Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park; Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park in Uganda after Murchison falls national park located in western region in four districts namely Kasese, Rukungiri, Rubirizi and Kamwengye. Queen Elizabeth national park was gazette in 1952 and it’s famously known for harboring tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector, other animals like elephants, buffaloes, leopards, hippos, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, Nile crocodiles, warthogs, giant forest hogs, topi, primates like chimpanzees and over 600 bird species.

Game drive is the major activity in Queen Elizabeth national park where tourists will get a chance to explore the savannah plains in a comfortable pop up safari vehicle with a professional driver guide who is conversant about different game tracks. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can either be done very early in the morning at around 6:30 am when animals are more active or in the evening at around 4:00pm when animals are going back to their resting areas. During the day game drive, you will follow different game tracks in the park for example game tracks in Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector and Mweya peninsula where you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, topi, elephants, waterbucks, giant forest hogs, bushbucks, warthogs among others.

Queen Elizabeth national park also offers night game drives where you will be able to explore the park at night with spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals. Night game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park is only done in Mweya peninsula as Kasenyi plains receives big numbers of visitors during the day. During the night game drive, you will be accompanied by a ranger guide who will help you to view nocturnal animals which hunt at night including leopards, lions, civet, serval cats, bush babies, hyenas, banded mongoose among others. During the night game drive, you will also be able to see hippos feeding, view other animals like elephants, Uganda kobs, bushbucks among others.

Best time for game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can be done all year round though the best time is during the dry season also known as the peak season in the months of June to September and December to February because during this period there is less rainfall in the national park therefore game drive tracks will be dry and passable and vegetation will be short which allows you to view different animals in the park clearly.

During the dry season animals gather around the water bodies to drink water which gives you an opportunity to view abundant animals and take great pictures.

Where to stay during your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park

There are a number of accommodation facilities ranging from budget, midrange and luxury where you can stay during your safari in Queen Elizabeth national park including Buffalo safari lodge, Elephant plains lodge, Mweya safari lodge, Katara lodge, Ishasha jungle lodge, Elephant hab lodge, Parkview safari lodge, Irungu forest safari lodge, Pumba safari lodge, Simba safari lodge, Tembo safari lodge, Jacana lodge, Kyambura gorge lodge, Ishasha wilderness camp, Ihamba safari lodge, Queen Elizabeth bush lodge, Enganzi lodge, Queen Elizabeth safari lodge among others.

Other activities in Queen Elizabeth national park

Apart from game drives, Queen Elizabeth national park offers other activities that you can engage in during the safari including boat cruise on Kazinga channel where you will be able to cruise near different wildlife species,  chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge where you will be able to spend one hour with the chimpanzees,  lion tracking experience, bird watching where you will be able to view variety of bird species, guided nature walks where you will get an opportunity to explore the park on foot, cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people in the neighboring communities among others.

How to get to Queen Elizabeth national park

Queen Elizabeth national park is located in western part of Uganda and can be accessed by air transport means where you will book a scheduled or charter domestic flight from Entebbe international airport to Mweya or Kasese airstrip and then connect to the park headquarters by road.

Queen Elizabeth national park can also be accessed by road transport means where you will drive from Kampala via Masaka Mbarara road or Mubende Fort portal road to the park headquarters which takes about 7 to 8 hours’ drive in a safari vehicle.

Game drive is an interesting activity in Queen Elizabeth national park that can be combined with other activities like boat cruise on Kazinga channel, chimpanzee trekking in Kymabura gorge, gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park, Batwa cultural tour, guided nature walk, bird watching among others. For more information, you can contact us at Achieve Global Safaris or visit our website for affordable safari packages.