Queen Elizabeth National Park | Tree Climbing Lions

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular savannah park in Uganda and one of the best wildlife viewing sites in Uganda, the park is located in the western region of Uganda laying between Lake Gorge and Lake Albert. Queen Elizabeth national park is a home to the biggest variety of large mammals in Uganda including 4 of the big five and the best site for watching the tree climbing lions found in the Ishasha sector.

The park covers an area of 1,978 square kilometers with a great diversity of habitats including lakes that is Lake George, Edwards and Albert, forests and wetlands serving as home to variety of wildlife species. Queen Elizabeth national park is shared by Kasese, Bundibugyo and Bushenyi districts, the park lies about 5-6 hours drive from Kampala.

Queen Elizabeth national park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga national park and later its name was changed to Queen Elizabeth national park to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth the queen of England in 1954.

WILDLIFE AND BIRDLIFE IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Queen Elizabeth national park is a home to a variety of flora and fauna including 95 mammal species and about 612 species of birds.

Animals in Queen Elizabeth national park including 4 of big five that is tree climbing lions, African elephants, leopards and cape buffaloes, other animals include hyena, waterbuck, warthogs, giant forest hogs, topis, Uganda kobs and others. There are also primates in the chimpanzees, blue and red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet moneys, pottos and olive baboons.

Queen Elizabeth national park is a home to 618 bird species which is the 6^th highest diversity in the world and the highest in the Africa making the park the best and perfect destination for birding in Uganda. Birds in Queen Elizabeth national park include Common bird sightings at this site include Pied kingfishers, African fish eagle, Water-thick knee, Spoon-billed stork, Hammerkop, African Jacana, Great egrets, Little egret, Egyptian geese, Pink and White backed pelicans, Malachite kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, Red-capped Lark, Red-chested sunbird, Swallows, Grey-headed kingfisher, Martins, Blue-napped mousebird, Swamp Nightjar, Diederik Cuckoo, Pygmy kingfisher, Grey-caped warbler, Slender-billed weaver, Pin-tailed Whydah, Squire-tailed Nightjar, Nubian woodpecker, Black headed Gonolek among others

ATTRACTIONS IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Tree Climbing Lions

Queen Elizabeth national park is a home to one of the just two populations of tree climbing lions in the whole world and the second population is found in Lake Manyara national park, these tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth national park are found in the Ishasha southern sector and they are easily seen resting up on the fig and acacia trees.

The Kazinga Channel

The Kazinga channel is a natural water channel connecting Lake Edward to Lake George, the channel is a great site for bird watching and wildlife viewing on a boat cruise. The channel is a home to large numbers of hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants and hippos among others.

Kasenyi Plains

The Kasenyi plains is a perfect site in Queen Elizabeth national park for game viewing, the site is a home to large numbers of antelopes the Uganda Kobs which attract several large predators such as hyenas, lions and leopards. The Kasenyi plains is the best place in Queen Elizabeth national park where to find most of the animals in the park.

Kalinzu Forest

The Kalinzu forest is located on the southeastern corner of the park, the forest is where the rewarding chimpanzee tracking is done in Queen Elizabeth national park, the forest is a home to chimpanzees and other primates such as black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons and many bird species.

The Kyambura Gorge

The Kyambura Gorge is a forested 100-meter-deep valley, the valley is a home to large numbers of primates such as chimpanzees, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and others. The Kyambura Gorge is famous for chimpanzee tracking tours.

Mweya Peninsular

Mweya Peninsular is a stretch of land protruding into Lake Edward, the peninsular is a perfect site for game viewing as it has various game tracks.

Lake Katwe Salt Works

Lake Katwe Salt works is situated with the alkaline Lake Katwe where salt mining has been ongoing for years which is the main economic activity in the area, this site is visited by tourists who wish to learn and observe the traditional method of salt mining.

The Katwe Explosion Crater Lakes:

The Katwe Explosions crater lakes are a chain of stunning crater lakes found in the northern part of the park on the highest elevation, for the lakes tourists enjoy stunning views of the Mountain Rwenzori ranges, Lake Edward, Lake George and the western rift valley escarpments.

SAFARI ACTIVITIES TO DO IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Game Drives

Game drives are the most exciting safari activity in Queen Elizabeth national park, this activity offer tourists a chance to see various animals calling the park their home, game drives are offered as early morning starting at 06:00 am, evening starting between 3:00 pm and 4:00pm and night game drives starting at 07:30 pm and 08:00 pm. On game drives, you will be able to see lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, antelopes, hippos, various reptiles and birds such as black-rumped buttonquail, papyrus Gonolek, corncrake among others.

