elephants in queen Elizabeth national park

Wildlife Safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Situated in kasese district southwestern Uganda, Queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park in Uganda covering a total land area of 1978 square kilometers. River ishasha and lake Edward border queen Elizabeth national park in the west, Rwenzori and kasese foothills in the north, Kigezi wildlife reserve in the south, where as to the east in lake George. The national park was at first called Kazinga national park and was renamed queen Elizabeth national park in 1954 in honor of the queen of England who visited the national park. The national park has a wide vegetation cover composed of forest grasslands, acacia woodlands, bushy grasslands, swampy and lakeshore vegetation and open grasslands. The diverse in vegetation has favored the habitation of different bird species. Tourism in queen Elizabeth national park entails the following:

Game drives
This is the most done activity in the open savannah grasslands of the national park. Game drives are done in the morning and evening hours as herbivores graze whereas predators hunt down their preys. Travelers are helped by the experienced guides to spot different animals among which include waterbucks, elephants, buffalos, warthogs, Uganda kobs, impalas, elands, leopard, hyenas, and Giant forest hogs. Game drives rare extended to ishasha sector south of the national park for climbing lions and Topis. Guides help to explain the characters and basic details about each spotted animal which increase travelers understanding of wildlife in the national park.

Boat cruise
This is done at kazinga channel a 40 meters long and 8 meters deep channel that connect lakes Edward and George. While boat cruising, travelers have a clear view of different water animals such as the hippos and crocodiles resting at the riverbanks. More still, different bird species are spotted and these include hadad ibis, hammer kop, yellow-billed stork, African jacana. African king fisher, black crake, knob billed duck, sacred ibis, saddle billed stork and yellow wagtail among others. Boat cruise is done for two hours, which gives travelers a fresh feeling of the waters and air, which in turn refreshes their minds hence, a phenomenal experience.

Chimpanzee trekking
Done in kyambura sector of the national park, chimpanzee trekking is yet another interesting activity which should not be missed out by any traveler. While still in kyambura, travelers learn more about kyambura gorge and its atmospheric underground rainforest and other wildlife that inhabit there. Trekking is done in the morning at 8:00am or else in the afternoon at 2:00pm taking a range of 1-3 hours.

Where to sleep
There are several lodging and camping facilities that provide high quality food and sleeping services to travelers. These include Mweya safari lodge, Marafiki safari lodge, Ihamba lodge, Simba safari lodge, Kingfisher lodge, Kyambura game lodge and Jacana safari lodge among others. These facilities offer services ranging from luxury to budget hence attending to the interests of every traveler. The costs vary but the services are real excellent.

When to visit the national park
The time to visit the national park really depends on the interests of the traveler. The dry season is claimed good since vegetation this forcing animals to gather at the water spots hence easily spotted, trekking the chimpanzees also becomes easier since the trails are dry. However, the wet season is also good since the landscape looks beautiful and green and migratory birds such as the flamingoes can be seen in the national park during this time.

Conclusively therefore, queen Elizabeth national park is the second largest national park after Murchison falls national park. It offers extra ordinary experiences to the travelers, which is made possible by natural, cultural, historical and manmade resources, all which form a full travel package. All travelers should therefore visit the national park and are assured of a great and memorable experience.

Posted in Uganda.