Accessing Queen Elizabeth national park by road

Accessing Queen Elizabeth national park by road transport: In the western part of Uganda, about 400km from Kampala is Queen Elizabeth national park the country’s most visited protected area. The national park is the second biggest protected area covering a total area of 1978 sq. km. It was gazetted in 1952 by the government of Uganda to protect different animals that were living in the area.

Accessing Queen Elizabeth national park by road

The national park was initially called Kazinga national park named by the locals after the Kazinga channel which goes through the park from lake Edward to lake Gorge. The national park changed its name in 1954 to Queen Elizabeth national park after a visit of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Queen Elizabeth national park is famous for harboring the highest number of wildlife species which are birds and animals, water bodies like Kazinga channel, crater lakes, and the rare tree climbing lions of Ishasha. Queen Elizabeth national park is home to over 95 mammals, 600 bird species 10 primates, and tree-climbing lions.

Accessing park by road transport is very possible in just a single day from which ever region of the country you are coming from. The government has constructed several roads to connect to tourist places like Queen Elizabeth national park and these road also connecting different areas of the country.

Roads connecting to Queen Elizabeth national park are made of tarmac and marram and its 4×4 wheel safari vehicles that are recommended for any safari in the park. The tarmac roads are well constructed with a  few holes and it’s the marram roads from the main roads to the park which have got a few issues, especially in the rainy season when they are muddy and slippery.

Tourists that want to access this park using road transport should know that it’s takes them a single day based on where they are coming from. Tour companies have safari drives that can drive clients to different national parks but still tourists who want self-drive can always use google maps although it’s not recommended because of different challenges.

Road transport routes to Queen Elizabeth national park

There are so many ways travelers can access this park depending on where they are coming from. The national park can be accessed from different areas of the country and we are going to look at different routes to connect to the park.

1. From Kampala/Entebbe tourists can access Queen Elizabeth national park by going through Masaka, Mbarara, and Bushenyi to the southern sector of the park. Another route is from Kampala/Entebbe through Mubende, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, Kasese to the northern side of the park.
2. Travelers from Bwindi impenetrable forest national park can access this park in 3-4 hours by driving from Buhoma sector through Kanungu to Ishasha region of the park.
3. Tourists from Kibale forest national park can access the park in 1-2 hours by driving through Kamwenge to Fort Portal to Kasese.

All the above routes used to access the park give tourists opportunities to meet different attractions along the way among which include forests, swamps, rivers, lakes, towns, the equator, and the local people among others. The time takes to access the national park using the above routes depends on the speed of the driver, the nature of the roads, and the number of stopovers.

Road transport to the park is the best option because it is very rewarding with great views of different attractions along the way. There are points where tourists get to have stopovers as they relax while exploring the surrounding. Some of these routes give tourists an opportunity to meet the equator crossing like at Kayabwe and Kasenyi.

When is the best time to travel to Queen Elizabeth national park by road transport?

Tourists can access Queen Elizabeth park at any time of the year by road transport however there are periods better than others. The dry season from June to September and December to February is the best time to drive to the park and this is because there is little or no rainfall which keeps the roads leading to the park dry and passable.

Travelers can still drive to this park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November but this period has a lot of rainfall which makes the road leading to the park muddy and slippery. The marram roads connecting the main roads to the park are the worst especially if it rained heavily that very day.

Apart from accessing the park using road transport, tourists access Queen Elizabeth park by air transport. There are flights by different airline companies among which include Aerolink Uganda, Bar Aviation Uganda, and fly Uganda to Mweya airstrip or Kasese airstrip. These flights take 1 hour and 15 minutes making it the fastest way to access the park.

To fly to Queen Elizabeth park, tourists need to book seats with the airline company or the tour operator earlier in advance about 3-4 months. To book the flight, you need the dates of the month and year you want to travel and these shall be used to check for the availability of the seats and once they are available, you will pay money and your seat shall be booked.