7 Top Reasons To Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park : Queen Elizabeth National Park found in Uganda is not only a national park but the largest biotic area in Africa with numerous plant and animal species including hippos, tree-climbing lions, elephants, swamp antelopes, Uganda-kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, duikers among others.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a great safari destination to visit in Uganda, here are the top 7 reasons to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park on your next Uganda safari visit.
- Wildlife
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a home to abundant wildlife with over 95 mammal species including four of the Big Five (lions, leopards, elephants and buffaloes). The abundance of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the reasons to why the park visited many tourists from all over the world most especially wildlife lovers.
Queen Elizabeth National Park also hosts a huge population of birds with over 600 recorded bird species including the Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, White-winged Terns, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Collard Pranticole, African Jacana, Pin-tailed Whydah, Martial Eagle, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, the lovely Black-headed Gonolek, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squacco Heron, African Skimmer, African Fish Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Sedge Warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, African Mourning Dove, African Open-billed Stork, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Yellow-billed, open-billed and Marabou Storks, Egyptian Goose, a number of Gull species among others.
- Tracking The Tree Climbing Lions
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best lion conservation units in Uganda and Africa at large with over 250 lions, the tree climbing lions are rare lion species and in Africa they are only found in Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha Sector and Lake Manyara national Park in Tanzania.
Lion tracking experience is another top reason to why Queen Elizabeth National Park is visited because no other place offers this activity in a way it is as authentic and African as Queen Elizabeth National Park does.
The lion tracking experience is practiced at the plains of Kasenyi and it involves allowing tourists to get close enough to the lions and spending some time with them as they reside in the natural habitat. Lion tracking is conducted by well – trained park ranges who assist tourists to navigate and learn about the feeding habits, behavior and so many things about lions. Visitors are rewarded with firsthand information and close-up sightings of the lions.
The tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park
The Tree climbing lions are found in the Ishasha sector in the southern region of the park and they are spotted while on game drives. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known to have the largest populations of tree climbing lions in the world and they are easily seen lounging on branches of fig trees. The fact that these lions can climb tree branches makes them exception compared to other lions.
- Game drives
Game viewing drives are the major activity done in Queen Elizabeth National park, this activity attracts millions of tourists from all over the world to visit the park. While on a game drive, you will be able to see most of the wild animals in the park such as lions, buffaloes, giraffes, chimpanzees, the Uganda kob and so many more.
You will also be able to see many birds such as herons, cormorants among others
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are mostly conducted at Ishasha, Mweya and at Kasenyi plains, watching animals and birds in their natural habitat is an exceptional experience you would not want to miss on an African Safari.
- Chimpanzee Trekking
Queen Elizabeth National Park is endowed with large number of chimpanzees with habituated individuals meaning they have been trained to accommodate the presence of human interactions with feeling threatened.
Chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth National Park is done in the Kyambura Gorge, this activity involves waking up very early in the morning for a briefing about the dos and donts of the trek and then head into the forest under the guidance of trained game rangers in search for habituated chimpanzees. On this activity you will spend time with the chimpanzees, take photos and learn more about their behaviors.
- Bird watching
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a haven to over 600 different bird species including forest birds, water birds, savannah birds and migratory birds. The presence of these birds has created one of the best bird watching sanctuaries in the park, bird watching can be done any time of the day, however early morning hours or evenings are most ideal for bird watching.
While following known birding trails with experienced guides you will see several types of birds including the Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, White-winged Terns, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Collard Pranticole, African Jacana, Pin-tailed Whydah, Martial Eagle, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, the lovely Black-headed Gonolek, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squacco Heron, African Skimmer, African Fish Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Sedge Warbler, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans, African Mourning Dove, African Open-billed Stork, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Yellow-billed, open-billed and Marabou Storks, Egyptian Goose, a number of Gull species among others.
You will be able to take as many pictures as you want and you can record as many videos as possible.
- Boat Cruises on Kazinga Channel
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s boat cruise on Kazinga Channel is the most thrilling and exciting activity done in the park, Kazinga Channel and a board and long natural water channel connecting Lake George to Lake Edward.
Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel lasts about 2-4 hours and during the cruise , visitors will be able to see hippos, crocodiles and fish in water and buffaloes, warthogs and elephants at the shores of the channel. You will see some bird species including white pelican, fish eagles among others.
- Nature and Landscape
Queen Elizabeth National Park is made up of forests, valleys, hills, lakes and so many other breathtaking attractions which make the park a perfect destination for nature walks and trails.
When to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park
The park is open throughout the year, however the best time to visit the park is December to February and June to September, these months are dry months with ample sunshine to make the Uganda safari fun without being disturbed by rain and mud. Also animals are easily seen as the vegetation is thin and they congregate around the remaining waterholes to drink water.
