Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari
Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari takes you on a wildlife and mountain climbing tour in the western part of Uganda. Queen Elizabeth national park and Mountain Rwenzori are part of Kasese district in the western part of the country. These tourist areas are located near each other with Mountain Rwenzori found on the northern side of the park. Rwenzori mountains is a 2 hours’ drive from Queen Elizabeth national park.
A safari to Queen Elizabeth park and Mount Rwenzori is done for travelers that want to see wildlife and combine it with mountain climbing. Mountain Rwenzori is one of the most hiked in the country the fact that it’s the highest while Queen Elizabeth national park is among the most visited areas in Uganda due to a lot of attractions that are within the park.
Queen Elizabeth national park is home to 95 mammals, 10 primate species, and over 600 bird species. These can be explored during game drives, nature walks, chimpanzee trekking, and boat cruise activities within the park. A safari to these two areas can start and end anywhere based on the travel itinerary or one’s choice.
Number of days needed for Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari
The number average number of days needed for Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari is 5-12 days. A traveler chooses the number of days based on the time they have on the safari and also the travel budget. The longer the number of days the more activities to do and the more the travel budget.
If you have a limited amount of time on this safari, it means that you will explore both areas and see most of the attractions that are there. You will be able to see most of the wildlife within Queen Elizabeth park and you will also be able to hike for some good days on Mount Rwenzori. Travelers that are intending to have a safari to these two areas should look at having extra days because they are enough for one to explore.
Activities/things to do on this safari
Game drives
On this safari, this activity is done in Queen Elizabeth national park home to over 95 mammals and 10 primates. The game drive activities can be done in Kasenyi or Mweya peninsula which has the largest concentration of wildlife in the park. The game drives are a 2-3 hours activity don in the morning or evening hours not forgetting night hours when people get to see nocturnal animals.
Game viewing activities on this safari will give you an opportunity to see different wildlife species of Queen Elizabeth national park and among these include lions, buffaloes, elephants, leopards, sitatungas, spotted hyenas, waterbucks, bushbucks, side stripped jackals, Uganda kobs, monkeys, live baboons, warthogs, and giant forest hogs among others.
Mountain climbing
This is a major activity done on Mountain Rwenzori and it takes 10-12 days to get to the top of the mountains of the moon. On this safari, tourists can hike up to a certain level or peak and then descend back unless if they have enough time to continue. There are low-altitude hikes that take 2-4 days and there are high altitude hikes that take 4-12 days.
Hiking Mount Rwenzori starts with a briefing where hikers are taught about the rules and regulations to follow as well as things to expect. The armed ranger guides lead the group of hikers who use sticks to balance while going through the trails. Hiking demands a good level of fitness because the trails are challenging and rocky but one will reach the ending point.
Hiking Mount Rwenzori starts in the morning and the hikers are taken specific hiking routes for example there is the southern route out of Kilembe and the central route of Nyakalengija. Any of the routes used will give you an opportunity to meet different vegetation covers, wildlife, and water sources. Trekkers will also be able to see reach certain peaks with the nearest being Weisman at 4,620m and they will be able to see surrounding areas.
Bird watching
Bird watching is another activity that can be done in Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari. Queen Elizabeth national park is home to over 600 bird species while Mount Rwenzori area is home to over 217 bird species. Bird watching can be done in both areas in form of nature walk activities to enable tourists to see a variety of bird species.
Among the bird species to be done in Queen Elizabeth national park include the grey crowned crane, African jacana, pel’s fishing owl, rare saddle-billed stork, African Fish Eagle, Hottentot teal, collared pratincole, shoebill stork, African finfoot, blue-headed bee-eater, martial eagle, helmeted guinea, white-tailed lark, lesser flamingo, African skimmer, African olive pigeon, and yellow-billed stork among others.
Bird watching in Queen Elizabeth national park will introduce you to bird species like Johnston’s Ruwenzori Turaco, East African Grey Cuckoo Shrike, Ruwenzori Puff back, Flycatcher- Batis, Ruwenzori Nightjar, Black duck, Verreaux’s eagle, Rufous sparrow hawk, African Lammergeyer, Mountain Buzzard, Mountain Yellow flycatcher, Ruwenzori Olive Thrush, Mountain Chat, Archer’s Robin Chat, Red-throated Alethe, Red-faced woodland warbler, Bamboo warbler, Collared Apalis, Cinnamon Scrub Warbler, Lanner Falcon, Black rough-wing swallow among others.
Boat cruise on the Kazinga channel
On a safari to Queen Elizabeth park and Mount Rwenzori, tourists can have a boat cruise on the Kazinga channel. Kazinga channel is found within Queen Elizabeth national park and a boat cruise is the best way one can explore it while enjoying great views of the surrounding areas.
During the boat cruise on Kazinga channel, tourists will see schools f hippos, crocodiles, and water birds such as swamp flycatcher, shoebill stork, papyrus gonoleck, African jacana, saddle billed stork, and pink-backed pelicans among others. Park animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, and monkeys will be seen around the water channel.
Chimpanzee trekking Kyambula gorge
Chimpanzee trekking on this safari can be done in Kyambura gorge which is found within Queen Elizabeth national park. Kyambua gorge is home to over 100 chimpanzees some of which have been habituated and are open for trekking to those that have valid chimpanzee trekking permits.
Chimpanzee trekking can be in the evening or morning hours and the sessions start with a briefing. Trekkers are taught about the rules and regulations of the trekking activity and armed ranger guides lead them in the jungle. Searching and finding the chimpanzees takes 30 minutes to 3 hours and when they are found trekkers are given 1 hour to be around them and watch them do daily activities, take photos and learn about their habits.
Community visits
Tourists that love African culture can get time and visit any of the communities around Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori. For Mountain Rwenzori there are Bakongyo people and Queen Elizabeth park has the Bakiga, Banyankore, and Bakongyo.
The different tribes around these protected areas are welcoming so they will take you around their communities where you will visit different homesteads, interact with the locals, listen to stories from elder people, and watch them do daily activities. During cultural tours, tourists will be get entertained by traditional dancers through songs and drama.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth park and Rwenzori
Accessing Queen Elizabeth park and Rwenzori is so easy as they are located in western Uganda and both areas can be accessed in a single day using air transport or road transport.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth park by road transport, tourists can get to Queen Elizabeth national park or Rwenzori mountains from Kampala/Entebbe through Mubende, fort portal, and Kasese road where one branches off to Queen or continues to Rwenzori.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth park by air transport, travelers that hate traveling for long distances or those that want to travel a luxury style can use chattered flights of Aerolink Uganda or bar aviation Uganda. Flights do begin at Kajjansi airstrip and they take 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Mweya airstrip for those visiting Queen Elizabeth park or Kasese Airstrip for those visiting both the mountain and the park.
The most appropriate time for Queen Elizabeth national park and Mount Rwenzori safari
Travelers can have this safari at any time of the year but from June to September and December to February is the perfect time to visit Queen Elizabeth park and hike Mount Rwenzori. This is because there is little or no rainfall which keeps game trucks and hiking trails dry and easily passable, vegetation is short with good views of attractions and the roads leading to these areas are in good condition.
Travelers can still have a safari to Queen Elizabeth park and Mount Rwenzori during the rainy season but this favors budget travelers as lodges are at a discount. These rainy months are usually low seasons because they have a lot of rainfall that makes the game tracks and hiking trails muddy and slippery, vegetation is tall and thick with unclear views of attractions and the roads leading to these areas are in poor conditions.
