Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park 2024 – 2025
Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park 2024 – 2025 : Queen Elizabeth National Park is among the safari destinations to visit in Uganda and it is located in the western part of the country.
The national park is the second largest savannah park of Uganda and is known for its diversity. Queen Elizabeth national park also has diverse landscape and is a popular safari destination that offers a wide range of activities for tourists can enjoy ranging from wildlife viewing, bird watching, primate encounters to cultural experiences and so much more.
To be able to engage in the various activities around Queen Elizabeth national park, tourist are required to pay park entrance fee which is 40 USD for foreign nonresidents, 30 USD for foreign residents and 20,000 Uganda shillings for East African citizens.
Some of the activities to do around Queen Elizabeth national park include the following;
- Game drives
Game drives are among the most popular activities carried out in Queen Elizabeth National Park and involves driving around in 4×4 vehicles in search of the different wildlife species.
Tourists during game drives around Queen Elizabeth national park can see a wide variety of wildlife, including elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos, impalas, hippos, waterbucks, hartebeests, impalas, Uganda kobs, warthogs, bushbucks and many others.
The activity takes place in the morning and afternoon or evening and can be done in parts of Queen Elizabeth national park such as the Kasenyi plains, the Mweya peninsular, Ishasha sector among other parts of the park.
- Boat rides
The Kazinga Channel which connects Lake Edward and Lake George is the location where boat rides are done during safaris in Queen Elizabeth national park.
The boat ride along the Kazinga channel takes about 2 hours and can be done using the Uganda Wildlife Authority( UWA) scheduled boat or using the private boats. During the boat safaris in Queen Elizabeth national park, tourists can observe the birdlife and wildlife that gather along the shores such as hippos, buffalos, elephants and Nile crocodiles.
When visiting the Kazinga channel for boat rides, tourists can do the activity in the morning and also in the afternoon. The locals in the fishing villages along the Kazinga channel also offer these boat tours and also act as guides during safaris around Queen Elizabeth national park.
- Chimpanzee tracking
Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to chimpanzees which can be seen when visiting the Kyambura Gorge which is part of the Kyambura wildlife reserve.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura gorge costs 50 USD per person and tourists can embark on a guided trek through the gorge to observe these fascinating chimpanzees in their natural habitat. The activity can be done in the morning and in the afternoon and is done with a ranger guide.
Kyambura Gorge is about 100 meters deep and is a refuge for chimpanzees in Queen Elizabeth national park as well as other primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, baboons and vervet monkeys.
- Lion tracking
Queen Elizabeth national park offers lion tracking experiences which can be done during tours in the northern part of the park in the Kasenyi plains.
Various methods are used by park rangers and researchers to track lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park and they include looking for footprints or claw marks on trees, searching for fresh kills in the savannah, which can indicate the presence of a nearby lion pride.
Another way to track the lions in Queen Elizabeth national park is by tracking their collars using GPS devices that transmit signals to researchers, allowing them to monitor the movements and location of the lions.
This activity increases chances of seeing lions around Queen Elizabeth national park during a safari. There are also tree climbing lions which can be seen when visiting the national park and they are found in Ishasha sector.
- Bird watching
There are over 600 bird species which can be seen during safaris around Queen Elizabeth national park and they include Great Blue Turaco, Gray crowned crane, Long Crested Eagle, Black Headed Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, Yellow Billed Stork, Swamp Flycatcher, Pied Kingfisher among others.
Some of the birding spots found around Queen Elizabeth national park include the Kazinga Channel renowned for its abundant birdlife including water birds such as African fish eagles, pink-backed pelicans, and yellow-billed storks, Maramagambo, the Kasenyi area, Kyambura gorge among others.
The best time for Uganda bird watching in Queen Elizabeth National Park is during the wet season around March to May and around November when migratory birds are present in the park. However, birding can be done throughout the year due to the numerous bird species found in the park.
- Nature walks
Tourists visiting Queen Elizabeth national park can also explore the parks surroundings on foot during guided nature walks.
Different trails are followed during the nature walks which can be done around the Kyambura gorge, Maramagambo Forest, the Ishasha sector, Kasenyi plains among other parts of Queen Elizabeth national park where tourists are accompanied by ranger guides.
Wildlife species such as buffalos, antelopes, elephants among others found in the park can also be seen during these nature walks around Queen Elizabeth national park.
- Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park 2024 – 2025 : Community tours
In addition to wildlife viewing, tourists can also interact with the locals living in the neighboring villages around Queen Elizabeth National Park.
These community tours can be done around Rubirizi, Kasese, around the Katwe area among other locations as tourists learn about and experience the culture of the locals through traditional dance, storytelling, food preparation, visiting the homesteads among other activities.
- Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park 2024 – 2025 : Mongoose tracking
Mongoose tracking is another exciting activity that is done during Uganda wildlife safaris around Queen Elizabeth national park.
The Banded mongoose is found in Queen Elizabeth national park and can be seen around the Mweya peninsular.
- Activities to do in Queen Elizabeth National Park 2024 – 2025 : Visiting crater lakes
There are different crater lakes found around Queen Elizabeth national park and they include the Katwe crater lakes, the Bunyaruguru lakes.
Activities which are done around the crater lakes include hiking, boat rides, bird watching, photography and also nature walks.
