Queen Elizabeth National park : One of the best safari park in Africa and probably the best number one national park in Uganda. The Queen Elizabeth national park is a popular safari destination to watch lions, especially the tree climbing lion. It is Uganda’s most well-known savanna park, which makes it the ideal location for a Uganda Wildlife Safari. It takes pride in having the greatest range of habitats in the nation, including lakes, savannah grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands, which are home to the greatest number of large mammals.
Location: where is Queen Elizabeth National Park located?
One might be curious about the location of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is situated between Lakes Gorge and Albert in western Uganda, and the Kazinga Channel runs across its 700 square miles of territory. After the Queen of England’s visit in 1954, the park was given her name.
Weather and Climate in Queen Elizabeth national park
Warm weather prevails in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The surroundings are lovely and lush. Due to its proximity to the equator, temperatures are consistent all year round. The high temperature during the day is around 29°C (84°F), while the low temperature at night is around 17°C (63°F).
Although Queen Elizabeth National Park is open all year round, the best times to see animals are in the dry seasons of January through February and June through July. However, rain is always a possibility. The wet seasons, which run from March to May and August to December, are when this picturesque park is at its most gorgeous. June and July saw the least amount of rain, with less rain occurring in December and January. There are two wet seasons: from August to December and from March to May.
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s wildlife
In addition to 10 primate species, including chimpanzees, and 95 mammals, including big game, the park is home to 618 bird species, ranking as the sixth-largest diversity in the world and the highest in Africa, and this makes it the ideal location for Uganda Birding Safaris.
Impressive wildlife may be seen in the park’s grasslands, including chimpanzees, leopards, lions, elephants, hippopotamuses, water buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, warthogs, hyenas, gigantic forest hogs, and numerous different antelope species, including duiker, bushbuck, and reedbuck.
The Ishasha region offers excellent prospects for observing topis and lions that climb trees. The Maramagambo woodland and the Kyambura Gorge are excellent places to see primates. You may visit Nile crocodile-infested banks on the Kazinga Channel boat launch excursion, and you’re guaranteed to view incredible big game along the channel’s banks. In the dry season (January to February and June to August), when wildlife congregates close to river edges and waterholes, viewing wildlife is at its best.
Birds in Queen Elizabeth National Park
There are over 600 different bird species in the park. The lesser and greater Flamingos, the Hooded Vulture, the Martial Eagle, the Grey Kestrel, the African Wattled Plover, the Black-bellied Bustard, the Black-lored Babbler, the White-tailed Lark, the Pink-backed Pelican, the Black-crowned Tchagra, the Slender-tailed Nightjar, the Blue-napped Mouse bird, the Papyrus Canary, the Pygmy Kingfisher are some of the common bird spices that can be seen during bird watching safaris in queen Elizabeth national park.
What to expect in your queen Elizabeth national park safari tour:
Queen Elizabeth national park is appealing because of its large cats and stunning scenery. It’s crucial to distinguish between the ecology in Queens and wildlife reserves in places like South Africa, Tanzania, or Kenya. In addition to being a popular wilderness destination, Queens has a sizable human population that must coexist with the park’s fauna.
Although Queen Elizabeth national park boasts a sizable number of big game animals, big cats tend to leave the biggest impression on visitors. Zebras, rhinos, and giraffes are not present in the park (but you can find them elsewhere in Uganda, including Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo national parks).
Tourist activities: What to do in queen Elizabeth national park
Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the top safari sites in Africa because of the abundance of flora and fauna it contains. An exceptional wildlife experience may be had by combining a safari in this location with a gorilla or chimpanzee walk in Bwindi impenetrable national park or Kibale national park.
Every visit to Queen Elizabeth national park will include a boat tour along the Kazinga Channel and a game drive on the Mweya Peninsula. If you plan to stay longer than two nights, you can visit the chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, go on a game drive in the Ishasha area of the park to look for lions that can climb trees, and explore the salt pans or crater lakes at Katwe.
