Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best savannah parks found in Uganda. Whilst it is treasured amongst the country’s national parks, it is also one the most popular national parks on the African continent.  With diverse habitats such as lakes, swamps, rivers, thickets, forests and open savannah, it is home to a wide range of species of mammals. It protects at least 98 species, 28% of the total 343 mammal species in Uganda.

UNESCO has listed the park as a Biosphere Reserve. It also contains a RAMSAR wetland site and is classified as an important bird area by Birdlife International.

Species diversity:
Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector, chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura gorge, nature walks in Maramagambo forest and incredible boat trips on the Kazinga Channel (where you will often encounter elephants playing in the water, hippos, crocodiles and hundreds of species of birds) to the shores of Lake Edward and Mweya Peninsula.

Queen Elizabeth National Park game drives are famous for spotting lions, leopards, hyenas, Ugandan kob and elephants. For bird enthusiasts, the check list is 600 species.

Size and accessibility:
Queen Elizabeth National Park is 1978 km² in size.

By Car:
The park lies 5-6 hours from Kampala via surfaced road via Mbarara.

By Air:
It is possible to reduce driving time by flying to Kasese, from where it takes approximately 1 hour to reach the entrance to the park.  For those who are interested in the tree climbing lions only, a flight directly to Kihihi is also possible.

Activities:
Game drives
Bird watching
Boat tour
Nature walks
Chimpanzee tracking