Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Medley of Wonders

Queen Elizabeth National Park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England. The Park spans the equator line; where it crosses latitude 00. The Katwe explosion craters mark the park’s highest point at 1,350m above sea level, while the lowest point is at 910m, at Lake Edward.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to over 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species. The Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. The park’s diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes, and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for a classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees, and over 600 species of birds. Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo, and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide tree climbing lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob.

The park has the largest population of hippopotami in the world in the waters of the Kazinga channel. QENP, together with the adjacent Virunga National Park, was designated as a ‘lion conservation unit’ by the IUCN in 2006. The park is also famous for its volcanic features, including volcanic cones and deep craters, many with crater lakes, such as the Katwe craters, from which salt is extracted.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations, annually receiving one of the highest number of visitors of any of the country’s national parks. Popular activities include chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge, boat cruises, guided game drives including to view tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, night drives and nature walks. Visitors can also go on a lion experience with the Uganda Carnivore Program, with proceeds going toward carnivore conservation. Tourists visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park make a 7 hours 30 minutes drive from Kampala to reach the park. The park is also connected by daily domestic flights from Entebbe International Airport, which land at Mweya Airstrip, Kihihi Airstrip and Kasese Airstrip. Tourist accommodations at the park include a range of lodges and tented camps.

Queen Elizabeth supports at least 95 species of mammals, it boasts of 20 carnivores like the Lion, Leopards, side stripped jackal and spotted hyena among others. Most of Queen Elizabeth comprises open grassland and savannah which tends to be moist and woody in the west than the eastern part, Thorny Acacia dominates this savannah habitant with the high concentration of candelabra shrub a cactus that grows along the Kazinga channel and on the Kasenyi plains.

As well as its outstanding wildlife attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a fascinating cultural history. There are many opportunities for visitors to meet the local communities and enjoy storytelling, dance, music, and more. The gazetting of the park has ensured the conservation of its ecosystems, which in turn benefits the surrounding communities.

Mweya Peninsula and the Kazinga channel

QENP’s main tourism hub is found on Mweya peninsula 22km west of the Kasese-Mbarara road. Mweya which occupies an elevated plateau overlooking the Kazinga channel and lake Edward, is the site of an upmarket lodge, a marina for launch trips on the channel and a visitor information center. Launch trips on the Kazinga channel provide the most relaxing way to view game in QENP. The 2 hour return voyage between Mweya and the channel’s entrance into lake Edward cruise beside banks lined with resident hippos, crocodiles and water-birds, visiting elephants, buffaloes and antelopes. Kazinga channel has the highest concentration of hippopotami bloats in the world more than 2,000 in number.

Birding

Birding activities overlap with the wildlife viewing locations described above. Highlights include easy sightings of resident and migratory waterbirds on the Kazinga channels; spectacular seasonal congregations of flamingos on the Kyambura and Katwe soda lakes; careful searches for rare and restricted range forest species in Maramagambo forest; and memorable shoebill sightings on the remote lake Edward flats in Ishasha.

Game Drives

Kasenyi plains; Half an hour’s drive from Mweya, the open grasslands of Kasenyi provide the primary game viewing area in central QENP courtesy of resident herds of Ugandan kobs and the lions that prey on them.

Ishasha; Conveniently located on the road to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, QENP’s southern sector offers a classic game viewing experience under vast rift valley skies. Expect to see buffaloes, hippos, elephants, topis and more. The chance of sighting tree climbing lions resting up in the branches of shady fig trees.

Forest Walks/Chimpanzee tracking

Kyambura Gorge; The forest-filled Kyambura gorge extends from the kichwamba escarpment to the Kazinga channel. Enjoy the giddy viewpoint on the edge of the 100m deep chasm before descending into the depths to track chimpanzees.

Maramagambo forest; At the foot of the Kichwamba Escarpment, the shady Maramagambo forest contrasts with the park’s open grassland. Guided walks afford sightings of primates and rare birds and visit lake Nyamusingire- formed by three crater lakes and home to the African finfoot- the copper rich blue lake and the Bat cave with its resident bat-gorged python.

VOLCANIC EXPLOSION CRATERS

Crater Drive; Dozens of volcanic craters pock the landscape north of Mweya to remind us of the Albertine Rift’s violent tectonic history. The 27km crater drive between the Kabatoro and crater gates follows a breathtaking route around the rims of extinct craters filled variously with lakes, forests and grasslands. The Queen’s Pavilion, at the crater gate on the eastern edge of the crater area has been visited three times by British royalty. A small information centre and coffee shop stands on the site. The equator markers straddling the adjacent Kasese highway provide a popular photo opportunity.

Katwe salt lake; The people of Katwe town 12km from Mweya have been extracting salt from the saline lake Katwe using evaporation pan since the 14th century. Our guides will take you down into the crater to see the process. The adjacent lake Munyanyange is rich in waterbirds, including migrating lesser flamingo between August and November.

Kyambura wildlife Reserve; This small reserve to the east of Kyambura gorge is dotted with crater lakes that are visited seasonally by greater and lesser flamingos.

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Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Medley of Wonders

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Mweya Peninsula and the Kazinga channel

Birding

Game Drives

Forest Walks/Chimpanzee tracking

VOLCANIC EXPLOSION CRATERS

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