Best Self Drive Guide To Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is situated roughly 410 kilometers from Kampala, the capital city. Your entry point will be Entebbe Airport, which is located 46 kilometers from Kampala. Access to Queen Elizabeth National Park is available via three routes, contingent upon your point of origin. If traveling from Kampala, the park can be reached by the Mbarara-Masaka highway, with the journey taking around six hours, subject to road conditions and duration of stopovers.
The route traverses a surface road with multiple possible stopovers, including Mpambire drum makers, the equator at Kayabwe, Lake Mburo National Park, and tea plantations, among others. A lunch break in Mbarara town is consistently included in the program. The park is also accessible by driving from Kampala via Mityana town, Fort Portal, and Kasese over a surfaced road. The drive lasts approximately six hours, with several extra activities available on route, including a coffee tour and visits to the crater lakes in Fort Portal. A halt for lunch in Fort Portal town is generally included in the travel when utilizing this route.
Getting to Bwindi
Access to Queen Elizabeth National Park from Bwindi is possible via the Ishasha sector, requiring around 7 to 8 hours of driving from southern Bwindi. Accessing Queen Elizabeth National Park by air can be achieved by chartering a flight to one of the designated airstrips: Mweya, Ishasha, or Kasese. Aerolink provides daily scheduled domestic flights from Entebbe to Mweya and Kasese airstrips. Subsequently, you will meet your chauffeur and proceed to your accommodation or continue with your scheduled activities in Queen Elizabeth.
A visit to Queen Elizabeth National Park is typically part of a more extensive itinerary; however, if you intend to undertake a standalone safari to this park, be aware that an early arrival is essential to facilitate same-day transfer, or alternatively, consider arranging an overnight stay in Kampala or Entebbe. A standard safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park necessitates three days to complete, however a five-day visit allows for a more comprehensive exploration of the park.
Wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a valued wildlife sanctuary in Uganda, celebrated for its abundant biodiversity. The park hosts around 95 animal species, 10 primate species, and more than 600 bird species, rendering it one of the most diversified national parks in Africa. The park hosts a diverse array of animals, with numerous distinguished species:
The Four Major Firms:
Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts four of the Big Five: lions, leopards, buffaloes, and elephants. Lions are notably recognized for their distinctive behavior of ascending trees, particularly in the Ishasha area, where they are frequently observed resting on branches. Leopards, recognized for their elusive behavior, are predominantly nocturnal but may be observed resting in the lower limbs of trees during daylight hours.
The park’s savannahs provide optimal habitats for several antelope species, such as the Uganda kob, waterbuck, topi, and defassa waterbuck. These herbivores are vital to the environment by sustaining predator numbers.
Hippopotamuses:
These large creatures predominantly relax in the Kazinga Channel throughout the day. Their numbers are predicted to exceed 5,000 individuals.
Additional Mammals: Other significant mammals are spotted hyenas, gigantic forest hogs, and several monkey species, including the black-and-white colobus and olive baboons.
Primates
Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth is one of the premier locations to observe chimpanzees in their natural habitat. It features ten distinct species:
The Kyambura Gorge is renowned for its chimpanzee population. Chimpanzee trekking in this region provides guests the opportunity to watch these astute monkeys in their natural environment. Additional primates including the red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, and several species of mangabeys and baboons. These primates can be observed during guided nature hikes in forested regions such as Maramagambo Forest and Kyambura Gorge.
Aves and Reptilia
Queen Elizabeth National Park, featuring over 600 known bird species, ranks among the premier birdwatching destinations in Uganda.
Prominent avian species including the African fish eagle, yellow-billed stork, and several kingfishers. The park’s varied ecosystems sustain a broad spectrum of bird species, establishing it as one of the premier birdwatching locations in Uganda.
The Kazinga Channel is abundant in avian species, drawing a multitude of aquatic birds, including pelicans and cormorants. Birdwatching chances are plentiful along the shoreline, where herons and various wading species can be observed. Crocodiles are frequently located along the banks of the Kazinga Channel, whilst the Maramagambo Forest has African rock pythons that hunt bats in the cave systems.