The Kazinga channel – Queen Elizabeth national park

The Kazinga channel – Queen Elizabeth national park: Kazinga channel is found in one of Uganda’s most visited national parks called Queen Elizabeth. Kazinga channel is a 32km (20 mi) long natural water channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George. Lake George is a small water lake that is fed by streams from Mountain Rwenzori in the north and this flows through Kazinga channel to pour water into Lake Edward.

The Kazinga channel – Queen Elizabeth national park

This channel is one of the popular tourist areas in Queen Elizabeth national park having the highest number of hippos in the whole world. The channel attracts lots of park animals especially during the dry season when the park is receiving little or no rainfall with the vegetation very short. In the dry season, animals tend to stay around the channel for fresh vegetation and drinking water.

The channel also attracts a large population of bird species because of the vegetation and enough food in the swamps. Most of these birds are water birds and they are seen during the boat cruise or nature walk activities along the channel. The water birds at Kazinga channel include the shoe bill stork, African spoonbills, lesser masked weaver, red-capped lark, long-tailed cormorant, black-headed gonolek, red-chested sunbird, grey-capped warbler, swamp flycatcher, and martins among others.

Apart from birds, different wildlife species can be seen inside and around Kazinga channel in Queen Elizabeth national park. There are hippos and crocodiles seen in the waters during the boat cruise and nature walks and then different animals around the channel grazing or drinking water.

The animals seen around the channel include buffaloes, elephants, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, jackals, topis, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, warthogs and much more seen best during the dry season.

Activities to do on Kazinga channel

Boat cruises

Boat cruises are the main activities carried out at Kazinga channel by tourists that visit Queen Elizabeth national park. The boat cruises are organized by Uganda Wildlife Authority, Mweya safari lodge, and then individuals. The boat cruises do happen twice a day and this is mid-morning at 11 am or after lunch and 2 pm.

Boat cruises start with tourists gathering at the starting point and then showing their permits to see if they qualify for the activity. The tourists get into the boat and they are taught about the rules and regulations of the activity as well as the different information about the Kazinga channel.

The boat cruises do take 2-3 hours and tourists are able to move this 32 km waterbody and see the different attractions in and around the waters. Thew Kazinga channel is home to the highest number of hippos in the world and these are seen everywhere. It’s also home to crocodiles, different fish species, and frogs.

The boat cruise activity gives bird lovers an opportunity to see different birds such as African skimmer, black crake, marital eagle, pied kingfisher, yellow-billed stork, malachite kingfisher, African shoe bill and so many more. Tourists cant fail to see different park animals along the channel especially in the dry season because it’s where fresh vegetation and water can be got from.

Birding

Queen Elizabeth national park is a great birding destination with over 600 bird species seen in different areas of the park. The channel is one of the areas in Queen Elizabeth national park where bird watching does take place. The area is home to so many bird species of the bird which can be seen during the boat cruise as well as nature walk activities.

The birds to see on Kazinga channel include pin-tailed whydah, raptors, yellow-backed weaver, African mourning dove, diederik cuckoo, slender-billed weaver, squire-tailed nightjar, slender-tailed nightjar, blue-naped mouse bird, swamp night jar, African spoonbills, lesser masked weaver, long-tailed cormorant, black-headed gonolek, red chested sunbird, swamp flycatcher, grey-capped warbler, swallows, martins, swifts, rec-capped lark, African shoebill, pygmy kingfisher, and grey-headed kingfisher among others.

Accommodation on a visit to Kazinga channel

You shouldn’t worry about where you will stay after or before visiting the channel in Queen Elizabeth national park because there are so many lodges around. These lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury options and where to stay depends on the budget.

Accommodation facilities here include Mweya Safari Lodge, Jacana Lodge, Hippo Hill Camp, Ishasha Bandas, Simba Safari Lodge, Kingfisher Camp, Kyambura Tented Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Safari Camp, Ihamba Safari Lodge, Kyambura Tented Lodge and Elephant Hub Lodge among others.

Getting to the Kazinga channel

Kazinga channel is found inside Queen Elizabeth national park and the park can be accessed using road transport as well as air transport. Air transport is the quickest way to get to Kazinga channel as it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. There are flights at Kajjansi airstrip and Entebbe international airport to Mweya airstrip which is a few meters to the Kazinga channel.

By road transport, travelers from Kampala/Entebbe can access Kazinga channel by driving through Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and then Kasese to the park or Kampala through Mubende, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, and Kasese to the park. From Buhoma sector of Bwindi, tourists drive through Kihihi, Kanungu to Kasese.