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Queen Elizabeth National Park
Welcome to Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda/Queen Elisabeth National Park safaris
Queen Elizabeth National Park to many is refereed to as the truly a Medley of Wonders! Situated in South Western Uganda, this Uganda safari park has different ecosystems made up of vast savanna, tropical rain forests, crater lakes and wetlands, which makes a suitable home to different wildlife species for example primates and bird life which makes it a hotspot for visitors coming on Uganda Tours and Safaris/ uganda safari.
Kazinga National Park or Queen Elizabeth National Park is situated against the back drop of the mountains of the moon Rwenzori Mountains, stunning lake Lake George and Lake Edward views and of course signature crater lakes. The many signature crator lakes tend to be in between dramatic green rolling hills.
A visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park will reward you with extraordinary chance to see the Kazinga Channel. Kazinga channel’s is famous for it has one of the highest concentration of hippos but you will see many elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles and many other animals as they come to have a drink or bath in the water normally in the afternoon
Research says that being in savanna is relaxing and stress releasing and guess this is what Queen Elizabeth National parks Savannah plains of Ishasha will make you feel. They are also home for the unusual tree climbing lions.
A chance to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park wont only be for animals wilderness feeling, but also a one-time cultural encounter rich cultural. It’s an opportunity for travelers to meet up with the local communities and take part of unique cultural experiences like traditional dances, storytelling, sampling traditional music and also the famous Gin made out of bananas that most travelers have really loved and took some back home
Kazinga National Park?
The park was initially named Kazinga National Park but later changed to Queen Elizbeth National Park after the visit of the Queen of England Elizabeth II. Making it a special conservation area has has come with tangible fruits ensuring the survival of its ecosystems for decades even amid population growth around the park. Ofcourse it has not been easy since there is rise wildlife human conflicts that have seen more than 9 lions killed in a space of less than 6 month. Read about it here
Queen Elizabeth N.P is the only park in Uganda where lion tracking is permitted for those who want to have a front row seat in the animal kingdom. Other activities that can be done here include boat tours on Kazinga channel, Game drives, chimpanzee trekking in kyambura gorge, Maramagambo forest walks, Crator lakes among others
It is possible to visit Queen Elizabeth N.P at any time of the year but the best time is ofcouse during the dry months of June to September and December to January.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is not only among the best wildlife viewing destinations on a Uganda safari but also but is also Uganda’s most visited National Park. When you think of going for gorilla trekking in Bwindi or Gorilla trekking in Rwanda, try not to miss a visit to this park since its just 5 ½ hours away from Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and 2 hours from Bwindi and 3 hours from Kibale Forest National Park.
Wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park
This is the most reliable park in Uganda for lion, which is particularly common on the grassy Kasenyi Plains but is more famous for its tree-climbing antics in the Ishasha sector. Huge herds of buffalo and elephant are found in the savannah areas of the park and an amazing number of hippo inhabit the Kazinga channel on which daily boat trips are conducted
Highlights in Queen Elizabeth NP
Tree-climbing lions are a specialty of the Ishasha sector of the park, where they can often be found resting in huge fig trees. Giant forest hog, is unusually easy to see, both on drives and boat trips. Buffalo are particularly attractive as they are often reddish brown due to interbreeding with forest buffalo from neighboring Congo. Chimp trekking is available in the steamy, tropical forest of Kyambura Gorge.
Kazinga Channel
The Kazinga channel is a 32-kilometer (20-mile) long natural channel that connects Lake Gorge (to the east) and Lake Edward (to the west) (which is to the west). This channel is one of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s most essential features (which is the most well-liked game reserve in Uganda covering an entire land area of 1,978 sq km). The channel offers a spectacular perspective of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s most important wildlife initiatives.
Lake George, a small lake with an overall depth of 2.4 meters and a surface area of 250 square kilometers, is located on the Kazinga Channel’s eastern side. Streams originating from the beautiful Rwenzori Mountains immediately north of the lake feed this lake. The overflow from Lake Gorge runs through this Kazinga Channel and drains west into the nearby Lake Edward, which encompasses a total area of 2 000 square kilometers and is one of Uganda’s principal freshwater lakes. Throughout the year, the channel’s beaches attract a vast number of wild animals, birds, and reptiles, with one of the world’s largest populations of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles. These animals can be observed well on a boat excursion down the channel or, more likely, near the beautiful Lake Edward’s entrance. The Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise is one of the best and most popular launch experiences in the country.
Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda has tree climbing lions.
Are Lions Capable of Climbing Trees? Climbing trees by lions is a rare occurrence. Only two populations of such lions exist in the entire globe, and they climb trees as part of their daily routine. One of these populations can be found in the Ishasha area of Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is located in the south. The other population can be found in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park in the south. A three-day safari in Uganda is possible.
Some people believe that these lions climb trees to protect themselves from the numerous biting tsetse flies on the ground level, while others believe that they climb into the branches to escape the heat on the ground and enjoy the cool breeze; however, the reason for their climb into the tree branches remains unknown.
Birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Uganda is one of Africa’s most well-known bird-watching destinations. It has a wide variety of bird species, many of which are not found anywhere else on the African continent. Uganda is home to a number of birding hotspots, making it one of the best birding destinations in the world. On a Uganda safari, you will see over 1010 different bird species, all of which you will appreciate. The many national parks in Uganda are really the largest home for the majority of Uganda’s bird species.
Lake Katwe, crater Explosion.
Western Uganda is home to several extinct volcanoes of a particularly violent type known as ‘explosion craters.’ Their craters were given their name because, unlike many other volcanoes, these eruptions were exceedingly violent, and instead of stacking debris around their vents, they released ash and rock across a large region. The majority of them are now extinct craters, however a couple still emit sulfurous fumes. Katwe Explosion Craters in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bunyaraguru Crater Field on the spectacular Kichwamba escarpment, and the gorgeous Ndali-Kasenda Crater Field near Kibale National Park are the three main concentrations.
The explosion craters provide breathtaking vistas and excellent trekking opportunities in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Western Uganda.
The crater lakes were produced relatively recently, around 8 000 to 10 000 years ago, as a result of long-past volcanic activity in Uganda, despite their current appearance as serene, beautiful lakes. When these detonated, they truly caused a lot of damage, covering an area larger than Mount Vesuvius did at Pompeii. The Ugandan Explosion Craters turned Lake Edward into a toxic disaster. Fire and brimstone continued to erupt from the explosion craters as recently as 2000 BC (when the Egyptian Pyramids were being built).
Queen Elizabeth’s Launch Cruise or Boat Trip in Uganda
The boat ride through Queen Elizabeth National Park takes place in the Kazinga Channel, a 40-kilometer-long natural channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. The boat usually leaves every day at 9:00 a.m. local time or 2:00 p.m. local time. This 2- to 5-hour launch tour will allow you to thoroughly explore the sea and fauna along the Kazinga Channel’s coastline.
Professional guides will provide you with all of the necessary information on this safari or trip, as well as answer any questions you may have about the wildlife or anything else.
Game Drives and Game Safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Visitors participate in this activity by driving through the park while seeing animals. Several well-kept game viewing tracks may be found around the park.
This Uganda tours park boasts almost 200 kilometers of well-kept game trails.
The best time to go on a game drive is early in the morning, when you have a better chance of sighting elephants, buffaloes, lions, and a variety of antelopes and other species.
The boat cruise on the Kazinga channel lasts about two hours and allows visitors to see a variety of yawning hippos in the water, water birds, buffaloes, elephants, zebras, Uganda-kobs, topis, water bucks, bush bucks, reed bucks, duiker, mongoose, swamp antelopes, spotted hyena, warthog, forest hog, and in difficult routes in the south.
Nature Walks in Maramagambo Forest Queen Elizabeth Park.
The Maramagambo Forest is a great area to spend a half or full day for birders and people who enjoy strolling off the beaten path.
You can explore the shadows, uncovering species not seen on the open plains, stumble into secret crater lakes, and marvel at the sheer mass of life found within a bat cave, which is shaded from the blazing sun by the dense canopy.
Don’t get too close: snakes lurk in the cave floor’s rocks, waiting to grab bats thrown from their roost by stronger, more frenzied neighbors.
Ishasha Plains Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
The idea of a “ideal time to visit” doesn’t really apply to Uganda. Because the country is equatorial, it receives rain for the most of the year. Furthermore, weather patterns appear to be changing, rendering inflexible seasonality obsolete. So bring a waterproof jacket and be prepared for anything.
However, from June to early October, and again from December to early March, it is generally drier. Rainfall is often higher in October and November, as well as from March until the end of May. The wettest months are April and May, though recent years have been quite dry.
Accommodation in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is divided into five sections:
Escarpment of the Northeast
Mweya Peninsula Rift Valley Escarpment Kyambura Gorge Ishasha sector
There are several lodging alternatives accessible in each. Because of Queens’ varied geography, there are a wide variety of homes to choose from, and you’ll have no trouble finding privacy or a spectacular view.
Laba Africa Expeditions does not use all of the assets accessible; instead, we focus on those that have a track record of delivering satisfied clients.
Here are our favorite places to stay.
- Elephant plains
- Kyambura Gorge lodge
- Ishasha wilderness lodge
- Enjojo lodge
- Mweya safari lodge
- Katara lodge
Weather & Climate
Queen Elizabeth National Park is near the equator which ensures uniformly warm temperatures throughout the year. Heavy rain that makes some roads impassable is a feature of the region’s two Wet seasons (March to May and August to December). Although there’s no official Dry season, the rainfall abates somewhat – though rarely entirely – from January to February and June to July.
Getting to Queen Elizabeth Uganda and Getting Around. How to Get To Queen Elizabeth Park
Queen Elizabeth Park is a 1978km2 park in western Uganda that is shared by the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, and Bushenyi.
The park is 5-6 hours from Kampala through Mbarara on a paved route, and 5-6 hours from Bwindi on a dirt road.
From Kampala, the park may be reached via tarmac via Mbarara (420 kames) or via Fort Portal via Kasese (410kms). The park is 5-6 hours on surface road from Kampala through Mbarara. This Uganda safari park is also accessible via Bwindi Impenetrable National Park’s Ishasha sector. Safari for seven days.
