Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest and one of the most visited national parks in Uganda, located in the districts of Kasese, Rukungiri, Kamwenge, and Rubirizi. The national park is home to over 95 mammal species, including the famous tree climbing lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, waterbucks, bush bucks, Uganda kobs, gigantic forest hogs, topi, warthogs, and over 600 bird species. Queen Elizabeth National area is an intriguing site to visit, and this article will help you plan a successful safari to the area.
Safari activities in queen Elizabeth national park.
Visitors to Queen Elizabeth National Park can participate in a variety of safari activities such as,
Game drives.
Game drive is one of the popular safari activities in Queen Elizabeth National area, where visitors may explore the area in a comfortable pop up safari van with a trained driver guide. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be done early in the morning when animals are more active, or late in the evening and at night when nocturnal animals can be seen. During the game drives, you will see elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, buffaloes, topi, bush bucks, lions, leopards, and hyenas, among other creatures.
Boat cruise.
A boat excursion at Queen Elizabeth National Park is done on Kazinga channel, a water passage that connects Lake Edward with Lake George. During the boat cruise on Kazinga channel, you will be able to see large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in the water, buffaloes, elephants, and antelopes along the shores, and water birds such as cormorants, bee-eaters, fish eagles, and hornbills, among others. During the boat ride on Kazinga channel, you will also be able to see fisherman preparing their fishing gear for night fishing.
Bird watching.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has around 600 bird species, including migratory birds, savannah birds, forest birds, and water birds, making it one of Uganda’s greatest birding locations. Bird watching in Queen Elizabeth National Park can be done either early in the morning or late in the evening by following various birding trails in Maramagambo woodland, Kasenyi area, Kazinga channel, Katwe area, ishasha sector, lake kikorongo area, mweya peninsula, and Katunguru bridge area, among others. During this activity, you will be able to see several bird species including the African jacana, pink- backed pelican, swamp flycatcher, grey- grey- capped warbler, African open- billed stork, papyrus canary, long tailed cormorant, martial eagle, African fish eagle, pied king fisher, white-winged tern, African skimmer, African mourning dove, white mourning dove, white-winged warbler, slender tailed night jar and so many others.
Chimpanzee trekking.
Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is an exciting adventure that takes place in Kyambura gorge, popularly known as the Valley of the Apes. Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge begins early in the morning with a training on the laws and regulations to be followed during the journey. Following the briefing, you will begin hiking into the jungle in search of chimps, which will take between 2 and 5 hours depending on where the chimps are found because they like to travel from one location to another in quest of food. You will be able to see other wildlife species while hiking, and after the chimps are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, where you will be able to observe them feed, breastfeed, take photos, and record films to show people back home.
Nature walks.
A nature walk in Queen Elizabeth National Park is a fascinating activity in which you will be able to explore the park on foot with the assistance of an experienced park guide and an armed park ranger. Explore the park on foot, accompanied by an experienced park guide and an armed park ranger to keep you safe. During the guided nature walk, you will be able to get up close and personal with various wildlife species, listen to bird species’ pleasant songs, see colorful butterflies, enjoy the cool wind, and snap stunning photographs, among other things.
Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park.
This is an interesting place that can be visited all year round, but the best time to visit is during the dry season, which is in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January, and February because there is less rainfall in the park during this period, so access roads, nature walks, and chimp trekking trails are dry and passable. Because the foliage is low during the dry season, you may readily see several wildlife species.
Where to stay in Queen Elizabeth national park.
The Queen Elizabeth National Park features a variety of lodging options where you can stay on your safari. Elephant plains lodge, Aardvark safari lodge, Mweya safari lodge, Engiri game lodge and campsite, Tembo safari lodge, Enganzi game lodge, Kyangabi crater resort, Kyambura gorge lodge, Twin lakes safari lodge, Topi lodge, Simba safari camp, and many more are among the budget, midrange, and luxury accommodations.
How to get to Queen Elizabeth national park.
Queen Elizabeth Park is located in western Uganda and may be reached by road travel from Kampala via Masaka or Mubende Fort entrance to the park headquarters, which takes approximately 6 to 7 hours.
Queen Elizabeth National Park can also be reached by air, by scheduled or charter flights from Entebbe International Airport to Kasese or Mweya airstrips, and then by road to the park headquarters.
Please contact Adventure in the Wild Safaris for additional information on planning a safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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