Queen Elizabeth National Park

Game drive

This is one of the top safari destinations for game viewing tours. With a 4X4 safari vehicle, tourists can access most corners of the park with chances to see many game including elephants, lion, leopard and hyena. Buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs and hippos are commonly spotted. The Kasenyi plains in the north of Queen Elizabeth national park is the prominent spot with designated tracks for game drives. However, more game can be sighted along the way to this grassy region. Game drives are conducted early morning and in the evening.

Boat cruise

There are several places to go for launch cruise in Uganda but a boat trip on Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park is exceptional!! It is one of the highlight activities at the park. The boat trip is conducted on the 32km water channel connecting two lakes Edward and George and is a home for an incredible population of hippos. Bird lovers have an exciting birdlife-experience to enjoy on the 2 hours trip. You might see Pied kingfishers, long tailed cormorants, African fish eagle, egrets and African spoonbill among others.

Bird watching

Six hundred twelve (612) species of birds have been recorded in QENP which is the highest for any park in Uganda and East Africa. The birds can usually be seen anywhere around the park, even while enjoying your meal at the lodge or perhaps relaxing. However, there are places known for specific bird species. The best places to go for bird watching include Kyambura gorge and Maramagambo forest for Forest birds, Mweya peninsular for savannah birds, Kasenyi for birds of prey and Kazinga channel for water birds.

Chimp tracking in Kyambura gorge

Aside from the game and birds, primates inhabit the forests in Queen Elizabeth national park. Of the ten primate species in the park, chimpanzees are the most sought. These apes live in the so-called underground forest in Kyambura gorge. One of its kind with a river flowing at -the base and harboring many other primates and amazing checklist of birds. Chimpanzee tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park is the cheapest offer of this adventure with a permit offered at USD 50.

Lion tracking

This is an exciting activity that involves driving around the plains of the park with a researcher from the Uganda Carnivore Program in search of lions. The researcher holds a tracker which connects with the radiator collars in their necks of the lions directing the researcher on the location of the lions. This makes it easy to find these carnivorous cats. Lion tracking is one of the lately introduced activities and is only done in Queen Elizabeth national park.

Hiking and Nature walk

Getting around Queen Elizabeth national park on foot is one of the most exciting ways you can explore this wonderful nature reserve. There are several places that offer great nature walk and hiking experiences around the park; Mweya Peninsular, Maramagambo forest, Kalinzu forest, Katwe crater drive and Kyambura gorge. They offer tourists with stunning views of the landscape including waterbodies, interesting bird species, primates and other mammals.

Visit the bat cave

The bat cave in Maramagambo is one of its kind; it is a spot that gives high chances of seeing the python which is attracted by the thousands of bats that live in the cave. There is a viewing shelter where visitors stand and watch the cave

Chimpanzee tracking

Chimpanzees are the highlight attraction in Kibale national park. It is most famous for its chimpanzee population and is considered to be the best place to track wild chimps in the world. Over the years, Uganda Wildlife Authority and other partners have realized good results in the conservation and habituation activities which have raised the chance to track and spot the chimpanzees in Kibale to over 95%. Tourists on chimpanzee tracking safaris to Kibale must have a permit.

A chimpanzee permit in Kibale national park costs USD 200 for Foreign non-residents, USD 150 for foreign residents and UGX. 150,000 for East African citizens per person per track

There are two tracking sessions you can choose from; morning or afternoon. They start with a briefing, then trekkers divided in groups of a maximum of 8 people which each is led by an expert ranger guide. Depending on the location of the allocated chimpanzee community on that particular day, treks can last up to 5 hours. Similar to gorilla trekking, adventurers tracking chimpanzees are allowed to stay with them for an hour before they leave the forest back to their lodges.

Chimpanzee Habituation Experience (CHEX)

Primates (chimpanzees and gorillas) are accustomed to the presence of humans through habituation which is carried out by the habituation and research team of the park. The Chimpanzee habituation experience is recommended for tourists who want to spend more time with the chimps. It is a great experience that allows the group to see how the apes start their day and the process they go through to familiarize with humans. Unlike gorilla trekking which starts at 8am, CHEX start much earlier- at 6:30am.

A permit for Chimpanzee Habituation Experience in Kibale costs US$250 per person per track.

Birding

Kibale national park is a bird watcher’s paradise with over 370 bird species including some of the most sought-after birds like the Green-breasted pitta. Birding in Kibale national park is rewarding all year round, and birders are guided by an expert park ranger. Other birds you might see around Kibale forest and in the marshlands include the black bee-eater, dusky crimson-wing, eastern nicator, African pitta, yellow-rumped tinkerbird, violet-backed starling and the blue-breasted kingfisher among others.

Primate watching

Aside from chimpanzee tracking, tourists can choose to take a forest walk around Kibale national park to look out for other inhabitant primates. They have high chances of seeing several species of monkeys. Monkey species active during the day include black and white colobus, blue monkey, red-tailed, Uganda mangabey, vervet, L’Hoest’s and red colobus. Olive baboons are commonly seen.  

Nature walks

Taking a nature walk around the forest takes tourists exploring the park through the designated trails. It gives an opportunity to sight some of the park’s mammal species including forest hogs, duikers, elephant. Butterflies are abundant and chances are high they will be seen. On a night nature walk, tourists have a chance to spot some of the nocturnal animals of the park such as the tree hyraxes, civets and bushbabies among others.

Community visits

Visiting communities around Kibale national park is such an exciting experience that helps you discover the interesting culture of the local people. There are homes that can be visited for purposes of ecotourism, to see how food is cooked locally and games among other things. Tourists have can also visit schools and hospitals that have been constructed out of community tours around the place.

Visit Bigodi wetland sanctuary

Just a stone throw from Kibale national park is a rich unspoiled wetland Bigodi. It is a birder’s haven with over 200 bird species including the great blue turaco. During the nature walk, visitors often encounter more wildlife that inhabit the forest including primates, mangoose, bush pigs, otters and bushbucks among others

The park’s extensive range of habitats provides shelter for a range of wildlife; 95 mammal species, 10 species of primates, dozens of reptiles and a long list of forest and savannah birds plus interesting birds of prey.

Queen Elizabeth national park is more famous for large game viewing. African elephants, large herds of buffaloes, hippos, waterbucks and countless Uganda kobs are seen in the savannah regions of the park. Tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector make the park a unique destination from any other in the country. The safari destination is reliable for Lion and leopard plus other carnivores.

Chimpanzees are tracked in Kyambura gorge while other primates including baboons and monkeys can be spotted in many sections of the park

By road

The park is located about 410km/255 miles west of Kampala. You can drive direct through Mubende- Fort Portal-Kasese route or Masaka-Mbarara-Kasese route which both take approximately 8 hours.

By air

Direct flights are conducted from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airfield to Mweya (for activities around Mweya and Kasenyi) and Kihihi (for travelers heading to Ishasha). Alternatively, you can fly in to Kasese airfield and connect to the park by road