ACTIVITIES TO PARTICIPATE WHEN YOU VISIT QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

What to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park?

The list of things to do and see in Queen Elizabeth National Park is endless. This park is found in the southwestern part of Uganda. It is among the favorite destinations that receive many visitors every year in Uganda since it shelters a variety of wildlife and birds. The famous tree-climbing lions are found in this park in the Ishasha sector to be exact. Nestled with great animal species such as elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, and warthogs, to mention but a few. We cannot fail to talk about the magical Kazinga Channel which is a water body connecting two lakes that is Lake George and Lake Edward.

A home to beauty!

Queen Elizabeth national park is a combination of savannah plains, forests, and water bodies.  From time immemorial Queen Elizabeth national park has been recognized as the most bio-diverse national park in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth National Park is close to the Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Kibale Forest national park. This makes it easy for travelers to combine gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking with wildlife safari game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park during their Uganda gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, and wildlife safaris.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is also blessed with incredible scenery of Maramagambo forest and Kyambura gorge. This makes it easy for travelers to enjoy chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura gorge during their Uganda safari. A visit to Queen Elizabeth national park will not only reward you with wildlife and birds but also the Uganda culture.

Have you been planning a safari/trip to Uganda lately? Queen Elizabeth national park should be included on your destinations list.  It will turn your moments into memories.

Since this park has number of wildlife, the game drives in this park can be separated in 2 areas namely the channel drive circuit and the Kasenyi plains. Channel drive circuit is in the northern shore of the Kazinga Channel and the game drive in this area will enable you to view Animals like Leopards, warthog, bushbuck, elephants, hippos and frequently lions. This park is one of the limited places in Africa where the giant Forest hog can be seen during the daylight hours. Kasenyi plains moves towards Lake George and this place the guides say that it is easy to spot lions in this place.

Top safari activities 

Kazinga channel boat cruise

The boat cruise on Kazinga channel is one of the best activities in Queen Elizabeth national park. It gives you a chance to relax and adore the fresh river breeze while observing a variety of animals such as elephants, buffalos, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, and many others. Kazinga channel has very many hippos because this area is a large breeding pod of hippos. You will also some birds like Yellow-billed storks, white-bellied cormorants, and many others.

The Kazinga channel launch cruise takes place in two sessions that is the morning session starting at 11 am and the afternoon session starting at 1 pm. Each of these boat trips takes 2 hours and they all come with a thrilling safari experience. Imagine spending two hours sailing the waters while enjoying spectacular views of the rolling hills, lush vegetation, savannah grasslands, multiple trees, and bird and animal species. The cruise will also give you an opportunity to interact with the local fishermen and have an insight into what fishing in Uganda looks like. You can buy yourself a fish and cook it in the evening after your safari. What a remarkable safari experience!

Tree-climbing Lion tracking in the Ishasha sector

One of the special offers at Queen Elizabeth national park is the tree-climbing lions. This is one of the rare experiences in the whole world since the tree climbing lions are categorized under the world’s red list (Elusive species). Actually, in Uganda, tree-climbing lions can be found only in Queen Elizabeth national park.

Having a lion tracking session in the Ishasha sector gives you an opportunity to see these magical species of big cats as they climb the acacia trees. It is believed that the reason for climbing trees is to get clear views of prey as well as run away from small insects and fleas. It is bathing on their side and a way of protecting their skin. On a lucky day, you will meet the lions on a hunt or even mate if it is the right season. Queen Elizabeth national park guides and rangers are experienced in a way that spotting the lions will not be a challenging experience for you.

Are you ready to go for the lions? Love Uganda Safaris and Tours Ltd is here to organize for you the best tailor-made safari that fits your budget and comes with the best experience.

Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge

Chimpanzee tracking is another activity to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kyambura gorge which is found on the eastern side of this park. The river in this area is responsible for creating the magnificent steep Kyambura gorge. This gorge has a virgin forest that transits to papyrus swamps towards the Kazinga channel. This place has other primates and birds, however, trekking chimpanzees in this gorge can be harder in a way that when you’re going inside it is easy but when climbing back out of the gorge is extremely difficult. You are advised to first get ready before going for chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura gorge.

Wildlife safari Game drives

Other than the Kazinga Channel boat trips and tree-climbing lion tracking, a safari to Queen Elizabeth national park safari is not complete without a game drive. You do not want to spend two hours driving to all corners of the park. Visiting the Kasenyi plains of the park will introduce you to large numbers of animals. These include; elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, bushbucks, and Uganda kobs, and hyenas. The Kasenyi sector has some of the best safari lodges. When booked with, game drives will be an easy thing to do. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can be done in Mweya Peninsular, Kasenyi sector, and the Ishasha sector.

Mweya Peninsular

The Mweya peninsular is an area worth your time and commitment during a Queen Elizabeth national park safari. The area is located in the northeastern part of the park – a place where Kazinga Channel joins Lake Edward and Lake George. This area is the best for Mongoose tracking, birding, nature walks, and safari game drives. You can as well spot some crocodiles from this side alongside other water animals such as hippopotamuses.

