Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Overview
In traveling to Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will be rewarded with beauty and adventure. It is one of Uganda’s most beautiful national parks with some of the best game views. Located in Kyambura, it surrounds the southeastern banks of the Kazinga Channel consisting of four crater lakes, with a sector in Ishaka that contains a variety of wildlife and the Maramagambo forest stretching up to the eastern escarpment.
Located in the middle of south western Uganda, it amalgamates with Kigezi and the Kyambura Wildlife Reserves to form one of Africa’s most unique ecosystems stretching from the views of the crater lakes region on the linings of the tall standing Rwenzori Ranges extending along the shores of Lake Edward to River Ishasha in the southern part of the national park.
Experience the beautiful variety of wildlife, plenty of scenic craters blended into rolling green hills, views of the Kazinga Channel which is blessed with hippos, buffalo and elephants along its banks, and the endless Ishasha plains with a series of Lakes of different types and sizes which range from great fresh water lake and inland salt lakes to mirror surfaced crater lakes.
The best sighting of animals is with the morning game rides where you have the opportunity to see them as they wake up and cross the plains in search of a little morning sun. You can never go wrong with the concentration of wildlife here.
Wildlife
Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for its wildlife, including African buffalo, Ugandan kob, hippopotamus, giant forest hog, warthog, Nile crocodile, African bush elephant, African leopard, lion, and chimpanzee. It is home to 95 mammal species and over 500 bird species.
Natural Beauty
Blessed with small acacia and euphorbia trees that are varied with broad crater lakes and swamps, Queen Elizabeth presents a natural serene habitat with plenty of Savannah plains covered by the snow-covered peaks of the Mountains of the Moon. This different vegetation including forest, grassland, bushy grassland, Acacia woodland and swamp vegetation, depicts the ability of the park to house 95 types of mammals and 612 species of birds, more than are found in any protected area in Africa.
When To Visit
December, January, February, June, July, August and September are best months to travel here although one can visit any time. June, July, August, January and February are the driest months of the year during which the animals can easily be viewed as they draw closer to the water sources. This is the best time to go on game drives to view wildlife, take guided walks and go on chimpanzee tracking expeditions when the trails are not slippery and impassible.
During the wet season of October, November, December, March, April and May, the scenery in and around the park is extremely beautiful with green and lush vegetation capturing the true picture of the tropics. There are migratory birds from Europe and Northern Africa in the park during this season, which makes it the best for bird watching.
How To Get There
Queen Elizabeth National Park lies within the Western Rift Valley of Africa running from the north through neighboring Malawi and south to Uganda. It is between the Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri districts in southwestern Uganda.
By Road
The main route from Kampala takes you through Masaka, Mbarara taking Kasese road through Bushenyi to Rubirizi and then to the park. The driving distance is estimated to be 420kms depending on where you will be staying. This tends to be the direct route and commonly used for those who starting from Kampala direct to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The second route would be from Kampala to Kasese through Fortpotal and then lastly to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This and the above route all connect you to the northern sector of the park and from there you can connect to the southern.
For those coming from the south west, that is Bwindi or Ntungamo/ Kabale, Queen Elizabeth can be accessed through Kihihi and then to Ishasha which is the southern sector of the park.
By Air
Queen Elizabeth National Park is also accessible by air through the nearby airstrips of Kasese, Mweya or Ishasha by scheduled flight or chartered aircraft from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield near Kampala.