Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the best wildlife destinations in the world and Uganda's most visited national park, boasting high biodiversity and a range of landscapes including savannah, bushland, wetlands and lush forests. The park covers an area of 1,978 square kilometres and is home to 96 species of mammals including hippos, elephants, lions, leopards, hyenas and chimpanzees, along with over 612 recorded bird species — ranked 6th worldwide and 2nd in Africa for protected area bird diversity.
The park is renowned for its tree-climbing lions found in the Ishasha sector, where they are often seen lounging on branches, and for the spectacular Kazinga Channel — a 32-kilometre natural waterway connecting Lake Edward to Lake George. Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in western Uganda approximately 410 kilometres from Kampala.
Wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park
The park is one of the most diverse protected areas in Africa, hosting over 95 mammal species and 10 primate species. Wildlife includes four of the Big Five — lions, leopards, cape buffaloes and elephants. The Ishasha Sector's tree-climbing lions are a unique highlight found almost nowhere else in Africa. Other animals include Uganda kobs, waterbuck, topi, spotted hyenas, giant forest hogs, warthogs and various monkey species including black-and-white colobus and olive baboons.
The Kyambura Gorge is one of the best places in Uganda to see chimpanzees in the wild, boasting ten different primate species including chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and baboons.
Birdlife
With over 600 recorded species, Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Africa's top birding destinations. Notable species include the shoebill stork, African fish eagle, martial eagle, pink-backed pelican, papyrus canary, Ruwenzori turaco, Verreaux's eagle owl, African skimmer and Chapin's flycatcher among hundreds of others.
Safari Activities
Game drives are offered as morning and afternoon excursions across the savannah plains, with sightings of the Big Four, Uganda kobs, warthogs, giant forest hogs, hippos and various cats. The Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise runs for 2–3 hours and offers one of the largest concentrations of hippos in Africa, Nile crocodiles, bathing elephants and buffaloes, and exceptional water birding. Sessions run at approximately 9:00 am and 2:00 pm.
The Lion Tracking Experience in the Kasenyi Plains is a unique activity conducted by trained researchers from the Uganda Carnivore Program, who use radio collars to locate specific lions and allow visitors to observe their behaviour while contributing to conservation data. Sessions run in the early morning or late afternoon (around 4:00 pm) and last 1–3 hours.
Guided nature walks led by experienced rangers offer intimate encounters with the park's flora and fauna, complementing game drives and boat safaris.
Getting There
By road from Kampala the journey takes approximately 8 hours via two routes — through Mbarara to the east (250 miles) or via Fort Portal to the north (260 miles). Queen Elizabeth National Park pairs well with Kibale Forest National Park for chimpanzee trekking, or as a stopover on the way to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking.
By air, domestic and charter flights from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airstrip to Kasese Airstrip, Mweya Airstrip or Ishasha Airstrip take approximately 2 hours. Flights are operated by Safarilink, Aerolink and Bar Aviation.
