Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth national park is located in western Uganda in the district of Kasese covering the total area of 1978 square kilometres and it is the second largest national park in Uganda .it was gazetted  in 1952 as kazinga national park but later re named after two years after the visit of queen Elizabeth ii the park is offering a quite number of Uganda safari activities totravellers.queen Elizabeth national park is a home of over 600 birds like the shoebill, long -crested eagle and one of the big five birds in Uganda ,flamingos found at Katwe salt lake and bunyampaka,pelicans and many more also on a Uganda wild safari to Queen Elizabeth national park one can encounter animals like elephants ,bufallos,hippos, warthogs, waterbucks to mention but a few where a visitor will have the best experience ever

 The major attractions in queen Elizabeth National Park

Kazinga channel

Kazinga channel it is the beauty spot of queen Elizabeth national park it is the best site for wildlife viewing in queen Elizabeth national park and is best explored on a boat cruise like African elephants, buffalo and hippos

Birds

Birds they attract so many people because queen has so many birds like the white pelican cattle eaglets that you will not find in other parks and birding here is always done in wet season and these birds will be found like the brown chested lapwing that attracts visitors

Katwe salt works

Katwe, it forms the site of a thriving salt mining and it has the best sea salt and visitors always take guided tour tours to see how salt is extracted from the lake using different method and it is an interesting cultural and historical experience

Kyambura gorge

Kyambura gorge which is also known as the valley of apes and also a home of chimpanzees where visitors can also go on a guided chimpanzee tracking, the gorge itself is a picturesque spot with forests and wildlife

Animals

Queen Elizabeth national park is a place where you can get to quench your thirst of game viewing and it is gifted with 95 mammal species it has over 300hippos and over 400 elephants and about 2000 buffaloes what a great deal of seeing wild animals can be

Crater lakes like Lake Nyamunuka which is believed to be having smelling water but also a good spot for bird watching because variety of birds live along the lake

Activities in queen Elizabeth national park

Boat cruse

Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel it is an activity where you can see most of the wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park at and a visitor will be able see different animals like African elephants the cape buffaloes hippos and crocodiles plus a variety of birds and it takes place in shifts there is the morning which starts at 11:00am and ends at 1pm then afternoon from 3:00pm to 5:00pm and bookings are done from mweya  offices and one would book a shift according to your preference

Game drives

Game drives they also done in shifts the morning shift which is best for tracking lions, leopards and then mongoose and best time for game drive is the dry season because the roads are dry the grass is short then the afternoon shift can be used to see elephants, buffalos, warthogs, bush backs and tree climbing lions

birding

Birding queen Elizabeth is at its best with over 619 species of birds and most of them can be viewed along kazinga boat cruise like kingfisher African fish eagle among others

Lion tracking research

 Lion tracking research is another activity that is interesting and loved by many visitors it involves tracing lion’s radiator collar in kasenyi plains

Visiting the community

 during this activity you will enjoy the local folklore from the elders of the community like the kikongoro cultural dancers and also get the African crafts that you would love to take home like shoes the baskets that are locally made

Nature walks this an activity that allows visitors to view how beautiful the park is by moving around with a guide and showing them different species

Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park

During the dry season like the months of August June January and February during this season the vegetation is thinner making it easy to spot wildlife as animals gather around waterbodies the trails are accessible

How to get there

One can get to queen Elizabeth National Park either by road or air by road one can use the Mbarara route Bushenyi Kasese then to the park and by air it will be from Entebbe to mweya air trip where one can be picked by either the tour company cars or the hotel cars

Accommodation in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Kyambura gorge lodge it is located on the very edge of queen Elizabeth national park the Bandas of kyambura they include open -plan bedroom with a day bed, lounge area and private veranda and these rooms have indoors and out door shower and can be afforded it is not cheap nor expensive

Kabatoro guest house a pleasant hotel offering comfortable rooms delicious meals and also it organises the Uganda safari trips for the visitors

Mweya safari lodge it is located in mweya peninsula it provides amazing activities with in the like spa for a soothing massage free swimming and one should expect to have the best services and mweya safari lodge has rooms like twin rooms where kids can sleep, family cottages, presidential cottage, conference centre in case the visitor has a meeting

Engiri game lodge and campsite it is located in katungulu near the headquarters of the park. it offers accommodation with a balcony as well as gardens and terrace an outdoor fireplace and free Wi-Fi is available and it costs one $40 per night