Queen Elizabeth National Park: Uganda's Premier Wildlife Safari Spot

Queen Elizabeth National Park is among the most notable national parks in Uganda. Rent a 4×4 from Rwanda and explore this vast wildlife safari park covering an estimated area of around 1,980 square kilometres. This fascinating park is located on the Western side of the Great Rift Valley. It lies along the equator and is split between four districts, namely; Kasese, Kamwenge, Rubirizi, and Rukungiri. The park has been named after the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, whose visit to the park occurred in 1954 when it was called Kazinga National Park. Over time, the park has continued to thrive as one of the best safari destinations in Africa, attracting a large number of visitors each year.

Strategic Junction between Two Countries

Queen Elizabeth National Park enjoys a rather strategic position within the area, acting as a must-see for tourists traveling by self-drive between Rwanda and Uganda. Tourists can hire a car in Rwanda, move in a northerly direction and within about five hours reach Kichwamba via a journey that includes stops at Katuna, Kabale, Ntungamo, and Ishaka. This entrance on the eastern side of the park gives tourists a fantastic view of the escarpment from where you can take in the beauty of the spectacular Rift Valley.
Two major roads crisscross the park, providing the main routes for travelers within this national park. The northern road runs from Kichwamba to Kasese while the southern road links Ishasha to Katunguru. The roads pass through contrasting environments, ensuring a change in scenery during the entire drive. Those visiting the park using their vehicles will enjoy a scenic ride passing through rolling hills, terraces, and eventually flat land characteristic of Uganda’s western region.

Ecosystems and Landscapes

Amongst the many features of Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the outstanding is the wide variety of ecosystems found here. The different habitats found within the boundaries of the national park include savannah grassland, tropical forests, swamps, crater lakes, Lake Edward and Lake George. As one can imagine, the varied ecosystems have enabled the park to support a great variety of flora and fauna.
The park itself is situated at an altitude ranging between 910 and 1,390 meters above sea level. The northern parts of the park include the Kasenyi Plains that form the savannah grassland with the characteristic euphorbia trees and acacia woodlands. In contrast to this, the southern part of the park forms part of the Ishasha sector where the vegetation is much thicker than in the north. Finally, there is the Maramagambo Forest in the eastern side of the park, which is one of the most significant tropical rainforests in the park.

Wildlife: An Incredible Mixture

In Queen Elizabeth National Park, there are a great number of wild animals in such high variety that it puts Queen Elizabeth National Park among the top most biodiverse national parks in Africa. The number of mammals in this park alone is above 95, and the number of birds in this park is well above 600.
One type of mammal that deserves special attention is the elephant. In the past few years, many elephants have been seen moving from the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo into this national park due to the conflict situation in that part of Africa.

The buffalo are common in large herds across the park, especially in the Kasenyi plains, where their numbers are quite amazing during the dry season when the animals converge around water sources. The Uganda kob, which is the country’s national animal, are common and are always found in hundreds of them on the savannah grassland, engaging in the unique mating ritual on lek sites. The other herbivores that can easily be observed include waterbuck, common impalas, warthog, topi, and the giant forest hog.
The carnivores are very common in the park and include lions, leopards, spotted hyena, the rare African wild dog, and various species of mongooses and civet cats. However, the lions are probably the best known among these predators, especially in the southern part of Ishasha.

Independent Safaris - Queen Elizabeth National Park

Self drive Safaris and Camping

For self-drive safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Land Cruiser GX or TX is an ideal choice for safaris here. Vehicles equipped with a full-time four-wheel-drive system are widely regarded as the best for navigating the park’s tracks and roads throughout the year. While many of the main roads within the park are graded murram or gravel and passable in a standard vehicle during the dry season, the wet season can render some tracks challenging, making a capable four-wheel-drive vehicle advisable for those wishing to explore the more remote areas of the park, particularly in Ishasha. Camping Safaris are notably acceptable here in the Mweya Penicular and Ishasha section in the southern part. You can have a 4×4 equipped with camping or lay a ground tent depending on the season of travel.

Related Safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions

One of the many unique wildlife spectacles in Queen Elizabeth National Park is the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha. The southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park is called Ishasha, and it is well-known throughout the world for its unique lion population that enjoys taking rest and naps in the branches of fig trees – especially the large wild fig trees found in Ishasha. Unlike other lions in Africa, who usually refrain from climbing trees, those in Ishasha seem to have developed the ability to do so as a means of coping with the heat of the day; they climb into the tree branches where there is always a nice breeze and also to avoid insect bites that occur when lions are on the ground. The spectacle of seeing a lion pride resting on the branches of a large fig tree overlooking the Congo escarpment is one of the best wildlife sightings that exists on the African continent.

Kazinga Channel: A Superhighway for Wildlife

One of the most amazing features of the national park is the Kazinga Channel, an amazing 32-kilometer-long channel connecting Lake George in the eastern part and Lake Edward in the western part. The channel acts as a vital ecological highway where wildlife of various kinds flock together to find abundant aquatic and semi-aquatic species in large numbers.
The bank of the river is home to Nile crocodiles while other animals like elephants come to drink water from the river especially during midday. Elephants come and drink water in large groups. Cape buffalos also gather in massive groups near the channel. Large flocks of bird species including herons, egrets, kingfishers, fish eagles and pelicans also crowd around the banks of this channel.
Boat ride on the Kazinga Channel is said to be one of the best highlights of Queen Elizabeth National Park because you will get very close to the wildlife while riding on water. Starting off from the Mweya Peninsula, this 2-hour cruise is slow enough to enjoy nature and the wildlife. Evening tour is even more rewarding because you can take some amazing photos due to the beautiful evening sunlight.

Kyambura Gorge – “The Valley of Apes”

Kyambura Gorge, which is also known as the “Valley of Apes”, is a beautiful valley formed on the slopes of the plateau and drained by the Kyambura River. The gorge houses a small number of habituated chimpanzees, making it one of the few places outside Kibale National Park where visitors can go to track the apes.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge is an exciting activity that involves trekking to the bottom of the gorge through steep forest paths in search of the resident chimpanzee community. It is an adventurous trip that involves passing through fig forest and other types of riverine forests. Although the chimpanzee group is not always easy to locate as they move about in the gorge, observing them is always very rewarding.
The gorge is also an important birding site with forest species mingling with savanna and wetland species at the ecotone formed by the gorge. Hippos are also found in the river while elephants descend into the gorge from time to time to take a drink from the river.

Game Drives on the Kasenyi Plains

Game drives in the plains of Kasenyi, found on the northern side of the park, are among the best ways to experience a traditional safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The plains offer good views, with an abundance of game in sight. Herds of Cape buffalo may consist of several hundred animals, and the Uganda kob will be spotted showcasing their yellow-colored skins against the green grass. Lions prey on the plains either in the early mornings or evenings, and one may even catch the rare sight of a leopard lounging on the branch of an acacia tree.
In order to observe wildlife in all its glory, game drive safaris are conducted in the early hours of the morning, around 5:30 AM. This is because the predators have just completed their night hunting and the early grazers are still out there feeding. Game drives may also be done in the evening hours, starting from about 4:00 PM.

Pairing with Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Most safari itineraries that include Queen Elizabeth National Park combine it with a gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, located just a 1.5-hour drive from the Buhoma sector of Bwindi. This pairing creates one of East Africa’s most compelling safari combinations: the open savannah drama of Queen Elizabeth followed by the intimate, forest-clad encounter with mountain gorillas in Bwindi. Together, these two parks represent the finest that Uganda’s extraordinary wildlife heritage has to offer, and the short drive between them makes the combination highly accessible within a single itinerary.