Top things to do in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Top activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park: Situated in the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest and most visited national park in Uganda. With a total area of 1,978 square kilometers, the national park was gazetted in 1952.
The Ishasha sector’s tree-climbing lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, Uganda kobs, warthogs, bushbucks, waterbucks, topi, hyenas, giant forest hogs, primates like chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, and more than 600 bird species can all be found in Queen Elizabeth National Park. During the safari, visitors can partake in a variety of activities at Queen Elizabeth National Park, including
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s top attractions
Drives for games
One of the most well-liked activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park is the game drive, which allows guests to explore the savannah plains in a cozy 4WD pop-up safari vehicle accompanied by a qualified driver guide. In Queen Elizabeth National Park, game drives can be conducted in the afternoon or early in the morning, when the animals are still moving.
You can see animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, lions, leopards, waterbucks, warthogs, bushbucks, topi, giant forest hogs, and more while on the day game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will follow various trails in the Kasenyi plains, Mweya peninsula, and Ishasha sector.
In order to observe nocturnal species clearly, Queen Elizabeth National Park also provides night game drives, which allow visitors to tour the park at night using spotlight torches. Only the Mweya peninsula is used for night game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and they begin at approximately 6:00 p.m. A ranger guide will accompany you on the night game drive, assisting you in seeing nocturnal creatures such as lions, leopards, hyenas, jackals, serval cats, civets, and hippos grazing while taking in stunning views of the starts.
Cruise by boat
Another fascinating activity that guests can partake in while on safari at Queen Elizabeth National Park is a boat tour. The Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George, is the location for boat cruises in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The boat voyage is divided into two sections, each lasting roughly two to three hours. The morning session begins at approximately 9:00 am, and the afternoon session begins at approximately 2:00 pm.
Large groups of hippos and Nile crocodiles can be seen in the water during the boat trip on the Kazinga Channel. You can also see water birds like cormorants, fish eagles, kingfishers, hornbills, and bee-eaters, as well as elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, and warthogs along the shoreline. You can also watch the fisherman around the coastlines getting ready for night fishing while on the afternoon boat excursion.
Bird viewing
One of Uganda’s best places to go bird watching is Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is home to more than 600 species of recorded birds, including migratory, savannah, aquatic, and forest birds. In Queen Elizabeth National Park, one can observe birds in a variety of locations, including the Maramagambo woodland, the Ishasha River, the Kyambura Gorge, the Kazinga Channel, and the Kasenyi plains.
An expert bird guide will accompany you while you observe the park’s various bird species, such as the saddle-billed stork, African wattled plover, pink-backed pelican, red-chested sunbird, open-bellied stork, swamp flycatcher, water thick-knee, papyrus canary, shoebill stork, lesser and greater flamingo, slender-tailed mourning dove, long-tailed cormorants, grey-headed kingfisher, Verreaux’s eagle owl, swamp flycatcher, black crake, African fish eagle, black-headed gonolek, white-tailed lark, African harrier hawk, African skimmer, African jacana, Chapin’s flycatcher, and African mourning dove.
Trekking chimpanzees
Chimpanzee trekking, commonly referred to as the valley of apes, is an exciting adventure that takes place in Kyambura Gorge. The Kyambura Gorge chimpanzee walk begins very early in the morning with a briefing on the guidelines to be followed. Following the briefing, you will begin your trip to find the habituated chimps. Depending on their location, this process could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours.
This is because chimpanzees prefer to roam about in quest of food. You will be able to see several bird species, plant and tree species, and other primate species while walking. After the chimpanzees are located, you will get the chance to spend an hour with them in their natural environment, where you may see their feeding, nursing, hunting, fighting, mating, taking pictures, and making movies to show back home.
Nature hikes
An interesting activity in Queen Elizabeth National area is the nature walk, which allows tourists to explore the area on foot while being accompanied by an experienced park guide and an armed park ranger to keep them safe. Among other places, Queen Elizabeth National Park offers nature walks in the Kyambura Gorge, Kasenyi Plains, Mweya Peninsula, Ishasha River, and Maramagambo Forest. You may get up close and personal with various creatures, listen to bird species singing in trees, take in the refreshing breeze, and see a variety of wildlife on the guided nature walk.
When to go to Queen Elizabeth National Park is ideal.
The best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park is during the dry season, which is June, July, August, September, December, January, and February. This is because the park receives less or no rainfall during this time, making the access roads, nature walk, and chimpanzee trekking trails dry and accessible. There will be less foliage during the dry season, making it easier to see the park’s various wildlife species.
The ideal time to see migratory and colorful bird species is during the wet season, which runs from March to May, October, and November. During these months, Queen Elizabeth National Park is also open to visitors.
Accommodations available at Queen Elizabeth National Park
During the safari, you can stay at a variety of lodging options in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Elephant Plains Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Elephant Hab Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Safari Lodge, Parkview Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, Irungu Forest Safari Lodge, Marafiki Safari Lodge, Lake Munyanyange Cave Resort, Pumba Safari Lodge, Ishasha Jungle Lodge, Enganzi Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Kasenyi Safari Camp, Kitandara Hippo Hill Lodge, Mweya Hostels, Simba Safari Camp, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Lake Chibwera Camp, Katara Lodge, King Fisher Lodge Kichwamba, Jacana Safari Lodge, Ishasha Tented Camp, Ihamba Safari Lodge, Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp, and more are included in the range of lodging options.
The Queen Elizabeth National Park travel route
The western region of Uganda is home to Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is reachable by air and road. It takes roughly seven to eight hours to drive from Kampala to the park headquarters via Masaka Mbarara Road or Mubende Fort Portal Road while using road transportation.
When traveling by air, you will reserve scheduled or charter flights to Mweya or Kasese airstrips from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield, and then take a road connection to the park headquarters.
It takes roughly three to four hours to drive from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park via the Ishasha Sector in the southern portion of the park.
