Chimpanzee Trekking in Budongo Forest
December 7, 2023
Adventures in Murchison Falls National Park
December 8, 2023
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most well-known and often-visited wildlife conservation areas. The park is located in the districts of Kamwenge, Rukingiri, Rubirizi, and Kasese in western Uganda. Now, Queen Elizabeth National Park covers an area of roughly 764 square miles.
The park was formerly known as Kazinga National Park when it was created in 1952. The government of the United Kingdom was so delighted by the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in the early 1950s that they dedicated a park in her honor. The park is home to about 95 different species of mammals, including giant forest pigs, waterbucks, warthogs, Uganda Kobs, spotted hyenas, serval cats, mongoose, leopards, L’Hoest’s monkeys, jackals, hippopotamuses, rhinos, elephants, crocodiles, civets, chimpanzees, and buffaloes.
Over 200 lions, including the fascinating tree-climbing lions, can be found in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park is home to more than 490 different species of birds. Mgahinga National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest are all adjacent to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This suggests that tourists can visit Bwindi Forest and combine a gorilla trekking experience with a comprehensive wildlife safari.
How to Access Queen Elizabeth National Park
Travelers can access the park by road or air; it takes approximately eight hours to drive from Kampala to the Park via Mbarara. Private or public transportation can be used to get to the park gate, but public commercial vehicles are not permitted inside. Public buses depart from Kampala’s bus park for Kasese very early in the morning, every day of the week they take a long time to fill up, and most of them stop frequently to drop off and pick up passengers in the small towns along the route thus causing delays.
Thus, using a tour operator is the ideal option for visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park. This is the most dependable, pleasant, and safest way to enter the park and make sure your safari runs according to schedule. Tour guides maintain a strict schedule and work hard to ensure that the traveler has the best possible experience. They also have extensive knowledge about the area, including whom to call in case of emergency.
Travelers can charter a flight from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to airstrips in Ishasha, Kasese, or Mweya if they would like to bypass the lengthy drive from Entebbe. To get to the park offices or their hotel, visitors must rent a private vehicle from the airstrip.
Attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Tree Climbing Lions:
The Ishasha area of the Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to the endangered tree-climbing lions. They are not a subspecies and are not distinct from the lions found in Uganda’s other national parks or the Kasenyi area. The lions in this area have, incidentally, adapted to a life centered on climbing the many fig trees following morning or afternoon hunts. There are ideas that these lions climb the trees because of insects and parasites like Tsetse flies that are present on the ground, but scientists have not yet found a definitive reason for why these animals do so.
The major goal of organized game drives to the Ishasha region is to see the lions perched atop the trees. In addition to lions, other species found in the Ishasha region include warthogs, buffaloes, and elephants. Because the Ishasha area is close to the highway that leads to Bwindi, it is an ideal place to stay for visitors hoping to view gorillas and lions in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Hot Air Balloon Rides: Safaris in hot air balloons are a more recent addition, taken from Murchison Falls National Park. The event begins extremely early in the morning with a briefing at the park’s Kasenyi gate. The ride offers incredible aerial views of every animal in the park and fantastic photo opportunities of the lovely grounds.
Game Drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park:
In the early morning, three to four-hour game drives are conducted to three distinct areas: the Katwe Crater Fields, the Ishasha Sector, and the Kasenyi Plains. Salt lakes and large craters that were formed thousands of years ago make up the beautiful landscape of the Crater Lakes region. Elephants, flamingos and other species are drawn to the crater floors during the dry season, as they provide a water source.
Possibly the most attractive and ideal locations to see wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park are the Kasenyi plains in the park’s northern region. In the plains are the breeding sites of the Uganda Kobs. The plains are a great location to witness fights between large cats and herbivorous animals because they are home to many antelope species, buffalo, elephants, and predators like lions and hyenas.
If you decide to embark on a game drive in any sector, get ready to be driven by park rangers and guides to the best locations for seeing wildlife while enjoying the security and comfort of a four-wheel drive vehicle. Because you can see night hunters like hyenas and leopards returning to their caves after dining on the previous night’s meat, the morning game drive is very fascinating. Night game drives offer an excellent opportunity to witness lions, leopards, and hyenas hunting, as well as to observe nocturnal birds. Along with providing information about the many species encountered along the journey, game rangers can show visitors to the best locations for wildlife viewing.
Kazinga Channel Launch Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park
One of the best spots in Africa to see animals is the Kazinga Channel, where this boat trip is scheduled to take place. The majority of the park’s animals congregate in this canal, which links Lake George and Lake Edward, for drinking water, hunting, and bathing. There are more bird species here than in North America during the bird migration season.
