Tourist Activities in Queen Elizabeth National park
Tourist Activities in Queen Elizabeth National park : Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the most famous and thrilling national parks in Uganda, this amazing tourist destination is found in the region of Uganda lying at the top of the escarpment of the western rift valley. Queen Elizabeth national park formerly known as Kazinga national park covers an area of 1,978 square kilometers and is home to a variety of wildlife species, which include animals such as 95 species of mammals, including African buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, giant forest hog, warthog, Nile crocodile, African bush elephant, African leopard, tree-climbing lion, and chimpanzee and many more. Queen Elizabeth national park is an important birding site with many bird species, such as White-faced Whistling, Spur-winged plover, Squacco Heron, Fish Eagle, Pink and white backed pelican, Long tailed cormorant, African Jacana, Yellow backed weaver, open-billed Stork, Water-Thick knee, Pied kingfishers, Wattled Plovers, the Black Crake and the Knob-billed and many more.
Apart from wildlife and birds Queen Elizabeth national park is made of other attractions which include kazinga channel, Maramagambo forest, crater lakes, ishasha sector, mweya peninsula, kasenyi plains, kyambura gorge and many more
Game drive
Queen Elizabeth national park is famous for offering thrilling and adventurous game drives in the beautiful short savannah plains of the park, while on a drive on the various trails in the park, you get to view many animals such as herds of elephants, herds of buffaloes, hippopotamuses, warthogs, leopards, giant forest hogs, antelopes and many more as they are either grazing or wandering in the park. The most perfect area to view animals in the park is around the kazinga channel where you get to spot a high concentration of animals as they crowd the channel to drink water. Also, in the kazinga channel you get to spot Nile crocodiles. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park are offered in sessions that are morning, afternoon and night game drives. The morning game drive offers a perfect time for viewing animals, as they haven’t dispersed because of sunlight. The night game drive is perfect for viewing nocturnal animals and predators like lions and leopards.
Best time to go for game drive
Birdwatching
Queen Elizabeth national park is a very fascinating birding site; the park is dominated by different vegetation regions and sectors, which are perfect habitats for birds, such as Maramagambo forest, kyambura gorge, and kazinga channel and kyambura gorge. These areas are habitats for forest, savannah and forest bird species. bird species in the park include malachite, black-rumped button quail, collared pratincoles, papyrus canary, Verreaux’s eagle-owl, black bee-eater, Squacco heron, African fish eagle, swamp flycatcher, 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, and the thin-tailed Nightjars and many more.
The best time to go for bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park is in the period of December to February.
Boat cruise
Boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park takes you on a boat trip on kazinga channel, kazinga channel is a 40 kilometers natural channel connecting Lake Edward to Lake George. Boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park on kazinga channel is a safari of 2-5 hours a perfect opportunity for enjoying the aquatic nature of the park, on this safari you get to view many animal on the banks of the lake such as herds of elephants, buffaloes, hippopotamus and many more. On the boat ride you also get to spot many bird species, such as the crested crane, shoe bill and many more. Boat cruise ion kazinga channel are offered in two time frames: 09:00 am in the morning and 02:00 pm in the afternoon.
Primate tracking
Primate tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park takes place in two sections of the park that is kyambura gorge and Maramagambo forests, these sections are forested, making them a perfect habitat for primates and they are the only areas where you get to find them in Queen Elizabeth national park. Primates in these areas include chimpanzees, olive baboons, and red-tailed monkeys, which are spotted while on a walk in the thick forests of kyambura and Maramagambo. Also, you do primate tracking in these forests, and you also get to spot many bird species.
Lion tracking experience
Lion tracking experience in Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the activities in the park that tourists are most interested in; the experience takes place in ishasha southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park. Lions tracked using this experience are easily tracked using the help of trackers/radio collars around their necks.
Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park
It is always a good time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park for a safari throughout the year; the best time to get the most thrilling experience in the park is during the dry season period. The dry season occurs in the months of June, July, August, September, January, and February. During these months, the park experiences less rainfall, making the trails and routes dry and easy to navigate, especially during game drives, which are the highlight of Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Accommodation in Queen Elizabeth national park
Accommodation plays a greater role in the experience you are to get while on a safari in Queen Elizabeth national park, there is many lodges and hotels in and around Queen Elizabeth national park and these are of 3 statuses: luxury, mid-range and budget. Accommodation facilities include Jacana safari lodge Kyambura gorge lodge, Volcanoes kyambura gorge lodge, Ishasha wilderness camp, Hippo safari lodge, Mweya safari lodge, Kyambura game lodge with a luxury status), Bush lodge, Enganzi game lodge, Marafiki safari lodge and many more with mid-range status and Pumba safari cottages, Kazinga channel view resort, Mweya hostel, Simba safari camp, @the river ishasha with a budget status.
How to get to Queen Elizabeth national park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a highly accessible tourist destination, featuring many well-maintained routes that lead to the park. It is located in western Uganda, approximately 420 kilometers from Kampala. Kampala is the starting point for most safaris in Uganda to Queen Elizabeth national park because it is near the main gateway into Uganda, which is Entebbe international airport found in Entebbe. By road, there are two routes from Kampala: the Mbarara route and the Kasese route via Fort Portal. By air, there are chartered domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport and Kajjansi Airstrip to three airstrips located near Queen Elizabeth National Park: Kihihi, Mweya, and Kasese Airstrip.
