Game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park; Queen Elizabeth national park is the largest and one of the most visited national parks in Uganda located in western region in four districts namely Kasese, Rukungiri, Kamwenge and Rubirizi districts. Queen Elizabeth national park is a home of over 95 mammal species including the famous tree climbing lions, buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, topi, giant forest hogs, hippos, leopards, hyenas among others which makes it one of the best game viewing national parks in Uganda.
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national are done in comfortable pop up safari vehicles with professional driver guides who are well conversant with different game tracks like Kasenyi plains, Ishasha sector and Mweya peninsular. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park can either be done early in the morning when animals are most active or in the evening when animals are going back to their resting areas. During the game drive, you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, waterbucks, giant forest hogs, topi, view predators like leopards, lions, hyenas among others. During the game drive, you will also be able to enjoy views of the sunrise and sunset, views of different bird species, beautiful scenery among others.
Queen Elizabeth national park also offers night game drives where travelers will be able to explore the park at night with an armed ranger guide and spotlight torches for clear viewing of nocturnal animals. Night game drives in Queen Elizabeth national park is only done in Mweya peninsular and it starts at around 6:30pm and takes about 3 hours. During the night game drive, you will be able to view nocturnal animals which become active at night for example leopards, lions, civet, serval cates, genets, view hippos feeding, banded mongoose, other animals like buffaloes, African elephants, waterbucks among others.
Best time for game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park
Game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park can be done anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February because during this period there is less rainfall in the park therefore access roads and game drive tracks will be dry and passable which makes game drives easy. During the dry season, vegetation will be short and many wildlife species gather around the water bodies to drink water which gives you an opportunity to spot different animals clearly.
Other activities in Queen Elizabeth national park
Boat cruise
Boat cruise is another interesting activity in Queen Elizabeth national park that is done on Kazinga channel a water channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. Boat cruise on Kazinga channel can either be done in the morning at 9:00am or in the afternoon at 2:00pm. During the boat ride you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view other animals drinking water along the shores, water birds among others.
Bird watching
Queen Elizabeth national park is a home of over 600 recorded bird species including migratory birds, forest birds, savannah birds and migratory birds which makes it one of the best bird watching destinations in Uganda.
Chimpanzee trekking
Chimpanzee trekking is another adventurous activity in Queen Elizabeth national park that is carried out in Kyambura gorge also known as the valley of apes. Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura gorge starts very early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 2 to 4 hours and once the chimpanzees are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in the habitat which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities, learn more about their behaviors, take photos and record videos.
Nature walks
Nature walk is an exciting activity in Queen Elizabeth national park where travelers will be able to explore the park on foot with the company of an experienced park guide and an armed park ranger to protect you from any danger. During the guided nature walk, you will be able to get up-close and personal with different wildlife species, listen to sweet sounds of bird species among others.
How to get to Queen Elizabeth national park
Queen Elizabeth national park is located in western part of Uganda and can be accessed by road transport means where you will drive from Kampala via Masaka Mbarara or Mubende Fort portal to the park headquarters which takes about 7 to 8 hours’ drive.
Queen Elizabeth national park can also be accessed by air transport means where you will book scheduled or charter flights from Entebbe international airport to Kasese or Mweya airstrip and then connect to the park headquarters.
Game drive is an adventurous activity in Queen Elizabeth national park that can be combined with other activities in Lake Mburo national park such as sport fishing, horseback riding, boat cruise, game drives, bird watching, guided nature walks among others. For more information about game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park, you can reach out to us at Achieve Global Safaris or visit our website for combined safari packages to Queen Elizabeth national park and Lake Mburo national park.
