Queen Elizabeth national park
This park was originally called Kazinga national park but was renamed after the late Queen of England, Elizabeth II following her visit to the park in 1952. It is one of Uganda’s top wildlife safari destinations and also the most popular savannah park, best known for being the only place where tree climbing lions exist in Uganda. It is also possible that it attracts a lot of tourists simply because of its name and also easily accessible. Queen Elizabeth national park is found in the southwestern part of Uganda and it lies astride the 0 degrees latitude. The park cuts across the Kyambura and the Kigezi wildlife reserve which is why this park has got a combination of some of the most amazing and diverse ecosystem.
The park’s very rich ecosystems includes the sprawling savannah vegetation, various crater lakes, humid forests, woodlands, very fertile wetlands and acacia makes a perfect habitat for variety of wildlife species, plants, and species of birds. Wildlife love will be happy to know that this park is a home to over 95 species of mammals, 20 of which are carnivores. It is therefore a home to large population of African elephants and buffaloes, so many different types of antelopes especially the Uganda kobs, water bucks, topis, among others. There are giant forest hogs, hippos and crocodiles are very common along the shores of or within the Kazinga channel and so you can seen them while on a boat ride on the\is water channel. Leopards, hyenas and lions can be found any everywhere inside this park except for the tree climbing lions. These you will find them in numbers in the Ishasha (southern) sector of the park. A game drive around the park brings you closer to all these animals while they are in their natural habitats.
More to the wildlife, this park is also a home to hundreds of chimpanzees. These are found within the kyambura gorge and that is where tracking the habituated and non habituated chimpanzees takes place for those that wish to meet them. The chimpanzee tours gives you an opportunity to meet so many more other primates in the forest like the baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, l’hoest, among others.
Queen Elizabeth Park is also a great birding destination for the bird watchers. The park has over 600 different species of birds living within thus make it one of the best birding spots in Uganda. Bird watching with a skilled birding guide will definitely be very fruitful to any birder.
The fact that this park lies along the foothills of the famous jagged mountain Rwenzori, it is blessed with of numerous deep crater lakes that are curved randomly amidst green rolling hills. While some of these crater lakes are simply beautiful views, some are actually productive like the Katwe crater salt lake where salt is extracted. There is also the Nyamununka Crater Lake where animals go to bath in its sulphur containing water when they are wounded and locals refer to it as the animal hospital. The existence of volcanic activities in the area has also led to the formation of other volcanic features like the volcanic cones. There are hot spring spots and so many other attractions.
The park is also surrounding by different communities with friendly people who are very welcoming for cultural tours. A visit to their homestead gives you an opportunity to interact with them, you can even participate in their daily like activities like salt harvesting. They are also great entertainers to their visitors.
Plan your trip to Queen any time of the year because the park is open all year. Permits and accommodations should be booked before your arrival date. Otherwise you can always adjust your travel itinerary in any way at any time during your trip.