Best Time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park

Best Time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park : Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the popular destinations in Uganda that tourists visit to explore different attractions within it. It is located in western Uganda in 4 districts that is to say Kasese, Rukungiri, Kamwenge and Bushenyi. Queen Elizabeth national park is famous for harboring the rare tree climbing lions and it is the only park that has them in Uganda. This park is a haven to a variety of wildlife which attracts tourists to come visit.

The best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park

The best time to visit Queen Elizabeth national park depends on what activities you want to do. Some of the activities that are done in Queen Elizabeth national park include lion tracking, bird watching, chimpanzee tracking, mongoose tracking, boat cruise, game drives, nature walks and cultural tours. The activities in the park are done through out the year but they have particular seasons in the year that are more favorable to do them. Some activities are better done in the wet season. Below is a guideline on the best time to carry out each of the activities stated above.

• Lion tracking

The best time to carry out lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park is in the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. This activity is done in kasenyi plains and it is done in two phases that is to say in the morning and evening. The dry season is the best because the trails are dry and less slippery enabling the easy movement of tourists.

• Bird watching

The best time to carry out bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park is during the wet season in the months of March, April,May, October and November. During the wet season, the park receives rainfall which enables growth of vegetation in the park. Birds in the park are attracted to flowers in the park that forces them to come out of their habitats. This enables the visitors to easily spot them.

• Chimpanzee tracking

Chimpanzee tracking is done in kyambura gorge in Queen Elizabeth national park. The best time to carry out chimpanzee tracking is in the dry season in June, July, August, September, January and February. During the dry season the forests are less thick enabling visitors to easily spot these primates.

• Boat cruise

Boat cruises are best done in June to September and December to February and this is with the dry season. Boat cruises are done at kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park. During the dry season, animals and bird species can be spotted along the channel since they gather to drink water sources on the remaining water sources. The water is limited to some places in the park to some places in the park due to the dry season that makes some water sources to dry up.

• Game drives

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park are majorly done in the kasenyi plains, ishasha sector and mweya peninsular. The best time to carry out game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. The trails in the park during the dry seasons are dry making the routes easy to access.

• Nature walks

Nature walks in Queen Elizabeth national park are done in maramagambo forest, mweya peninsular, ishasha sector and kyambura gorge. The best time to carry out nature walks in Queen Elizabeth national park is during the dry season in June, July, August, September, January and February. During the dry season, the trails in these places in the park are dry and this enables visitors to walk through comfortably.

• Mongoose tracking

Mongoose tracking is done in the mweya peninsular in Queen Elizabeth national park. Mweya peninsular is a home to over 400 mongoose. The best time to carry out mongoose tracking is in the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, October, December, January and February. During this season, the mongoose can easily be spotted.

• Cultural tours

The dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, January and February are the best time to carry out cultural tours in Queen Elizabeth national park in places like kikorongo women community, leopard’s village and nyanz’ibiri cave community while on a Uganda wildlife Safari.