Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park, stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the south. The park has 611 recorded bird species in the Kazinga channel sanctuary which covers an area approximately 207km. QENP also has 95-recorded species of mammals which include Lion, Buffalo, Elephant, Hippo’s and many more. Other park inhabitants include 10 primate species which include the Warthogs, Antelopes, Giant Forest hog, Chimpanzees, the Black and White Colobus Monkey, Olive Baboon, Uganda Kob, Waterbucks and leopards.

QENP has the most amazing number of species. Kazinga Channel is believed to contain the world’s largest concentration of hippos.

The Maramagambo Forest, south of the Kazinga Channel is also home to large numbers of chimps, plus a number of other monkey species.

Highlights

• Bird Watching
• Game Drives
• Sunset over the water
• Boat Cruise Safari on Kazinga Channel
• Chimpanzee Trekking
• Crater Lakes – Katwe Salt
• Rift Valley Scenery
• Beautifully positioned lodges

Bird Watching

Kazinga channel is an attraction for water birds. Take a cruise on the channel and you will see bid species like Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squaco Heron, White-faced Whistling and Knob-billed Ducks, African Fish Eagle, Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans, African open-billed Strok, Water Thick-knee, Malachite and Pied kingfishers, Swamp flycatchers and Yellow backed Weavers, Black Crake, African Jacana, Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers, are all common and eye-catching.

The camp at Mweya is attractively positioned with excellent views of the Rwenzori Mountains. A number of bush species can be viewed in the vicinity of the airstrip. Watch out for the Grey-headed Kingfisher, African Mourning Dove, Red-chested sunbird, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed and Lesser Masked Weavers, Pin-tailed Whydah, and brimstone Canary, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, are fairly common along the airstrip. Hundreds of African Skimmers may be seen roosting on sandbars near the entry to Lake Edward but are migrants from southern tropics and typically present only from December to May.

Boat Cruise Safari on Kazinga Channel

Kazinga Channel.
The Kazinga channel is about 40m long adjoining Lake Gorge to Lake Edward. It has the perfect view of the parks’ major wildlife ventures. 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 Nile cruise or probably at the entrance of Lake Edward. The operation of the cruise runs from 15.00 and 17.00, furthermore expeditions run 11.00 and 13.00 depending on the demand of the tourists.

Kazinga channel has parts for instance North Kazinga as well as Kasenyi. Its acknowledged that the plains of channel are focal points for game viewing. Tracking is the only way that will enable you see all the wildlife in its nature setting for example buffalo, elephants and other animals that dwell in the grassland thickets of the Northern Kazinga close to Mweya.

The most accessible spot for lions is in the eastern part of Kasenyi plains and the Kasese road where they quarry on the big inhabitants of Uganda Kobs. The most favorable time for game drives is during morning and late afternoon hours.

Some rare and odd birds inhabit this park and keen birders come from all over the world to clock up a sighting of the peculiar, pouting shoebill (or whale-headed) stork. This giant bird stands 4-foot high and wears a rather timid expression.

Game Drives

QENP is good for game drives. The dry season (June to September) is the best season to do a game drive to QENP, this is the time when majority of animals remain near water. Dry Season is the best time to visit though sometimes the temperatures are high. During the rainy season some roads become impassible.

Ishasha Tree Climbing Lions

Is also known as the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth, has been referred to as one of the most alluring game viewing are in East Africa. Famous for its tree-climbing lions, Ishasha is dominated by acacia woodland, and scrubland and features the meandering Ishasha River, banked by a riparian forest.

Chimpanzee Tracking

Kyambura Gorge is a section of QENP or Mweya in the lower western part of Uganda. Chimpanzee tracking takes place in this gorge. The Chimpanzees in this gorge have been habituated, a process that took close to 2 years meaning that these chimpanzees are familiar with humans and can carry on their day to day activities in the presence of humans. The area also supports a diversity of avian species such as African Finfoot, the blue-headed bee-eater as well as the different falcons. Chimps normally stay in groups known as troops, of about 30 – 80 individuals. The large groups consist of smaller, very supple groups of fewer members, possibly all females, or all males or at times mixed.

The Chimps from time to time chew leaves to until they are absorbent and these they use as a sponge, by dipping them into water and then suck-out the moisture. In addition, the chimps use twigs or at times grass stems as tools, by poking these into termite holes or ant nests on which the insects cling and the gorillas eat; these are a delicacy to the chimps. They can cram nuts between roots of trees and then break open the shells using a stone.

Crater Lakes – Katwe Salt

Several crater lakes are found in Queen Elizabeth. Salt crater lakes like Lake Katwe are found in QENP. This is where Uganda collects the biggest percentage of its salt. Animals go down to the lake to leak the salty soils. The lakes are rich in minerals which give the lakes strange color and smell. The crater lakes attract a huge numbers of the beautiful flamingos which numbers are not seen elsewhere in the whole of Uganda. Enjoy the spectacular Crater Drive that runs on 27 km which present distant sights of the stunning crater lakes while on your way. There is plenty of wildlife to see along the drive, although commonest are sights of Buffaloes plus Elephants

The Maramagambo Forest

This stretches up the eastern escarpment and provides cool respite from the equatorial sun and offers a different sort of wildlife including wild chimpanzees and colonies of cave-dwelling fruit bats.

Rift Valley Scenery

While driving to Queen Elizabeth you will rewarded with the sights and sounds of the Western Rift Valley and its sceneries which include Lake George, Rwenzori Mountains of the moon, Lake Edward and Kazinga Channel.

Accommodation