Attractions in Queen Elizabeth national park

Attractions in Queen Elizabeth national park: This among the most visited parks in Uganda and this is because of the so many attractions which pulls tourists to the park. The national park is home to over 95 mammals, 600 bird species, and 13 primates living in the savannah vegetation of the park. The national park hosts three large water bodies which are lake Edward, Lake George, and Kazinga channel.

Queen elizabet6jh national park was gazetted in 1952 by the government of Uganda in the western part of the country. It covers an area of 1978sqkm which are shared by Kamwenge, Kasese, Rukungiri, and Bushenyi. The national park is about 380 km by road from Kampala and can be accessed in a single day which is 7-8 hours by vehicle and 1 hour and 15 minutes by air transport.

Attractions in Queen Elizabeth national park

Mammals

The biggest attractions in Queen Elizabeth national park are eth mammals. Over 95 mammals are said to be living in this park making it one of the protected national parks with the highest number of mammals. Mammals of Queen Elizabeth national park live in different areas like Ishasha sector, Kasenyi, and Mweya peninsula among others.

The see these mammals well, you need to be part of the game drive activities where you will be taken to most of the places where animals live, you can be part of the guided nature walks, explore the park on foot and meet different mammals, tourists can still see a number of mammals during the Kazinga channel boat cruise most especially in the dry season when they concentrate on areas around the water.

Mammals of Queen Elizabeth national park include side-stripped jackals, lions, tree climbing lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, hippos, elephants, bushbucks, cape buffaloes, topis, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, defassa waterbucks, sitatungas, giant forest hogs, warthogs and Nile crocodiles among others.

Sights of the little bee- eater in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Birds

There are over 600 bird species that have been recorded in Queen Elizabeth national park and this has made it one of the best birding destinations hence attracting a lot of bird lovers. These bird species are seen on nature walk activities in areas of Katwe, Katunguru bridge, Kasenyi, Ishasha, Mweya, and much more.

Birds of Queen Elizabeth national park do include the Egyptian goose, great crested grebe, red-eyed dove, comb duck, African crake, allen’s gallinule, black-crowned night heron, black crake, yellow-throated cuckoo, African emerald cuckoo, handsome francolin, scarce swift, little grebe, African darter, great cormorant, little bee-eater and long-tailed cormorant.

Intermediate egret, Eurasian spoonbill, water thick-knee, African spoonbill, nahan’s francolin, grey crowned crane, curlew sandpiper, black-billed bustard, great egret, black-headed heron, buff-spotted fuff tail, ross’s turaco, goliath heron, red chested fluff tail, white-spotted fluff tail, spotted thick-knee, black-winged stilt, common ringed plover, and three-banded plover

White-fronted plover, Senegal lapwing, crowned lapwing, brown-chested lapwing, lesser jacana, ruddy turnstone, great snipe, common greenshank, black-winged pratincole, emerald-spotted wood dove, slender-billed gull, Secretary bird, European honey buzzard, African harrier hawk, Egyptian vulture, black chested snake eagle, and western banded snake eagle among others.

Water bodies

Queen Elizabeth national park has 3 main water bodies which are Kazinga channel, Lake Edward, and Lake George. The most popular of these water bodies is the Kazinga channel which links these two water bodies. The main activity done on Kazinga channel is the boat cruise where tourists get to explore different areas and attractions inside the channel.

The Kazinga channel is home to the highest number of hippos in the whole world, crocodiles, and different fish species. Along the channel, there is always fresh vegetation cover which is a home to different water bird species such as shoebill stork, malachite kingfisher, African skimmer, long-tailed cormorant, pied kingfisher, yellow-billed stork, pinked backed pelican and much more.

Kazinga channel is one of the best areas to see different animals in the park, especially in the dry season when the vegetation is dry in most parts of the park. Animals do come here to feed on fresh vegetation cover and also drink water and they do include elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, topis, waterbucks, warthogs, and many more.

Tree climbing lions

Tree climbing lions are mammals but attractions of their now in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park. What makes these lions different from others is that they are able to climb trees and hang on the branches of fig trees. Tree climbing lions are seen in Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda and Lake Manyara national park in Tanzania.

Taking a game drive to the Ishasha sector will give tourists an opportunity to see tree climbing lions lazily hanging on tree branches. These lions climb for different reasons such as escaping heat from the ground, hiding from insects, and hiding from their prey.

The equator

The equator is a lining that divides the world into two equal parts which are named the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. Uganda is one of the countries where the equator passes and Queen Elizabeth is the only national park where this equator goes through.

Tourists on a safari in Queen Elizabeth national park can take a visit to this equator line which happens to be in the north of the park. The equator line is found near Kasenyi area of the park and tourists who visit this area are able to get a chance of standing in two separate hemispheres at the same time.

Crater lakes
There are several crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth national park but only three are main and these are Katwe explosion craters, Bunyarunguru craters, and Ndali-Kasenda craters.  To see these crater lakes, you have to be part of the nature walk activities guided by armed ranger guides. Around the crater lakes, are different animal species as well as birds.

Crater lakes

There are several crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth national park but only three are main and these are Katwe explosion craters, Bunyarunguru craters, and Ndali-Kasenda craters.  To see these crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth national park, you have to be part of the nature walk activities guided by armed ranger guides. Around the crater lakes, are different animal species as well as birds.

Accommodation

Queen Elizabeth national park has so many accommodation facilities ranging from budget to mid-range to luxury options. These accommodations include Jacana Safari Lodge, Kazinga Channel View Resort, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Elephant Hub Lodge, Elephant Plains Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Enganzi Game Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Marafiki Safari Lodge, Tembo Safari Lodge, Katara Lodge, and Kyambura Gorge Lodge among others.