Guide to visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park

A guide to visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park is a detailed presentation of what the park offers, starting from its history of establishment and attractions to activities and others. This guide to visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park works best for the first applicants to visit the park and with little knowledge about it. From the beginning of time, during the park’s establishment, Queen Elizabeth National Park has stood out to be the best-protected area in the country. This guide seeks to answer even the most frequently asked questions about Queen Elizabeth National Park. However, visitors can get in touch with a tour company like Standard Safaris to find out about Queen Elizabeth National Park and how they can explore this great marvel.

Brief history

Queen Elizabeth National Park has been on prior existence for many years, even before its formal establishment as a national park in 1952. As far as the colonial era, Queen Elizabeth National Park has been a gem for the country, Uganda, but also the continent. The park plays a key and significant role in pushing Uganda on the world map to compete with some of the best tourist destinations in the world. The history of the park dates back to 1912, when shortly after the epidemic of sleeping sickness attacked the park area, and many people were evicted, thus giving room for the wildlife in the area to multiply. Fast forward to 1952, the colonial government elevated the game reserve to a national park called Kazinga. It rotated across Lake Edward and Lake George. The tales of the beauty of the park reached the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, who decided to visit the park in 1954. This led to the changing of the park name from Kazinga National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park to honor the visit of the queen.

Highlights

Through the years, Queen Elizabeth National Park has been named the most famous national park in the country. This is attributed to the several tourist attractions that put it at the pedestal of most of the other protected areas in the country. Stretching along the walls of the western arm of the Rift Valley, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a total land mass area of about 1,978 square kilometers. This vast area of the park covers the districts of Rukungiri, Kamwenge, Kasese, and Rubirizi. The park’s massive landscape is a mixture of savannah grassland and woodland plains with scattered valleys. Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts a wide range of flora and fauna, with natural features like lakes and vegetation also taking refuge in the park.

What makes Queen Elizabeth National Park a popular tourist destination?

The park’s measure of popularity is measured by the number of visitors it registers every year, and below is why these visitors flock to the park every year.

Wildlife

The variety of wildlife species is the major tourist attraction in Queen Elizabeth National Park. On average, the park has over 95 mammal species that roam its vast plains and can be spotted by visitors while in the park. These wildlife species range from the famous four of the Big Five species, i.e., lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes, to others like hyenas, warthogs, antelopes, waterbucks, reedbucks, topis, and primates like chimpanzees, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, and colobus monkeys.

Tree-climbing lions

The western side of Queen Elizabeth National Park, which stretches inside Rukungiri district, called the Ishasha region, is home to a large number of tree-climbing lions. This is a treasure of the park and one of its main exports to the world. It is a rare occurrence among the lions to climb trees, but the lions of Ishasha have mastered the art of climbing with practice over many generations. Cubs have been seen learning from the older lions and practicing until they master the climbing. Queen Elizabeth National Park prides as the only park in the country with these lions, and also in the region shares this occurrence with lions of Lake Manyatta National Park in Tanzania.

Birdlife

Queen Elizabeth National Park takes the lion’s share of hosting the most bird species in the country, with over 600 birds. The birdlife in the park is increasing incredibly due to a variety of factors, like food and habitat that favor these birds. The park’s vast landscape of scattered ecological systems takes central stage for the birdlife. The bird species in the park are of two types: endemic residents and seasonal migratory birds. Some of the birds in the park include the African fin foot, African fish eagle, African skimmer, pink-backed pelican, black-headed gonolek, red-chested sunbird, papyrus gonolek, shoebill stock, long-chested eagle, Egyptian vulture, great blue turaco, grey-crown crane, white-tailed lark, and the helmeted Guinea fowl, among others.

Crater lakes

The park’s attractions surpass the fauna to also the crater lakes that dominate the areas around and inside the park. Over 40 crater lakes are scattered across this entire region, giving visitors an amazing Crater Lake exploration experience. The common one is Lake Katwe, which is located in the park and is popular for rock salt mining.

What are some of the tourist activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park?

With several attractions offered by Queen Elizabeth National Park, a variety of activities are put in place to explore these attractions, as unveiled below.

Game drives

Game viewing or drives are the park’s major export, given its variety of wildlife species that roam its landscape. Game drives help to spot various animals like lions, elephants, and buffaloes, and elephants and also explore the plains of the park safely in the comfort of a 4×4 safari vehicle.

Boat cruise

Kazinga Channel is the perfect spot for boat cruise adventures in Queen Elizabeth National Park. This boat cruise opens the aquatic life of the park to visitors as they encounter animals like Nile crocodiles and hippos, favorites of the water, and also elephants, antelopes, buffaloes, and warthogs that roam the shoreline. The Kazinga Channel, where this boat cruise takes place, is a waterway that connects Lake Edward to Lake George.

Birding

Birding extends throughout the ecological systems of Queen Elizabeth National Park by bringing visitors to some of the beautiful sites to spot these birds. A professional and experienced birding guide with incredible knowledge about almost all the 600 birds of the park graces the visitors with much insight into the birdlife of the park. Designated birding trails are well selected and followed through the birding process to spot these birds in their natural habitats.

