What to See

What to see in Queen Elizabeth National Park: Queen Elizabeth National Park is situated in the southwestern part of Uganda along the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This park was originally known as Kazinga National Park. It is on an area of 1978 square kilometres and is dominated by savannah grasslands, wetlands, tropical forests, salt lakes and acacia savannah. It is located in four districts of Uganda, namely: Bushenyi, Rukungiri, Kamwenge and Kasese. Queen Elizabeth National Park is a habitat to over 600 bird species, 95 mammal species and a number of tree species.

Attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park

• Tree-climbing lions

The tree-climbing lions are one of the main attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park. They are found within the park in the southern part of the Ishasha sector. There are over 130 lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, with 50 tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. These tree-climbing lions can be spotted on the acacia trees in the Ishasha sector. The best time to see them is when carrying out a game drive through the park. This game drive is done with a trained and professional guide who directs visitors on various things. These tree-climbing lions are only found in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, but can also be seen in other countries like Tanzania in Serengeti National Park.

• Mweya peninsular

Mweya peninsular is in the Rwenzururu sub-region of Kasese district on the northern bank of the Kazinga Channel within Queen Elizabeth National Park. Visitors get to see a variety of animals while on a game drive through the trails. Animals like buffaloes, hippos, elephants, waterbucks, mongoose and many more can be spotted as well as birds like hadada ibis, malachite kingfisher, black headed gonolek, among others can also be seen. Mweya Peninsula also has over 400 mongoose, which enables mongoose tracking in this specific area in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

• Kazinga channel

Kazinga channel is situated in Kasese district within Queen Elizabeth National Park. This Kazinga channel connects Lake Edward and Lake George and is among the attractions in the park. Kazinga channel harbours a large number of hippos and the Nile crocodiles. It is also home to various animals and bird species. Visitors go to this place to have a glance at the animal species like elephants, buffalo and many more, plus bird species like African skimmers, slender billed weaver, grey capped warbler, blue napped mousebird bird and many more. These wildlife species can be spotted while on a boat ride at Kazinga Channel.

• Kyambura gorge

Kyambura Gorge is one of the places in Queen Elizabeth National Park that harbours chimpanzees. This 100m deep gorge is part of the Kyambura Game Reserve and is located in the north eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Visitors who visit Queen Elizabeth National Park participate in chimpanzee tracking at Kyambura Gorge, though it is a bit difficult to reach them due to their location in Kyambura Gorge.

• Maramagambo forest

Maramagambo forest is part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and is located in Bushenyi District in the southern part of the park. Maramagambo forest is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority together with the National Forestry Authority. Visitors can decide to carry out nature walks through the trails in this forest, which exposes them to spotting wildlife at close range. Some of these trails include the forest trail, river trail, palm trail and many more.

• Ishasha sector

The Ishasha sector is located in south south-southwestern region of Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is known for having the largest number of tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The tree-climbing lions are seen on the acacia trees in the Ishasha sector. Therefore, when visitors go to Queen Elizabeth National Park, they opt for game drives in the Ishasha sector to spot these tree-climbing lions, though it also harbours other animals like elephants, buffalo, antelopes and many more.

• Equator

The equator monument is one of the many attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is situated in Kikorongoro in the northern sector of the park, where visitors stop to take photos for memories. The equator can be visited at any time of the year by tourists because it gives an exciting and enjoyable experience.

• Kasenyi plains

Kasenyi plains are also referred to as Mweya or Kasenyi sector. These plains are located in the north-eastern region of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Kasenyi plains harbour the largest number of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park. This area is monopolised by open savannah grasslands there making it a good location for animals to stay. The various types of animals in Kasenyi plains include lions, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, topis and defassa waterbucks, leopards, elephants and many more.

• Animals

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to over 95 mammal species. These mammals reside in different sectors of the park, but the largest number of animals stay in the Kasenyi plains. Other areas are the Kyambura Gorge, Mweya peninsula, Ishasha Sector, Kazinga Channel and many more. Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for harbouring the tree-climbing lions, but it still has other animals like the elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, giant forest hog, waterbucks, antelopes, Uganda kobs, chimpanzees, leopards, giraffes and many more.

• Birds

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to over 600 bird species, making it one of the best destinations for bird watching in Uganda. This park harbours different categories of birds, that is, forest dwellers, aquatic birds, woodland birds, migratory birds and many more. Birds can be spotted in the Ishasha sector, Mweya peninsula, Kazinga channel, Kasenyi plains, Katwe area, among other places within Queen Elizabeth National Park. Some of these birds include the Egyptian goose, African wattle plover, brown snake eagle, martial eagle, African fish eagle, African skimmer, African jacana and many more.

• Katwe salt works

Katwe salt works are located in Queen Elizabeth National Park in the south-western part of Uganda, in the north of Mweya Peninsula. The production of salt from Lake Katwe is carried out in the months of January to March and July to September since it’s the peak season for salt mining. People staying around this area carry out salt mining as their economic activity, making it their source of income.