweya Peninsula, and Kyambura Gorge.
Chimpanzee trekking
Embark on a guided walk through the Kyambura Gorge for a captivating trek with chimpanzees in the lush rainforest. Kyambura Gorge, also renowned as “The Valley of Apes,” is where you can find a scenic Kyambura River and diverse primates. The site holds a significant chimpanzee population and the community available is already habituated and is open for tourism. Visitors with plans to go chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge pay US Dollars 100 per person –for non-residents, US Dollars 80 for all foreign residents, & East African citizens shs. 50.000 per person.
Lion trekking experience
Lion trekking/tracking is a perfect alternative for you to explore Queen Elizabeth National Park’s lions and other wildlife. This wildlife safari experience mainly focuses on exploring the distinct behaviors of lions and photography. Embarking on lion trekking is one way to contribute to conservation for future generations. Visitors begin their lion trekking along the Kasenyi track, and the unique bit is that you have a chance to go off-track, thus increasing your chances of spotting lions. You can participate in the morning or afternoon lion tracking, and the permits are available at US Dollars 100 per person.
The Best Time to Go on a Wildlife Tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)
Visits to explore the wonders of Queen Elizabeth National Park can be organized at any time of the year. But for you to enjoy the best game drive or chimpanzee trek, then need to travel to this park during the peak dry season, which starts from June to September, or you can book a tour around December to February. The wet season is another essential season of the year and occurs around March to May, then early October to November. During the wet or rainy season, there is a likelihood of some safari activities getting disrupted by heavy rains.
Where to Stay –Recommended Accommodation Choices
The recommended places to stay in and near Queen Elizabeth National Park range from budget to Luxury. They include Mweya Safari Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Aardvark Safari Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Bush Lodge, Enjojo Lodge, Elephant Plains Lodge, Enganzi Game Lodge, Ihamba Safari Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Jacana Safari Lodge, and Katara Lodge.
How to travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park (from Entebbe/Kampala)
By road, expect to take about 7-8 hours to drive from Entebbe or Kampala to Queen Elizabeth National Park. A journey can begin from Entebbe/Kampala through Masaka-Mbarara-Bushenyi/Ishaka and or Entebbe/Kampala via Mubende-Fort Portal City-Kamwenge tarmacked road. By air, you can take a domestic flight to Kasese Airstrip, and this route is served by Aerolink. From Kasese, you have a short distance to drive to the park.