Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park

Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park: Ishasha sector is a popular destination within Queen Elizabeth national park because of the rare tree-climbing lions. Ishasha sector is located in the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park neighboring Virunga national park of DR Congo. The sector became famous when people found out that it harbors tree climbing lions that are rare to see in the world.

In the whole world, the highest population of tree climbing lions is seen in the Ishasha of Queen Elizabeth national park and a few are seen in Lake Manyara which is found within Tanzania. The sector is very popular compared to Mweya peninsula or Kasenyi plains and tourists who visit the park love to visit Ishasha more than any other area.

The sector is made up of savannah grasslands, and riverine vegetation which are home to a variety of wildlife species. The area is home to tree climbing lions, lions, buffaloes, hippos, Uganda kobs, deffassa waterbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, leopards, spotted hyenas, topis, and much more. The area is also home to various bird species of Queen Elizabeth national park.

Activities/things to do in Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park

Lion tracking: Queen Elizabeth national park is the only place in Uganda where lion tracking is done. Ishasha sector in the south of the park is one of the few areas where the activity does take place. Lion tracking in Ishasha sector give tourists an opportunity to get close to lions while in their natural habitats. Tourists are even allowed to get off track during lion tracking in order to have clear views of the lions, study their behaviors, feeding pattern, and activities they do. These lions are monitored using GPS which is connected to the radio callers.

Game drives: Game viewing is the most done activity within the above sector of Queen Elizabeth park. This is because a big number of tourists that visit Queen Elizabeth are interested in seeing the tree climbing lions. This area is the only place in the world where tree climbing lions are seen and maybe a few in Lake Manyara national park Tanzania.

Game drives in Ishasha give tourists an opportunity to see these tree climbing lions hanging on branches of fig trees. Other wild animals can also be seen in Ishasha sector and among these include normal lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, buffaloes, duikers, sitatungas, Uganda kobs, giant forest hogs, bushbucks, waterbucks, and a number of primates among others.

Bird watching: There are best birding areas within Queen Elizabeth national park and among these include the Ishasha sector. The sector is home to most of the bird species that have been recorded within Queen Elizabeth national park and these are well seen during the nature walk activities.

Bird watching activities in southern sector of Queen Elizabeth national park give tourists an opportunity to see bird species such as northern wheatear, Angolan swallow, purple-breasted sunbird, eastern black-headed oriole, blue-breasted bee-eater, cardinal woodpecker, common scimitar bill, piping hornbill, bar-tailed trogon, pearl spotted owlet, pallid harrier, palm-nut vulture, slender-billed gull, and great snipe among others.

Nature walks: Tourists staying in the lodges in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National park can always have nature walk activities to explore the park as well as stretch their muscles. The nature walks are done in groups for those that want to visit different areas of the park and these are led by armed ranger guides whose role is to protect tourists from dangerous wild animals. During nature walks in Ishasha sector, tourists see different bird species, mammals, primates, and vegetation.

What accommodation facilities are found in Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park

Several accommodation facilities are found within Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth park and they do range from budget to mid range to luxury options. These accommodation facilities are found within different areas of the sector and they include Ishasha Wilderness Camp, Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp, Ishasha River Site Camp, Ishasha Tree Climbing Lions View Lodge, Embogo Lodges, Engojo Lodge, The River Ishasha Lodge, and Bullbush River Camp among others.

Accessing Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park

Accessing Ishasha sector by road transport: Travelers can access Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park from Kampala/Entebbe by driving through Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi to Rubirizi where they will drive to Ishasha gate and access Ishasha sector. This journey takes 7-8 hours including stopovers at places such as equator, and Igongo cultural center.

Accessing Ishasha sector by air transport: luxury travelers or those that hate traveling for long distances can access Queen Elizabeth park by using chattered fights. Airline companies like Bar Aviation Uganda and Aerolink Uganda have domestic flights from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airstrip to Mweya airstrip where one gets a safari vehicle to the above sector.

The most appropriate time to be in Ishasha sector

Tourists can be in southern sector sector of Queen Elizabeth park at any time of the year however certain months are better than the rest. The dry months from June to September and December to February are the best to be in Ishasha because they are characterized by little or no rainfall which makes the game tracks stay dry and passable, vegetation is short and thin with good views of wildlife and the roads leading to the park are passable.

Tourists can still be in this sector in the rainy season of March to May and October to November because it will always be open. This season favors budget travelers as lodges are at a discount however there is too much rainfall which makes the game tracks dry, vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of wildlife and the roads leading to the park are impassable.