“A medley of wonders”

This is Uganda’s second largest national park and the most popular evidenced by the number of tourists visiting each year, protecting about 95 mammal species and about 650 bird species have been recorded, including aquatic, forest and savannah species.

The lush savannah park offers prime grazing to Water Buck, Bush Buck, Elephants, Buffaloes, Warthogs, Hippos, Giant Forest Hogs and Kobs (The national animal for Uganda) among others.

It also harbors about 650 bird species, probably the highest concentration of bird life as compared to any park in the World.
It is majestically set in the shadow of Mountain Rwenzori and lays along the Albertine rift valley; the western arm of the great African Rift Valley, franking lake Edward and George which are connected by Kazinga channel.

It was also divided into two sectors by the three water bodies, Lake George, Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel. The northern sector where the Kasenyi plains are found and the southern sector where the Ishasha plains are found and this sector is famous for it’s tree climbing Lions.

The present day Queen Elizabeth national park was first protected in the 1920s as Lake George, Lake Edward and Kigezi game reserves. It was later gazetted as a national park and named Kazinga national park in 1952. But only two years later, the British monarch paid us a visit and the Queen happened to reach this park on her honeymoon. So the name of the park was changed in her honor, Queen Elizabeth national park and since then up to date the of the park has never changed.

The local name for this Biosphere reserve though, is Kazinga national park and it is shared by Kasese, Rubirizi and Kanungu Districts. It is known to be one of the most popular tourist destinations due to its diverse Eco-systems which include, sparkling savanna, lakes, wetlands, and shady, humid forests. The park also has magnificent vistas which include enormous craters caved dramatically into rolling green hills, breath taking views of Kazinga Channel and the Ishasha plains whose fig trees give ample time to the tree climbing lions.

Attractions in Queen Elizabeth national park.

The park has outstanding wildlife attractions like the big four commonly known as the elephant, lion, leopard and buffalos. Other wildlife animals include topis, Uganda kob, water-buck, bush-buck, warthogs, hyena, jackals and the giant forest hogs among others. The park also is a haven for bird watchers since a variety of bird species have been spotted and recorded.

In the park is the Mweya peninsular which is a heart of sightseeing activities with excellent views of accommodation and the fact that it overlooks Katwe bay of lake Edward makes it an excellent tourist destination. It has a souvenir shop where visitors can buy items that remind them about the park.

Kazinga Channel. The Kazinga channel is about 40m long joining Lake Gorge to Lake Edward. It has the perfect view of the parks’ major wildlife annals. The shores of the lake attract a large concentration of mammals, birds as well as reptiles all year around. The animals can be viewed well by the boat cruise.

Kazinga channel has parts like the North Kazinga as well as Kasenyi. It’s acknowledged that the plains of channel are focal points for game viewing. Tracking is the only way that will enables visitors see all the wildlife in its nature.

The Equator and the Queen’s Pavilion. The park has the Uganda’s Equator which provides a beautiful place for photo shooting along with craft shops. The Queen’s Pavilion is easily spotted by the northern entrance to the Crater Drive. In 1954 Queen Elizabeth gave a provision shelter for this site until in 1959 when a permanent pavilion was constructed for the visit of Queen Elizabeth. Renovations were made by second visit of Duke of Edinburgh in 2007 with better facilities such as coffee shop and internet facilities.

Ishasha plains. Ishasha covers an area of about 100km south of Mweya. Among the inhabitants in this place include savannah woodland, Ishasha River along with Lake Edward that has a diversity of wildlife such as climbing lions, rare shoebill stork and many others.

Games drives.The park offers game drives through Kasenyi, the north Kazinga plains and the Ishasha sector. This drive gives chance to visitors to view different wildlife like the buffalo, antelope, elephants, warthogs and baboons.

Launch cruise. The Kazinga channel is an oasis for many species in the park. Taking a boat cruise gives chance to visitors to cruise just meters from hundreds of hippos and buffalos that linger on the shore line.

Culture and nature walks.Through taking nature walks in the park a visitor is able to see the energetic dances of the Kikorongo equator cultural performers, workers harvesting salt on katwe salt lake and a traditional Banyaraguru hut.

Chimpanzee tracking. This is one of the most exciting activities in this park. Discovering these chimps in their natural environment is a life time experience. Visitors are able to know the eco systems of Kyambura gorge’s atmospheric underground rainforest including vegetation types, bird identification and behavior of the chimp and monkey ecology.

Accessibility

By road.Queen Elizabeth national park can be accessed easily from Kampala. It’s a tarmac road from Kampala via Mbarara town and Bushenyi leading to the center of the park. It takes5-6 hours from Kampala via Mbarara to the park. Approaching the park from the south via Mbarara covers a distance of 420 kilometers while the north through fort portal covers a total of 410kilometre.The Park can also be accessed from the south from Bwindi impenetrable national park.

By air. Queen Elizabeth can also be accessed by air. Charter flights can be arranged to existing airstrips of Kasese, Mweya And Ishasha.

Accommodation.Queen Elizabeth has a wide variety of accommodations which caters everyone’s interest. Accommodation ranges from luxury, mid-range, and budget with excellent facilities. These include: Mweya safari lodge, Park View safari lodge, QENP Bush lodge, Kyambura Gorge lodge, Katara lodge Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Ishasha Jungle lodge and Kitandara hippo hill camp among others.

Climate.The climate is tropical with two rainfall peak seasons, from March to May and September to November, with total annual rainfall of up to 2390mm. Altitude is 910m at Lake Edward to 1,390m in the crater area. Temperatures also range between 18 C and 35 C. Queen Elizabeth is chilly in the morning, warm during day time and at night with average temperature. The coldest period in Queen Elizabeth is September to November, during the wet season.

Queen Elizabeth can be visited throughout the year which and it activities done by the tourists are always open on any dates. This Park is the oldest National Park that was rename in 1952 by the Queen Elizabeth 11 and it became the UNESCO World Heritage site, its forest plains is at low altitude.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has the following activities done when you visit it and below are best attractions which make Queen Elizabeth National Park popular.

Game drives. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the famous Park in the world for wild animals where tourist can be able to spot. Lions, leopards, Buffaloes, Elephants, different species of antelopes such as the Uganda kobs and more.

Chimpanzees trekking.Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the Park where Chimpanzee trekking is done.