Even those who have been on multiple safaris abroad will be impressed by the sheer density and variety of wildlife along the Kazinga Channel. Elephants, antelopes, and predators like as leopards drink water in the shallow parts of the channel, while hippos, crocodiles, and water birds dominate the waters. Throughout the day, the activity is scheduled in shifts, and participants can choose to use the more costly private boats operated by Mweya Safari Lodge or the less expensive public boats.
Chimpanzee Trekking in Kyambura Gorge
Among the world’s most fascinating primates are chimpanzees. Compared to even the larger gorillas, they are incredibly intelligent. At Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Kyambura Gorge, chimpanzees can be tracked. The Gorge covers 16 km in length, 100 m in depth, and 500 m in width. The gorge is currently covered with thick trees and streams of water. Numerous monkey species, including red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white Colobus, and baboons, can be found in this underground forest.
Visitors from the observation platform above the gorge can see many of the animals, which is located in the large valley’s treetops. It is also a chance to discover plant species that are unique to our planet. All of the valley’s chimpanzees are habituated, and reservations are handled at the Mweya Information Center.
Bird watching
Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is a popular spot for birdwatching. The Bird Observatory in Mweya has a detailed list of the entire park’s bird species. When visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park, birdwatchers will be astonished by the variety of birds that call the plains, craters, and gorges of Kyambura, Budongo Forest, Kazinga Channel, and plains home.
Watch out for the following bird species: Wood sandpipers, Winding and Carruther’s Cisticolas, Yellow-backed and Yellow-wagtails, Yellow throated Cuckoo, Yellow-backed Weavers, White-winged Warbler, White-winged Terns, White-tailed Lark, White-faced Whistling, White and Abdim’s Storks, Whalberg’s Eagle, Water Thick-knee, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Swamp Fly-catcher, Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers, Spotted Redshank, Slender-tailed Mourning Dove, Slender-billed, shoebill stork, Sedge warbles, Saddle-billed Storks, Ringed Plover, Red-chested Sunbirds, Pin-tailed Whydah, pink-backed pelican, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus canary, Open-billed Stork, Northern Pochard, Martial Eagle, Knob-billed Ducks, Jack Snipe, Grey-headed Kingfishers, Grey-headed Gull, among others.
Nature Walks at the Maramagambo Forest
Traveling to Maramagambo Forest is highly favored, particularly by birders. In addition to learning about forest protection, nature walks in this large forest make use of well-established routes to allow visitors to observe small crater lakes, birds, primates, and other forest critters. When it comes to monkeys, the Maramagambo forest is home to roughly nine different species, including baboons, vervet monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, bush babies, red-tailed monkeys, and chimpanzees. Even though they have not yet reached complete habituated status, the chimpanzees in Maramagambo can still be seen on extended journeys through the heart of the forest.
Accommodation in Queen Elizabeth National Park
There is a wide selection of lodges and hotels available to visitors to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The lodges provide luxury, mid-range, and cheap amenities. The hotel one chooses will rely on their abilities and interests. Let us examine a few of these facilities:
Kyambura Gorge Lodge: The lodge offers stunning views of the park and the Rwenzori Mountains and is situated near to the Kyambura Gorge. For those who enjoy isolation, especially married couples, the lodge is ideal. It offers Wi-Fi-equipped, standalone rooms. For those who are passionate about primates and want to see baboons and chimpanzees in their natural habitat, Kyambura Gorge Lodge is the perfect choice.
Mweya Safari Lodge: This luxury lodge was constructed in a key location with stunning views of the Kazinga Channel. The lodge has twin and double rooms that may hold up to four adults each. The luxurious, fully equipped rooms have air conditioning, big beds, and are self-contained. The lodge also features an upscale swimming pool, a restaurant, and a bar. For those who would prefer a more private boat tour without the crowds on public boats, Mweya Safari Lodge arranges boat cruises to the Kazinga channel utilizing its own fleets of boats.
Ishasha Wilderness Camp: It is situated along the banks of the Ntungwe River, close to the Ishasha sector. The lodge’s structure and chambers are made of stone, weathered with time, and grass roofs. The lounge room of the lodge has comfortable wood chairs and coffee tables with beautiful views of the neighboring river. The lodge features a restaurant, bar, curio shop, and fireplace. Additionally, it offers Wi-Fi-equipped self-contained tented rooms. The lodge offers chance to see some of the park’s animals, including antelopes, warthogs, baboons, and elephants, who come by to graze.
Other lodging facilities nearby include; Jacana Safari Lodge, Katara Lodge, Hippo Hill Camp, Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge.