Mweya Peninsula Game Drives
You will patrol the grasslands with your safari guide for roughly 3 hours in the early morning or late afternoon when the animals are at their most active while traveling in four-wheel-drive vehicles modified to allow superb vision through hatch roofs and sliding windows.
Each species has a unique ecological niche, or habitat, as well as behavioral traits. When the tour guide is aware of these, they can explain the history of the savannah and get you closer to its amazing wildlife.
Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
The experience of viewing wildlife from the boat is really unique. It is serene. The sunlight refracting off the water’s shattered surface; the animals’ shifting expressions as they observe you and deliberate their next move. When the wind is blowing in the appropriate direction, you can frequently approach larger groups much more intimately than you can in a car on land.
Twice daily, boat tours are offered on the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake Edward and Lake George. There are many boat sizes available, but all safaris drift to Pelican Point along the shore. Elephants, hippo, buffalo, antelope, and an amazing variety of water bird life are among the animals you can expect to encounter.
Kyambura Gorge chimp tracking
The Kichwamba Escarpment has been deeply gorged by the Kyambura River over the years. Large primates, especially chimpanzees, can thrive in the dense forest that covers the gorge’s sides because the walls are too high for large herbivores to exploit.
One of Queens’ top attractions is spending a few hours following our closest relatives through the forest with a guide from the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. There is a 60 percent probability of encountering chimpanzees, so this is not a “zoo experience.” A sighting is even more noteworthy because it is a true woodland hunt.
Maramango Forest Walks
The Maramagambo Forest is the ideal area to spend a whole day for birdwatchers and people who enjoy hiking off the beaten path. You can explore the shadows, finding species seldom seen on the open plains, stumble into hidden crater lakes, and be in awe at the sheer amount of life found inside a bat cave while being protected from the blazing sun by the thick canopy.
Avoid getting too close since snakes are waiting in the cave floor’s rocks to pounce on bats who are knocked from their perches by stronger, more agitated neighbors.
Game drives on the Ishasha Plains
While the history of the human race is fascinating, there is something deeply alluring about the wilderness. Stay in the Ishasha area if you feel that attraction. However, avoid climbing the fig trees because you might be competing for the best branches with a few lions.u
On the approach to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Ishasha is a section of open forest in the parks southwest. Even though a few lodges have lately opened in the area, relatively few people visit there. It is explored on game drives. As a result, you may enjoy pleasantly private wildlife drives and unforgettable sundowners.
Drives to the Crater Lakes
The park is home to 72 craters of various sizes, which are dispersed throughout and show the turbulent volcanic history of the region. When the view and geologic history are the focus rather than the wildlife, several of these are grouped in the north of the park, making for an interesting half-day drive.
It is sobering to consider how these craters were created, dozens of imprints on the crust of the Earth, and how they eventually became inhabited by plants and animals over the course of millions of years. The present-day verdant, leafy oasis of life in the craters stands in stark contrast to their horrific, fiery past.
Visit Katwe Salt Pans
Visit the salt pans at Katwe to learn about the park’s human history. You will be astounded by the strength of those who toil in this harshest of settings. They engage in a profession with a long history that once contributed to a wealthy kingdom.
Explore the pans and take in the ancient methods being used in the shadow of a defunct processing facility that was unable to handle the extreme saline present at Katwe. This place is hot. Brutal glare from the sun Even though you won’t remain for long, the trip is nevertheless worthwhile.
Best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park
The idea of “the best time to visit” is mostly irrelevant in Uganda. Due to its equatorial location, the nation experiences rain for the majority of the year. Additionally, it appears that weather patterns are altering, rendering strict seasonality obsolete. So prepare for anything and bring a rain jacket.
However, from June to early October and again from December to early March, the weather is often dryer. Typically, October, November, and March through the end of May get the most rainfall. The wettest months are typically April and May, though May has recently been comparatively dry.
