Queen Elizabeth National Park is a fascinating part of the Western Branch of the Rift Valley. Queen Elizabeth National Park has been responsible for some of the most unique Uganda safari memories and every visit has brought us another astonishing scene.
Famed for its tree-climbing lions, Queen Elizabeth has a thrilling array of wildlife and you have even a good chance of spotting a leopard here on a night drive. There’s wildlife aplenty including most of the Big Five.
Its Uganda 2nd largest national park after Murchison Falls National Park, it’s seated on the foothills of the Rwenzori ranges and considered an extension of the huge Democratic Republic of Congo Virunga forests. Queen Elizabeth National Park situated in western Uganda can be accessed by either road or air.
It’s a 420km drive by road from Kampala capital, due to improving road network accessing the park is becoming easy all over again. Using the Kampala – Mbarara – Bushenyi – Rubirizi is a perfect lead to the park via Mweya Peninsula the UWA main tourism centre. However, the Kampala – Mubende – Fort Portal – Kasese suggest the shortest road route to the park by only 10km covering a distance of 410km.
This is the parks major highlight of all adventure activities done, seated in your own vehicle is a greater chance of spotting out what the park has to offer. On the plain Savannah of Kasenyi and within the Savannah woods of the Ishasha is the greatest call for a fabulous wildlife scenic view.
Expect abundance of wildlife combination of mammals and birds together with aquatic and reptiles as well insects. The most thought of time of game drives is during the morning breeze witnessing the crazy perfect view of the sun setting.
A boat trip along the Kazinga channel is a great way to enjoy the birdlife flitting along the banks, including kingfisher’s dive-bombing into the water from overhanging tree branches. Along the shoreline one of our groups spotted a leopard lazing on a tree branch in the late afternoon.
Another highlight of this park is Kyambura Gorge, a beautiful slice of green in the Savannah with a habituated troop of chimpanzees adding some variety to the typical safari experience, a kind of swampy, humid, forested lost world where a community of chimps swing from tree to tree with abandon. Although you are a better chance to see chimps in Budongo or Kibale this location is much more atmospheric.
We stumbled across a family of chimps within 15 minutes of entering the gorge – the fury primates swung around us in the forest and even came down for a closer look near the river. A very fine national park with a diversity of experiences, activities, wildlife and adventure.
Kazinga Channel Boat Trip is a must do activity, almost every visitor takes up the Kazinga channel to see the thousands of hippos and pink backed pelicans plus plenty of crocodiles, buffaloes and fish eagles. With a little luck, it’s also possible to catch sight of one of the elephant herds and very occasionally.
My favourite area in the park is the more remote and little visited Ishasha sector. Ishasha is famous for its population of tree climbing lions. It is one of the few places in Africa where lions are known to hang out in trees and are often found lazing on the heat of the day. General, the best time to spot them is outside the usual safari drive times basically when they are not hunting. If it is wet the lions generally won’t climb. Other highlights may include the scenic Maramagambo Forest, set in a field of beautiful crater lakes, and home to many forest birds.
