Group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park: The Park is one of Uganda’s oldest national parks located in the western part of Uganda. It was gazetted in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and in 1954 it was later changed to Queen Elizabeth National Park after the visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 of England. This park is one of the most visited in Uganda because of the so many attractions found there.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a 1978 sq. km piece of land sheltering over 95 mammals, 600 bird species, and a few primates including the chimpanzees. Safaris to Queen Elizabeth are mostly wildlife safaris enabling tourists to encounter the wild animals of the park during game drives, nature walks, boat cruises, and chimpanzee trekking.

Group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park are organized for tourists to explore the park at a very affordable price. This is because most of the costs on a safari are shared by the tourists for example transport, fuel, and guide fees. Other tourists may travel to Queen Elizabeth National Park as a group to have fun and get to know each other.

Tourists who are interested in traveling as a group to Queen Elizabeth National Park can contact any trusted local tour company in Uganda for their safari to be organized. We have other tourists in the world out there who are interested in traveling in a group but they don’t have one. These can contact companies and ask them if they have groups planning to travel and see how to join them.

With over 95 mammals and 600 bird species, tourists visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park have a lot to spot. Engaging in those park activities comes with an opportunity to see most of the attractions found in the park. The time a group safari has within the park determines the number of activities the tourists will do and what they will spot.

Activities to do on group safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Game drives Queen Elizabeth National Park

Game drives are the most done activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park hosts 95 mammals which can be best spotted when tourists drive to different areas of the park during game drives. Moving to different areas of the park increases the chances of seeing park animals. Still, during the game drives, tourists who love birding are able to see some of the bird species living there.

Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are conducted in the morning, afternoon, and night hours. The day game drives are for those who love to see animals active during the day while the night game drives are conducted by tourists who would love to see nocturnal animals which are those animals active in the night.

Game drives are conducted in Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector, and Mweya peninsula for 2 to 3 hours during day and night game different hours differ. The Ishasha sector game drives are mainly for tourists who are interested in seeing tree climbing lions. The tree climbing lions are rare lions found only within this park in the whole of Uganda.

Day game drives of Queen Elizabeth National Park enable tourists to animals such as lions, elephants, side-stripped jackals, olive baboons, spotted hyenas, leopards, buffaloes, crocodiles, hippos, Uganda kobs, topis, vervet monkeys, defassa waterbucks, giant forest hogs, sitatungas, l’hoest’s monkeys, and warthogs to mention but a few.

The night game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park are conducted in the Mweya sector. Here tourists have a chance to see nocturnal animals such as lions, leopards, serval cats, civets, buffaloes, elephants, bushbucks, and mongooses to mention but a few. Some of these animals are not nocturnal but they are resting during the night.

Birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park has the highest number of bird species in the whole country. The park shelters over 600 bird species living in the different parts of the park. Birding is one of the most done activities within this park by different birders across the world. Birding is a guided activity in all areas of Queen Elizabeth National Park done with armed ranger guides and well-experienced birders.

Different birding areas in Queen Elizabeth National Park such as Katwe, Kikorongo, Katunguru bridge, Kasenyi, Mweya peninsular, Ishasha, Maramagambo forest, and Kazinga channel to mention but a few. All these birding areas have unique birds to see and for any birder to see as many as they can he needs to visit different areas of the park.

Birding in Queen Elizabeth National Park comes with an opportunity to see bird species such as Papyrus gonolek, saddle-billed stork, malachite kingfisher, great white pelicans, shoebill stork, African jacana, Egyptian goose, pied kingfishers, martial eagle, white-winged terns, sedge warbler, African mourning dove, African skimmer, black-headed gonolek.

Great blue turaco, common squacco heron, papyrus canary, yellow-throated cuckoo, verreaux’s eagle owl, long-tailed cormorants, red-chested sunbird, swamp flycatcher, pin-tailed whydah, pink-backed pelican, black-headed gonolek, yellow-billed stork, white-winged warbler, African open billed stork, and black rumped buttonquail to mention but a few.

Chimpanzee trekking

Group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park can participate in chimpanzee trekking activities to get an opportunity to see these primates in their natural habitats. Kyambura Gorge is the place to see chimpanzees while in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The deep forested gorge shelters a few chimpanzees which have been habituated and are used to human presence around them.

Chimpanzee trekking is the major activity which is done in Kyambura Gorge and it’s carried out in the morning and afternoon hours.  A maximum of 12 people trek these chimpanzees every day 6 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. The trekkers are led by armed ranger guides whose role is to offer protection and also allocate the habituated chimpanzees.

Boat cruises Queen Elizabeth National Park

On a group safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park, tourists can take boat cruises on the Kazinga Channel. The activity helps tourists to explore the mighty channel that joins Lake Edward to Lake George. The boat cruises on the Kazinga Channel take place for 2 to 3 hours and this time enables tourists to see the different animals in the waters and those on the shores of the channel.

As tourists enjoy the cool breeze on the Kazinga Channel waters, they get an opportunity to see water animals like the crocodiles, and hippos. Other park animals are seen grazing in the vegetation around the channel while others are seen drinking water from this channel. These include elephants, buffaloes, lizards, and antelopes to mention but a few.

During the boat cruise of Kazinga Channel, tourists who are interested in bird watching set to see water birds such as Papyrus gonolek, shoebill stork, goliath heron, pink-backed pelican, papyrus canary, yellow-billed stork, Egyptian goose, African fish eagle, grey-headed kingfisher, and African skimmer to mention but a few.

Nature walks

Tourists on group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park can be part of the nature walk activities. These are organized to enable tourists to get so close to nature where they observe different wildlife, vegetation, and other non-living things. The nature walks in Queen Elizabeth National Park are guided by armed ranger guides whose role is to enable tourists to see as many attractions as they can while protecting them from anything that could be dangerous.

When to do group tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Tourists can have group tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park at any time of the year however certain months are better than others for example the dry season months. These months are June to September and December to February characterized by little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. They are high season months because every traveler prefers traveling during the perfect weather conditions.

During the dry season, tourists get an opportunity to carry out their activities in the perfect weather. The game tracks are dry and easier to drive through which increases the chances of seeing park animals. The vegetation tends to be dry and scattered giving clear views of the wildlife and the roads leading to the park are in perfect condition.

Tourists can still have group tours in Queen Elizabeth National Park during the rainy season for the park is open all throughout the year. March to May and October to November tourists can engage in different park activities however they should travel knowing that there is plenty of rainfall in the park and little sunshine.

Getting to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Tourists traveling in groups can best access Queen Elizabeth National Park using road transport. It takes 6 to 7 hours to access the park and the time taken depends on the number of stopovers as well as the speed of the driver. From Entebbe the starting point of most safaris, tourists pass via Kampala, Mpigi, Masaka, Lyantonde, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and finally Kasese where the park is located.

Where to stay during group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park?

During group safaris to Queen Elizabeth National Park tourists who are to spend a night or more in the park have lots of lodges to choose from and stay at. These lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury options and tourists stay where they can afford. Lodges include Mweya Safari Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Lodge, Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Elephant Plains Lodge, Tembo Safari Lodge, and Buffalo Safari Lodge to mention but a few.