Overview – Queen Elizabeth National Park

Safari par excellence! In addition to spectacular landscapes, Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) boasts the most productive Safari experience in Uganda. Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains,  QENP’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters (Volcanic) with their scenic lakes carved by rolling green hills, the panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo and elephants, the Mitumbe mountains in Congo rising above the distant, western shore of Lake Edward and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide the elusive tree-climbing lions.

The Park includes two lakes: Lake George in the north-east and Lake Edward in the south-west. The Kazinga Channel connecting the two lakes is also a part of QENP. Lake George drains into Lake Edward, which in turn flows out via the Semliki River into Lake Albert and finally into the Nile.

 

Wildlife Biodiversity

The secret of the wide diversity of wildlife in the Park lies in the sheer range of different eco-systems. The Park lies in the convergence area of two great biomes, the forests of Central Africa and the savanna grasslands of East Africa. The deep forested Kyambura Gorge lies in the north east. This variety in habitats, including grassland, acacia woodland, forest, riverine, wetland and open water, sustains a wide range of mammals (about 95) while the park’s 604 bird species is a quite remarkable tally for a protected area covering less than 2,000 sq kms.

No wonder, we had the most productive safaris in Uganda at QENP. We sighted more than 15 species of Mammals (including Lions) and a stupendous 91 species of birds in the Park – including the Kazinga Channel and the Ishasha sector!

The only other park which came close to QENP was Murchison Falls National Park – which I would admit would have had scored better but for the monstrous oil highway running right through the park!

 

Things to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Other than the standard safaris – which, as I said, can be quite productive, QENP has a lot more experiences to offer!

1. Kazinga Channel – Boat Cruise

The Boat ride along the Kazinga Channel which connects Lake George with Lake Edward is a fabulous experience! The sights of hippos and crocodiles lounging by the river is commonplace; but the birding is excellent! We spotted nearly 40 species of birds – nearly half our tally for the whole of QENP – and that too in a single 3 hour boat safari!!

P.S. this boat cruise can rival the boat trip on the Nile in Murchison Falls. But the thrill of watching the Murchison falls (in the distance) at the end of the trip is what makes it a superlative experience in Murchison Falls National Park!

 

2. Queen’s Pavilion

A shelter created for Queen Elizabeth’s visit to her namesake park, this is a pleasant pit stop between tiring safaris! Have coffee, shop in the souvenir shop here and admire the panoramic views of Lake Edward.

 

3. Equator Line

An overrated experience – but fun nevertheless. The bored attendant at 0 degrees (i.e. the equator – though your phone GPS would disagree with the physical on ground mark!) will demonstrate the Coriolis effect using a basic water basin! Though you realise that you are being taken for a nice joy ride, trying to figure out on how he manages to change the direction of the water can make this an interesting experience!

 

4. Tree Climbing Lions

One of the marketing highlights of Safaris in Uganda is the ‘Tree Climbing’ lions of Ishasha. Ishasha is the southern sector of QENP. Given the distance from the main park in the north (including the Kazinga channel and the Kasenyi plains), it may be worthwhile to stay here for a night en-route to Gorilla Tracking at Bwindi.

An important disclaimer here: We have to remember that there is no ‘guarantee’ of Lion sightings on safari anywhere in the world. Same goes for the Tree-climbing lions in Ishasha. However, the ‘marketing’ hype puts in a tremendous ‘pressure’ on a sighting of a lion climbing trees! (the Guides bear the brunt of it). I assure you that sightings can be quite rare. We were lucky to sight the lions (one of them climbing a dead tree!); however, we were told that this was the first sighting in 5 days! The Lions had travelled across the border to Congo and had just returned from their overseas ‘jaunt’.

Keep your expectations low; if you sight the lions treat it like an ‘added’ bonus. In the meantime, enjoy the lovely plains of Ishasha and the other fabulous mammals and birds! If you keep your safaris all about sighting the tree climbing lions, you are most likely to be disappointed!

5. Birding

As an avid bird-watcher, I had the best time beefing up my life list on birds. With 90+ species in 3 days, it was productive birding to say the least.

 

 

Check out my ebird checklists on:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S65388275

https://ebird.org/checklist/S65514534

 

Also check out my Uganda Wildlife Diary with the list of species (birds and mammals) spotted during my long visit to the Pearl of Africa!

Link: https://beyonder.travel/africa/uganda/uganda-wildlife-diary/

 

Other Activities

‘Wildlife Research Tours’

This is one activity that we were not aware of before we visited the Park. There is an interesting concept of ‘Wildlife Research Tours’ conducted by the UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority). There are ‘limited’ excursions where visitors can actively participate in monitoring some of the mammals ad birds of the park. For example using locator devices, the park would take visitors on a ‘Lion Tracking’ experience – of course, for an additional cost ($60/person). Similar excursions include mongoose tracking, Hippo census and bird counts. Not sure on how ‘Lion tracking’ i.e. a guaranteed Lion sighting with absolutely no value for long term research can be termed as a ‘research’ activity. But I suppose this can be quite an attractive proposition for tourists willing to shell out the extra cost. However, you may need to book well in advance for these activities, which may be in high demand.

Check out more on: https://www.ugandawildlife.org/activities-qenp/experiential-tours

Nature Walks

This is quite an interesting concept and if I had known earlier, I would have definitely tried one of these! The UWA organises walks in the Maramagambo forest, Mweya Peninsula with its scenic views; and the Ishasha River (where you can see Hippos up close from elevated walkways). You can find out more about these activities on:

https://www.ugandawildlife.org/activities-qenp/hiking-nature-walks-75

 

Stay options in QE Elizabeth National Park

There are numerous options for your stay in QENP. Your decision would depend on your budget – the cost of the accommodation depends on the luxury level and the location of the lodge. Staying within the park is of course, a plus! The best lodge (and also very expensive) is the Mweya Safari Lodge with its fabulous high point views of Lake Edward and the Kazinga channel!

We do recommend a minimum of 2 nights in Queen Elizabeth and one night in Ishasha sector – making a total of 3 nights in this beautiful park. I assure you this time spent here will be well worth it!