Chimpanzee trekking

Chimpanzee trekking refers to the encounter of chimpanzees in their natural environments and spending an hour with them, observing them play, feed, and sleep. Queen Elizabeth National Park is widely known by many as a savannah wilderness, but all this is true and more, as it also has a tropical forest vegetation beneath its savannah grassland plains. The Valley of Apes, Kyambura Gorge, is located inside the park and hosts over 100 chimpanzee primates. Visitors, after a briefing session by the park rangers, head into the forest to encounter these primates on foot. This experience is quite an adventure to explore the primate side of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

How can Queen Elizabeth National Park be accessed?

The park is accessed using only two means of transport, air and road. The cheapest and commonly used means is the road. Many routes lead straight to Queen Elizabeth National Park from the capital and also from other destinations. Air transport is also available as domestic chartered flights begin from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airport, or any other destination in the country, to the different airstrips in and around the park. This improved transportation system to Queen Elizabeth National Park has made the park more accessible to visitors.

In conclusion, there is more to discover about Queen Elizabeth National Park, and getting in touch with us at Standard Safaris, we make sure you dig deep into adventure by crafting these safari experiences of the entire park.

Sándor Jakubinyi

14:31 22 Feb 24

2019 megigazulás

12:45 21 Feb 24

We went on a two-week trip with my family, organised by Coleb from Standard Safaris.

I had my concerns about organised trips, but this one didn’t justify any of those. Everything went very smoothly, even when some problems arose with one of the cars it got fixed by next morning, the accomodations were clean and comfortable, the programs were exciting and well-balanced - everything was done to a truly high standard.

If you plan to visit Uganda and are looking for a guide, I warmly recommend Coleb and his team. In case you have a choice of drivers, go for Godwin, his presence made this trip even more enjoyable - cheerful, helpful, good sense of humour, generally a great person. Just look for the guy with a big smile and big heart:)

Bert Simoens

09:38 08 Jan 24

We recently embarked on a safari adventure with Standard Safaris in Uganda, which was truly exceptional. Our guide, Yonah, was outstanding - his kindness, knowledge, and discretion significantly enhanced our experience. He was the heart of our trip.

The local company's planning was offering a tailor-made journey that matched our interests. We saw an array of wildlife in Murchison, enjoyed rafting at Jinja, and experienced mountain biking at Sipi. A visit to Kidepo National Park was a highlight and comes highly recommended.

The vehicle provided was comfortable and reliable. We highly recommend Standard Safaris for anyone seeking an unforgettable safari in Uganda. Their professionalism and the exceptional guidance of staff like Yonah make them an great choice.

Michał Kostrzewa

00:41 15 Nov 23

We are all extremely grateful Standard Safaris for an incredible East Africa experience. I recently booked a custom trip for group of 8 people, including an 8-year-old boy, from Kampala through Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Rwanda and Burundi. Coleb delivered on everything that was discussed and agreed upon beforehand.

The car provided was in great condition and our driver Meddy went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable, informed, and had the best possible time. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. All local services were inlcuded in (reasonable) price that we agreed, so there was no need to worry about payments during the 6 day trip. Also Standard Safaris agreed took care about safety and security by helping us organize armed ranger while in the park.

The whole trip was hassle-free and smooth. We saw amazing wildlife in Queen Elizabeth NP, took in the sights of Rwanda and Burundi, and made lifelong memories.

I would happily book with Standard Safaris again in a heartbeat and recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone looking for the best East Africa trip. They provide top-notch service while ensuring you have an incredible, customized experience. If you want a hassle-free, flawlessly organized African adventure, Standard Safaris is the tour operator to book with.

Ivan Nammanda

18:31 27 Oct 23

Very organized travel operator who chose awesome guide to make our trip wonderful.

We booked a nine days trip with Standard Safaris and all was perfect from start to finish. Coleb was very prompt at replying and easy to liaise with ahead of the trip. We had done a lot of research and had an itinerary in mind and Coleb helped us to put everything together to make this happen for a very reasonable price.  On the trip we had a private vehicle for the whole tour which was exactly what we wanted. Bryan was our driver and an amazing guide - really friendly and knowledgable, working hard to find the things that we wanted to see and quickly understanding what was of interest to us/how much information to give.

Would highly recommend a trip to Uganda with Standard Safaris. We are definitely coming back soon!

MUGAIGA KENNETH

18:01 27 Oct 23

The company has very courteous tour guides with wide knowledge of fauna and frola in the whole of East Africa.
The choice of safari Lodges is good with first class treatment.
Game drive security is assured.
Almost The whole of September I was traversing through DRC, Uganda,and Rwanda on a gorilla tour and wildlife expedition.
Everything was arranged and booked perfectly by Standard Safaris.
The owner, Coleb was always helpful whenever we needed to ask questions about this gorilla safari in Uganda and beyond.
It was a complex expedition but Standard safaris and Coleb made it look amazingly easy.
I’ll recommend Standard safaris 200%, for all gorilla safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and wildlife tours in east africa.

travel uganda

16:35 27 Oct 23

This is so far the best gorilla trekking company in Uganda, and africa, by far. I had a wonderful time with Standard Safaris as a solo traveler.
My guide was excellent and our safari planner, Coleb was quick with responses and the prices were very friendly.
I’ll definitely book with Standard safaris on my next gorilla tour in Rwanda and Uganda.