Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Location: Western Uganda

Size: 1978 Km Sq

Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park in Uganda, it covers an area of 1978 square kilometers, and lies in the western arm of the rift valley.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations. This is because it offers not only breathtaking scenery but also abundant wildlife.

This park lies between lakes Edward and George which form part of the biosphere. Queen Elizabeth national park is also made up of a system of contiguous protected areas consisting of; Kyambura wildlife reserve, Maramagambo forest, Kigezi wildlife reserve, and Kalinzu wildlife reserve.

Part of the park shows off beautiful expanses of wide crater lakes. Great adventures are conducted on the Kazinga channel, the Ishasha sector, the Kasenyi fishing village, the equator line, and many other tourism features you may encounter while on an African Savanna wildlife game drive or a guided walk.

Maramagambo forest is yet another reserve that is under queen Elizabeth national park. Being home to giant rock pythons and bat caves makes this area so attractive.

A classic African safari to Queen Elizabeth National park will let you encounter activities like game drives, boat cruises on the Kazinga channel, chimpanzee tracking in both Kyambura and Kalinzu wildlife reserves, salt mining experience at Katwe town, forest walks in both Maramagambo and around the Mweya peninsula area, lion experience, bird watching and many more as these all depend on your time and budget while you visit this park.

Hippos are seen during the boat cruise along the Kazinga channel

The park’s position provides a  magnificent view of the rift valley floor that is occupied by; Lake Edward and Gorge. It’s well known to be a habitat of about 95 species of mammals along with 612 species of birds.

Formerly, a historian known as Douglas Willocks talked about the various features that led to the park’s formation in 1952.

The area was strategically located with a stunning view of Mount Rwenzori, the plains, and the composite jagged mass of mountains that are good for activities such as hiking.
On the other side of Lake Edward, there is a famous hill known as Mitumbe that looks out to Congo.

Its beauty is signified by changing colors from blue to green, with gentle slopes and distance, distant and this makes it become the center of darkness in Africa.

The eastern part of the park is characterized by a peaceful green escarpment that is acquired from the western rift valley. The features are all covered with savannah making it a beautiful place full of nature euphorbia trees.

The park is so extensive furthermore adjacent to the other protected areas. For instance, Kigezi covers an area of about 256 km2, and Kyambura with about 154 km2 of wildlife set aside.

The other areas include the Kalinzu Forest reserve that adjoins DRC with about 200 km2 along Virunga National Park. Rwenzori National Park is about a few Kilometers to the North.

Wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park

The grassland plains in Queen Elizabeth national park support a variety of animals that can be viewed from a vehicle while following a network of tracks cutting through the park.

A Lion in Queen Elizabeth national park

This park is home to more than 600 bird and 95 mammal species, including lions, elephants, hippos, leopards, buffalos, hyenas, warthogs, and various antelope species

About 20 predators are found in the park such as lions, leopards, side-stripped jackals, and spotted hyenas among others.

Common Antelopes species include the kob, bushbuck, topi, and waterbuck. Other animals which can even be found in Mweya peninsular are; Buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, and hippos.

There are also various primate species available in the park including chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and olive baboons among others.

The Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park is famously known for its tree-climbing lions and it is also known to host the world’s highest concentration of hippos.