Activities at queen Elizabeth national park
Activities at queen Elizabeth national park : Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most amazing wildlife destinations in Uganda. The national park has gained fame for its tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. It is the only national park where you will get to see tree climbing during your visit in Uganda.
Queen Elizabeth national park is located in the western region of Uganda, in the district of Kasese. The national park was first established in 1952 as Kazinga national park. Two years later, the park was renamed after Queen Elizabeth II following the queen’s visit to the national park.
The national park is among one of the largest in the country spanning over a radius of 1,978 square kilometers. It is also one of the oldest national parks in Uganda. Queen Elizabeth national park is home to over 95 species of mammals and over 600 bird species, which makes the national park a birders’ haven.
The national park is elevated at a height of 1,350meters above sea level at Katwe explosion craters, which happens to be the highest point of the park. The lowest point of the national park is at 910meters which is at Lake Edward.
Some of the top attractions in the national park include; dozens of enormous craters that have been dramatically carved into the gigantic lush green hills, Kazinga Channel with its banks beautifully lined with large populations of hippos, buffalo and savannah elephants. Other unique attractions in the national park include chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, Lake Katwe, Kasenyi Plains, Lake George, and the famous tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector.
Activities in Queen Elizabeth National.
Queen Elizabeth national park is the ideal place to be for any tourist looking to experience a typical African safari. There are plenty of activities that the park offers tourists visiting, and these include;
Lion Tracking Experience:
Seeing the tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the highlights of any visit to the national park. The famous tree climbing lions are found in the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth. It not common for all lions to climb trees and that is why the lions in Queen are so special. There so many reasons as to why these lions climb trees such as escaping the dreading heat in the park, to flee from annoying insects on the ground, and to easily spot their prey to mention but a few.
The lion tracking experience in Queen gives visitors a chance to see the tree climbing lions in the national park. The activity involves visitors, along with a team of expert researchers, tracking the whereabouts of the lions in the park; using special animal tracking devices.
The lion tracking experience is offered twice a day in the morning and evening hours, and during the tracking activity, visitors can view other wildlife in the national park such as antelopes, impala, duikers, and Uganda Kobs among others.
Visitors who wish to take part in the lion tracking experience can do so at a fee of USD 50 dollars per person. Visitors can hire the services of a trusted tour operator company and book for the activity in advance, or else you can simply visit the Visitor Information Center in Mweya, in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Guided Game Drives:
Queen Elizabeth National Park offers its visitors game drives during your safari tour of the national park. Game drives in Queen are a wonderful way of exploring the beautiful and vast landscape in the national park. However, guided game drivers are sure way for visitors to see some specific wildlife animals that you would love to see, given that visitors are accompanied by an experienced park guide. Hiring a park guide can really your entire experience a lot better since the park guides know exactly where to locate the animals, just make sure that you save an extra seat for the guide and an extra fee of USD 25 dollars as guide fee. During the day game drives, visitors can view wildlife such as; hyenas, African savannah elephants, antelopes, impala, oribis, buffaloes, topi, warthogs, giraffes, zebras and so many more. The park also offers night game drives where you can get a chance to see nocturnal animals like; hyenas, leopards, lions, civets, bush babies, and serval cats among others. Day game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park cost USD 30 dollars, and USD 40 dollars per person for night game drives.
Boat Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park:
Boat Cruises in Queen Elizabeth are simply the best! All boat cruises in the national park are conducted on the Kazinga Channel, offering visitors the best panoramic views of wildlife in the park. Among some the wildlife animals that visitors can see while on a boat cruise include; hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes and many more. You can also sight different bird species like the Rare Shoebill Stork, White Egrets, Long-tailed Cormorants, and the Black Crake among others. The boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park starts at 9am every morning and at 2pm every afternoon. Visitors can get to enjoy 2 hours of breath-taking sights and sounds of the wild during a boat cruise, and for only a fee of USD 30 dollars per person.
Chimpanzee Trekking in Kyambura Gorge:
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the places where visitors can get an opportunity to trek some of the habituated chimpanzees groups in the park. Chimpanzee trekking activities take place in Kyambura Gorge, which is located within the national park. There are about two habituated chimpanzee groups in the national park which visitors can track on any given day, and only at a fee of USD 50 dollars per person. Visitors can trek chimpanzees in groups of a maximum of 6 members each per chimpanzee group. The activity takes between 2 to 3 hours, with an hour allocated to trekkers to spend with the chimpanzees once they have been located. Chimpanzee trekking activities in Queen Elizabeth national park start at exactly 8am, after visitors have been briefed and placed into tracking groups. Visitors trekking chimpanzees can also come across other primates like red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys and baboons among others.
Community Cultural Tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park:
Visitors who choose to take a community cultural tour during a visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park are set to have an experience of a lifetime. Such cultural tours take visitors to nearby local communities, where you can get to meet and interact with locals, learn about their cultures, visit community craft workshops, and watch dance performances by traditional dance groups among others. Cultural encounters in national park are fun, thrilling and a great way for visitors to get to learn more about the different cultures in the country.
Other exciting activities that visitors can engage in while on a visit in Queen Elizabeth National Park include; Birding, Guided Nature Walk, and Mongoose Tracking. Tourists visiting the national park are set to have a blast, and what’s interesting is that you can combine a visit to Queen Elizabeth national park with other activities like gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale national park, and golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga national park to mention but a few.
Contact us and book a 3 Days Wildlife Tour to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
