Top things to do in Queen Elizabeth national park; Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest and one of the most visited national park in Uganda located in Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri district. The national park was gazetted in 1952 and covers a total area of 1,978 square kilometers. Queen Elizabeth national park is a home of about 95 mammal species including the tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, Uganda kobs, warthogs, bushbucks, waterbucks, topi, hyenas, giant forest hogs, primates like chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, L’hoest monkeys and over 600 bird species. Queen Elizabeth national park offers a number of activities that tourists can engage in during the safari including

Top things to do in Queen Elizabeth national park

Game drives

Game drive is one of the popular activities in Queen Elizabeth national park where visitors will be able to explore the savannah plains in a comfortable 4WD pop up safari vehicle with a professional driver guide. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can either be done early in the morning when animals are still active and in the afternoon. During the day game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park, you will follow different trails in Kasenyi plains, Mweya peninsula and Ishasha sector where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, lions, leopards, waterbucks, warthogs, bushbucks, topi, giant forest hogs among others.

Queen Elizabeth national park also offers night game drives where you will be able to explore the national park at night with spotlight torches for clear viewing on nocturnal animals. Night game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park is only done in Mweya peninsula and it start at around 6:00pm. During the night game drive, you will be accompanied by a ranger guide who will help you to view nocturnal animals like lions, leopard, hyenas, jackals, serval cats, civets, view hippos feeding, enjoy beautiful views of the starts.

Boat cruise

Boat cruise in another interesting activity in Queen Elizabeth national park that visitors can engage in during the safari. Boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park is done on Kazinga channel a water channel that connect Lake Edward and Lake George. Boat cruise is done in two sessions that is the morning session which starts at around 9:00am and the afternoon session which starts at around 2:00pm and each session takes about 2 to 3 hours. During the boat cruise on Kazinga channel, you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs along the shores, view water birds like cormorants, fish eagles, kingfishers, hornbills, bee-eaters among others. During the afternoon boat ride, you will also be able to view the fishermen along the shores preparing their fishing gears for night fishing.

Bird watching

Queen Elizabeth national park is a home of over 600 recorded bird species including forest birds, water birds, savannah birds and migratory birds which makes is one of the top birding destinations in Uganda. Bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park is done in different areas like Kazinga channel, Kasenyi plains, Ishasha River, Kyambura gorge, Maramagambo forest among others. During bird watching in the park, you will be accompanied by an experienced bird guide who will help you to spot different bird species including papyrus gonolek, saddle-billed stork, African wattled plover, pink-backed pelican, red-chested sunbird, open-bellied stork, swamp flycatcher, water thick-knee, papyrus canary, shoebill stork, lesser and greater flamingo, slender-tailed mourning dove, long tailed cormorants, grey-headed kingfisher, Verreaux’s eagle owl, swamp flycatcher,  black crake, African fish eagle, black-headed gonolek, white-tailed lark, African harrier hawk, African skimmer, African jacana, Chapin’s flycatcher, African mourning dove.

Chimpanzee trekking

Chimpanzee trekking is an adventurous activity that is done is Kyambura gorge also known as the valley of apes. Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge starts very early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing, you will start trekking in search of the habituated chimpanzees which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will be able to view other primate species, view different bird species, plant and tree species among others. Once the chimpanzees ae found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their habits, behaviors, watch them feed, breastfeed, hunt, fight, mate, take photos and record videos to show people back home.

Nature walks

Nature walk is an exciting activity in Queen Elizabeth national park where visitors will be able to explore the national park on foot with the company of an experienced park guide and armed park ranger to protect you from any danger. Nature walk in Queen Elizabeth national park is done in different areas including Maramagambo Forest, Ishasha River, Mweya peninsula, Kasenyi plains, Kyambura gorge among others. During he guided nature walk, you will be able to get up-close and personal with different animals, listen to bird species singing in trees, enjoy the cool breeze, view bird species among others.

Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park

Queen Elizabeth national park can be visited anytime throughout the year though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February because during this period there is less or little rainfall in the park therefore access roads, nature walk and chimpanzee trekking trails will be dry and passable. During the dry season vegetation will be short which allows you to view different wildlife species in the park clearly.

Queen Elizabeth national park can also be visited in the wet season during the months of March to May, October and November because that’s the best period for bird watching where bird lovers will be able to view colorful and migratory bird species.

Where to stay in Queen Elizabeth national park

Queen Elizabeth national park has a wide range of accommodation facilities where you can stay during the safari. The accommodations range from budget, midrange and luxury including Elephant Plains Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Buffalo Safari Lodge, Elephant Hab Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Safari Lodge, Parkview Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, Irungu Forest Safari Lodge, Marafiki Safari Lodge, Lake Munyanyange Cave Resort, Pumba Safari Lodge, Ishasha Jungle Lodge, Enganzi Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Kasenyi Safari Camp, Kitandara Hippo Hill Lodge, Mweya Hostels, Simba Safari Camp, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Lake Chibwera Camp, Katara Lodge, King Fisher Lodge Kichwamba, Jacana Safari Lodge, Ishasha Tented Camp, Ihamba Safari Lodge, Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp 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 both road and air transport means. When using road transport means, 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.

When using air transport means, you will book scheduled or charter flights from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield to Mweya or Kasese airstrips and then connect to the park headquarters by road.

Queen Elizabeth national park can also be accessed from Bwindi impenetrable national park via Ishasha sector in the southern part of the park which takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive.

For breathtaking and unforgettable moments on your safari, activities in Queen Elizabeth national can be combined with gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park. For more information about the top things to do in Queen Elizabeth national park, do not hesitate to contact us at Achieve Global Safaris.