Things to See
The park is home to over 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species. These are the main attractions of the visitors to the park. It has four of the ‘Big Five’ namely Elephant, Leopard, Lion and Buffalo. It is home to thousands of hippos that populate the water shores of Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George to Lake Edward – known to have the largest herd of hippos. The park is an open Savannah spread with acacia and euphorbia trees that provide a habitat for leopards, elephants, lions, Uganda kobs, Topi, hyenas, and big herds of buffaloes, large families of banded mongoose, warthogs, bushbucks and waterbucks.
Chimpanzees and other primates are found in the adjacent Kyambura gorge and ‘underground forest’. Look for the black-and-white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons etc.
Other animals found are elephants, buffalo, Uganda kob, a variety of antelope, baboons and chimpanzees and the famous tree-climbing lion. There are also over 500 different specifies of bird making it an exceptional destination for ornithologists.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is a birdwatcher’s haven with over 600 bird species and is an important Birding Area (IBA) according to Birding International. It has the highest number of birds found in any protected area in East Africa.
The park has diverse habitats for birds from Savannah, multiple crater lakes, forests and woodland. There are different sections where you go birding i.e. Kasenyi area, Mweya peninsula, Imaramagambo and Kazinga channel. The bird species to look out for include, the African mourning dove, Swamp flycatcher, Grey-headed kingfisher, pin-tailed whydah, slender-tailed nightjar and collared pratincole. Look out for the flamingos at the salt lakes of Katwe and Bunyampaka.
The Katwe explosion craters mark the park’s highest point at 1,350m above sea level, while the lowest point is at 910m, at Lake Edward
Birders can spot some of the 500 plus species of birds including grey crowned crane, marshal eagle and flamingos.
In addition to the big game viewing, Queen Elizabeth national park includes Kyambura forest gorge home to chimpanzees. It makes fantastic opportunities for chimpanzee tracking and nature walks offer sightings of primates, birds and butterflies.
Queen Elizabeth is a park where wildlife co-exists peacefully with humans. The surrounding cattle herders as well as farmers live along the boundary with predators. There are excellent village walks. Visit Katwe salt mining lake and learn about the life and work of salt miners.
The park is also known for its volcanic features comprising volcanic cones and deep craters many with crater lakes such as Lake Katwe from which salt is extracted.
The park includes the Maramagambo forest and birders Kigezi game reserve, Kyambura game reserve
