Most visited destination in Uganda : The Queen Elizabeth National Park region is the most popular and visited tourist destination in Uganda, given it’s area diversity. The protected area contains many different wildlife-filled habitats, such as forests, wetlands, savannah grasslands, and a number of lakes. Below are some of interesting things to do while in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Wildlife viewing and game drive
Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the parks in Uganda that will fulfill your wanderlust thus making it the most visited destination in Uganda because of its plenty animals to see. The park has over 90 species of mammals, reptiles, over 600 bird species and a lot of insect species. The park has over 3000 hippos, over 4000 elephants and over 2000 buffalos. Queen Elizabeth national park has the unique tree-climbing lions, these are viewed in the Ishasha sector which is found in the south side of the park. These lions climb trees in order to spot for prey mostly the kobs that are always down grazing, to run away from tsetse flies that disturb them and sometimes to cool down when temperatures are hot on the ground; they later take a nap or eventually sleep while in the branches. It is advised to be cautious when you stand or seat under tree shades while in the park at the Ishasha side. There are higher chances of you spotting the big five and the big cats.
Game drives are conducted around Kasenyi area and Ishasha sector for tree climbing lions. Apart from Lions, you will get an opportunity to see the African elephants, African buffalo, Ugandan kob, warthogs, hippos, giant forest hog, Nile crocodiles, leopard, spotted hyena and chimpanzees.
Boat cruise along the Kazinga channel
The Kazinga channel is 40 meters long connecting the 2 lakes of Edward and George. The Kazinga channel harbors a lot of wild life that you can see while on a boat cruise. You will see schools of hippos bathing in the water, herds of buffalos graving, lions, and crocodiles waiting to catch some food. It’s a good spot for those who love watching birds, birds are all over the shores of the channel.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge and Kalinzu forest
This is a rain forest in the savannah grassland plains shaped by the Kyambura River. If you want to go for chimpanzee trekking in Queen Elizabeth national park, Kyambura Gorge and Kalinzu forest reserve are the best destinations. However, you can go for a forest walk in Maramagambo forest which has bat caves.
Lake Katwe salt works.
Lake Katwe is located in the northern part of the Mweya peninsular, north-west of Queen Elizabeth national park. Katwe lake is a saline crater lake which is known for the crater drive. In the dry seasons, the lake becomes concentrated and forms saltpans on the bottom with crystalized salts on the surface. While here, you can participate in the salt mining process with the locals as they tell you the history of the lake. Apart from salt mining, you can visit the historical Germany salt factory that was operated by Germans but later stopped and went back to their country and left the factory.
Bird watching
The park has more than 600 bird species recorded, making it a birder’s haven. Some of these birds are endemic to the park while others are migrant birds from Asia and Europe. The most spotted birds in queen Elizabeth national park are; the African skimmers, Egyptian goose, lesser flamingos, malachite kingfisher, sacred ibis, African fish eagle, pied king fisher, spur- winged plover among others.
Exploration Crater lakes
Located in the western valley of East Africa, Queen Elizabeth national park has over 10 crater lakes. These include; Katwe Crater Lake, Bunyaruguru kichwamba crater fields, Ndali-Kasenda crater field among others. The scenic famous crater drive takes approximately 24 km between the volcanic craters. the craters are filled with lakes, the savannah grassland and rain forests. A lot of birds most especially flamingos are seen in this area every day.
The queen’s pavilion.
The pavilion was constructed in 1952 to host the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth when she visited the park. It was later renovated in 1954 for the royal guests from England. The pavilion has the best views of the park and it’s a good spot for photography, Most visited destination in Uganda
The landscape.
Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the parks in Uganda with beautiful landscapes. The park has golden brown savannah grassland vegetation that are breathtaking when seen from a far distance. The park is near Mountain Rwenzori, which gives a chance for you to see the Rwenzori Mountain ranges touching the sky. It is the best spot for photography with the mountain ranges acting as your back-drop.
Local community visits.
Queen Elizabeth national has a number of communities you can visit and have a true feeling of being in Uganda. These communities offer different cultural experience from the other. These include; the leopard village,
- Kikongo women community – This community organizes cultural dances and entertainment, they will teach you how to make their traditional craft like making paper, beads, banana fiber bowls among others.
- Muhoya village – This village will show you how they co-exist with wildlife in the park. You can visit to replicas of the traditional huts of Basongora, banyabindi and bakonzo and their library.
- Busonga fishing village – This is found on the shores of lake Gorge. You can do boat cruise racing with the locals, fishing, cultural performances and storytelling.
- Nyanzi’ibiri cave community – It’s while at this village you will see the volcanic crater lakes, you can paddle a canoe known as kamunzuku. They also offer campsite called DAVE THE CAVE
- Omwani coffee plantation – Omwani women’s cooperative is a women group dedicated to producing organic Arabic and robuster coffee. They sell to the local market and export to other countries. They make sure they add no chemical manure to the plantations with an aim of producing organic coffee. The plantation is a good site to visit for coffee lovers and those who love supporting women. Many women have benefited from this initiative, they have been able to take their children to school, feed them and help in the financial needs of their home.