Maramagabo Forest

Maramagabo forest is found in Queen Elizabeth National Park and this forest is among the largest forests in Uganda. This park has a number of walking trails on which you can enjoy the nature walk in this forest. One of the popular walking trails leads you to the Maramagabo bat caves where thousands of fruit bats roost every day. The area is a good one for spotting birds as well as other primate species that roam the forest.

Visit the Crater lakes

In Queen Elizabeth National Park, you can also visit the crater lakes that are formed from extinct volcanoes. The best example is Lake Katwe Crater. These lakes are found on the north side of Mweya Safari lodge. The lakes give stunning scenery and breathtaking views across the park. Visiting this area at twilight gives you a chance to take the most beautiful pictures during your Uganda safari. The area is also good for having a Sundowners safaris experience.

Birding safaris

Are you passionate about having the best birding experience? Queen Elizabeth national park has the best in store for you. The park is home to multiple bird species some of which are migratory. These  can only be seen during specific seasons of the year. Others are elusive species on the verge of extinction while others are rift valley endemic species. Birding in Queen Elizabeth national park can best be done in the Kasenyi sector, Kazinga Channel, Kyambura Gorge, and Mweya Peninsular.

Bird Species in Queen Elizabeth National Park

The bird species in Queen Elizabeth national park include but not limited to the following; yellow-backed, Yellow wagtails, and Yellow throated Cuckoo. Yellow backed Weavers, Wood sandpipers, Winding and Caruthers’ Cisticola.  White-winged Warbler, White-winged Terns, White-tailed Lark, White-faced Whistling, White and Abdim’s Storks. Water Thick-knee, Common Snipe, Spotted Redshank, Slender-tailed Mourning Dove,  Slender-billed, and shoebill stork, and Sedge warbles. Saddle-billed Storks, Ringed Plover, Red-chested Sunbirds, Pin-tailed Whydah, pink-backed pelican, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus canary. Open-billed Stork, Martial Eagle, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Little Stint, Lesser Masked Weavers, Lesser and Greater Flamingo.  African Harrier Hawk,  Black-tailed Godwit, African Fish Eagle, Knob-billed Ducks, and Jack Snipe. Check out the Uganda Birding Special offers!

Additionally, one can spot the Grey-headed Kingfishers, Grey-headed Gull, Grey-capped Warbler, Great white and Pink-backed Pelicans,  black-romped buttonquail. Eurasian Wigeon, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Northern Pochard, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars. Curlew Sandpipers, Corncrake, Common Teal, Common Squaco Heron, common sand Martins, Common Squaco Heron. Bateleur, common Greenshank, Whalberg’s Eagle, Collard Pranticles, and Chapin’s flycatcher. Grey Kestrel, Brown Snake Eagle, brimstone Canary, bright colored Saddle-billed Stork and Black-headed Gonolek. Black Crake, Black Bee-eater, Bar-tailed Godwit, African White-tailed Lark, and African skimmer. African Open-billed Stork, African Mourning Dove, African Jacana, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and Swamp Fly-catcher. Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers, African Broadbill, Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans. You can also find the Greater Swamp and winged Warblers as wells as African beautiful Black-headed Gonolek. Book a Uganda Birding safari here

Guided nature walks

Part of your Uganda safari should be guided nature walks since it is one of the ways you can get off your safari vehicle. It is an opportunity for you to exercise, dive into nature, and green lush, and enjoy a magical experience in the wilderness on foot.

One of the best areas to have the best-guided nature walks in Uganda is Queen Elizabeth national park. Walking through the swinging savannah grasslands gives you an opportunity to meditate and relieve yourself from stress. It is that moment when you spot an animal or bird and explore it closely and study all its physical characteristics in the company of the park ranger or your safari guide. Imagine having such an extraordinary safari experience, what are you waiting for?

Cultural tours and encounters

The park is one of Uganda’s top cultural destinations with the Kikorongo Cultural group being the one outstanding. Kikorongo Equator Cultural group to watch and participate in traditional dances, drama, and fire-making. The experience becomes the best as you learn makin crafts. You will as well prepare local beer, cook local food and dance to traditional songs. Do not skip diving into the Ugandan cultural and traditional stories.

Such an experience will make you appreciate diversity in cultures and learn the beauty of sustainable tourism and ecotourism as well. It is good that you buy some crafts from the locals. This is one way of appreciating and giving back to the community.

Katwe Salt mining

Do not expect many animal views from the Katwe area since the areas including the soils are salty. However, the area is never short of a spectacular experience.

Visiting the Katwe salt mining area gives an opportunity to dive into salt mining as a tourism activity as well as an economic activity for the locals. The locals converge at the lake to mine salt and sell it to different parts of the country. The lake has no deep waters and it has no inlets and outlets. While at the lake you can enjoy scenic views of the surrounding area such as Lake Nyamunuka – the animal clinic.

The activities in Queen Elizabeth National park are really quite many. I have not mentioned all of them, but they offer an incredible to experience to visitors of the Park. Visiting the cultural communities around the park,  salt plains and fishing villages is spectacular. This park is a top birding destination. While visiting Queen Elizabeth National park one can easily connect to Kibale the national park and Bwindi Impenetrable forest. If you’re from trekking the gorillas in Bwindi, pass by Queen Elizabeth national park. Book a tailormade Uganda safari here and participate in these activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park.