Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular national park. With its diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savanna, shady, humid forest, sparkling lakes and fertile wetlands, Queen Elizabeth National Park is ideal habitat for a safari in Uganda. The park is home to classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds.

Set against the magnificent backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains (the mountains of the moon), the park’s magnificent vistas include 72 enormous craters carved brutally into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob.

The 1978km2 Queen Elizabeth National Park enjoys a stunning location on the rift valley floor between Lakes Edward and George where a mosaic of habitats supports 95 mammal species and a remarkable 612 species of birds. Forty years ago, Douglas Willocks described the diverse features that led to its creation in 1952. There still exists no better introduction or a more enticing invitation to visit the park.

‘Scenically the area had everything. Thirty miles to the north, the blue Rwenzori exploded from the plain, a composite, jagged mass of mountains, sixty miles long and forty wide and looking in certain lights as if you could reach out and touch them. Across Lake Edward to the west, the Mitumbe hills stood sentinel on the Congo, blue too in the long sight but in the closer green, wooded, precipitous, unfriendly and epitomizing darkest Africa.

The eastern boundary of this possible park was marked by the calm green escarpment of the western Rift Valley. And between all the hills, mountains and lakes was endless savanna, its constantly repeated motif the branched cactus arms of the candelabra euphorbia tree.’

The dramatic scenery is largely due to the Rwenzori Mountains beyond the park boundary. The park itself lies on the rift valley floor where it rises 480m from 910m at the Kazinga Channel to 1390m in the Explosion Crater field.

The low altitude and its location directly on the equator mean that temperatures can be warm, rising from a mean minimum of 18°C to a mean maximum of 28°C. The park receives up to 1250mm of rain, mostly during March – May and September – November.

Queen Elizabeth national park is truly amazing and spectacular! It’s a popular tourist attraction located in the western region of Uganda. Being designated as a National park, allows the local official to control the area and set the rules. You can expect to see a large variety of native wildlife species including birds, reptiles and mammals.

At Queens Elizabeth national park, provisions have been made for camp sites and lodging accommodations for visitors. During your safari, always be sure of only glorious scenery and escapades. Hop into the safari van and spend hours keeping your eyes peeled for wildlife. It’s all out there; you just have to pay attention. These animals are made to blend in with their surroundings and if you blink, you may miss an amazing opportunity.

This national park is endowed with every kind of wildlife you can think of especially wild game like four of the big five (lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards) hippos, buffaloes, warthogs, bush pigs, a variety of antelopes etc . The park has over 606 different bird species as well as plants that are rare.

What is the best time for visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park?

During Dry season from June to September and December to February every year is the best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National park. The park can as well be visited all year around and you will be able to see the wildlife and do a safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Dry seasons offer great sighting of wildlife compared to wet seasons.

The park can be visited by tourists during the weekends and most trips from Kampala or Entebbe to the park start from 3 Days! Many tourists combine Queen Elizabeth National Park with the neighboring national parks such as Kibale forest, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Semuliki National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.

This park is filled with diverse flora and fauna including the famous Big Five game animals. Apart from these, you will get to enjoy immense bird watching, rock climbing, and indulging yourself in the local tradition and culture of the friendly local people. Below is a highlight of the famous Big Five of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park has outstanding wildlife attractions and this is the magnet that pulls tourists to Uganda. The park is home to 95 mammal species while the bird list is 612 species long. This diversity is the result of an impressive range of habitats. Fifty-seven vegetation types have been identified though these can be summarized as just five: forest; grassland; bushy grassland; Acacia woodland and lake shore/ swamp vegetation.

Residents of the park’s grasslands include elephant, Cape buffalo, Uganda kob, waterbuck, warthog, giant forest hog, lion, leopard and hyena. Topi are found in Ishasha, while forest primates are found in Kyambura Gorge and Maramagambo Forest.

In African protected areas, the park’s impressive bird list is exceeded only by the neighboring (and far larger) Virunga National Park.
To name but a few key species: martial eagle, black-rumped buttonquail, African skimmer, Chapin’s flycatcher, pink-backed pelicans, white-winged warbler, papyrus gonolek, papyrus canary, corncrake, lesser and greater flamingo, and shoebill stork.