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park are generally done in the Kasenyi area which attracts a variety of predators such as lions and hyenas because of the abundance of antelopes in this area. For tourists who wish to see the tree climbing lions, the best place to do the game drives is the Ishasha sector –the southern part of the park and the game drives take you through the unique western rift valley escarpment.

Chimpanzee tracking

Chimpanzee tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park is done on the Kyambura gorge situated in the heart of the park, the gorge is dominated by verdant forests hosting various chimpanzee man’s closet living relative. Kyambura gorge is a home to over 27 chimpanzees, there are other primate species such as red-tailed monkey, black and white colobus monkey, baboon and vervet monkeys.

Chimpanzee tracking is offered in two sessions that is morning session starting at 07:00 am and afternoon session starting at 2:00 pm, this activity offers an up-close encounter with the chimpanzees and you are to spend one hour in the presence of the chimpanzees.

Birdwatching

Queen Elizabeth national park is a bird’s haven and has been classified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Birding International, the park is a home to over 600 bird species which is more than any bird population in East Africa. Birding excursions in Queen Elizabeth national park are done in presence an experienced birder who will give you all the available information about each and every bird species in the park.

During birding excursion, you will be able to see many colorful birds such as malachite, black-ramped buttonquail, Collard Pranticles, papyrus canary, verreauv’s eagle-owl, black bee-eater, squacco heron, African fish eagle, swamp fly-catcher, long-tailed cormorants, Martial Eagle, Black- rumped Buttonquail African Skimmer, White winged terns, White-winged Warbler, shoebill, African skimmer, Verreaux’s Eagle-owl, Grey-headed kingfisher, papyrus gonolek, Papyrus Canary, White-faced Whistling, Spur-winged Plovers, Squacco Heron, Fish Eagle, Pink and white backed Pelicans, Long tailed Cormorants, African Jacana, Yellow backed Weavers, open-billed Stork, Water-Thick knee, Pied kingfishers, Wattled Plovers, the Black Crake and the Knob-billed Ducks among others.

The best bird watching spots in Queen Elizabeth national park include Kazinga channel, Kasenyi Area, Mweya Peninsula, Maramagambo Forest, Ishasha sector, Lake Kikorongo, Katunguru Bridge area and Katwe area.

Boat cruise at Kazinga channel

Boast cruise at Kazinga channel is an exciting and memorable activity offers tourists an opportunity to explore the oasis of wildlife along the Kazinga channel a 32 kilometers natural channel connecting Lake Edward to Lake George, Boat cruise starts at the Mweya the park’s headquarters and lasts for about 2 hours, as you cruise you will be able to see many animals such as hippos, cape buffaloes, kobs, elephants, warthogs and many birds such as the rare shoe bill, long tailed cormorants, open-bellied stork, saddle bill stork, darters, black crake among others.

Boat cruise at Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park are scheduled at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, there is also a 9:00 am ride limited to passenger only to 4 people in the boat. There are also private boat cruises operated by the local community as this is a way for them to earn from the national park.

Cultural tours

Cultural tours in Queen Elizabeth national park are done in the Leopards village and Kikorongo Women Community centre, Nyanzibiri cave community and Katwe Tourism Information center. On this experience tourist have an opportunity to be entertained and take park in the cultural dances and drama performed by the Bakonzo people, interact with the locals discussing the challenging faced by the community and their history. You will also get an opportunity to purchase souvenirs and beautiful craft pieces from several souvenir craft shops.

BEST TIME TO VISIT QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Queen Elizabeth national park is a year round destination that is it can be visited throughout the year but the best time to visit the park for a Uganda safari is during the dry season, this is experienced from January to February and June to September. For birding, the best time is from August to December and March to May while migratory species arrive in the park.

HOW TO GET TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Queen Elizabeth national park is located in western Uganda in about 389 kilometers from Kampala the capital, tourists can use road and air means of transport to get to the park for a Uganda safari experience.

BY ROAD – Tourists are picked from their desire locations either from Kampala city or Entebbe city, to get to Queen Elizabeth nation it is about 420 kilometers a drive of approximately 7 hours. To get to the park various routes are used such as

Kampala – Mityana – Mubende – Fort Portal – Queen Elizabeth national park

Kampala – Masaka – Mbarara – Bushenyi – Rubirizi – Queen Elizabeth national park

BY AIR – chartered and domestic flights can be arranged to Queen Elizabeth national park, these flights are offered from Entebbe International airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Mweya airstrip or Kasese airstrip

ACCOMMODATION IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

There is a variety of accommodation facilities in Queen Elizabeth national park in form of safari lodges, campsites, hotels and tented camps. These accommodation facilities range from budget, midrange and luxury.

LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS