Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth

Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park

The Best Time to visit Queen Elizabeth is experiences both wet and dry seasons throughout the year. Dry season is considered to be the summer period and wet season as it’s considered as summer and winter period in the park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park was gazetted in 1952 and its a home of over 95 mammal species including the famous four of the big five, it is one of the questions that tourists ask when planning a safari to Uganda and this blog will guide you to plan a successful safari to Queen Elizabeth National Park .Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest park and one of the most popular national parks in Uganda, located in the western region in four districts namely, Kasese, Kamwenge, Rukunjiri and Rubirizi.

Dry Seasons in Queen Elizabeth

The Dry Season in Queen Elizabeth is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical. The long Dry Season in Queen Elizabeth National Park it is the best weather to visit the park in western Uganda.

In June, July and August and it also has the short dry season and it’s also good to visit thus it occurs from the mid-December into January ending around late February. Around these months is also the best time to visit Murchison falls national park. The dry season is characterized by.

• Passable roads
• Little rainfall
• wildlife is closer and easily see.
• Chimpanzee trekking is easily done due to the dry trails.
• Animals looking for water sources.
• Vegetation is thin and the grass is short.

During dry season, the vegetation is sparse which makes the locating of the wildlife easier, since the animals need the freshwater bodies for refreshing and drinking. In this season the navigation of roads takes little time and there are fewer bugs. The highest day time temperature is 30°C and the law average is 17°C.

However Hot Seasons in Queen Elizabeth National Park being the best season to visit the park, it also has many challenges thus making the tourists uncomfortable as listed below.

• Very hot
• Overcrowded
• Expensive accommodation
• High costs

Wet Seasons in Queen Elizabeth

The Wet Season in Queen Elizabeth National Park begins in from March to May and August to December, the highest rains are in April, October and November but November is having the heaviest rain. And these are to be expected during wet season in Queen Elizabeth National Park. game park of Uganda

• Thunderstorms
• Migratory birds (birding) [Papyrus Gonolek, African Skimmers, Unique Shoebill stock]
• Viewing animals
• Beautiful nature
• Less or no costs
• Glowing pastures
• Nature walks
• Few visitors

During wet season, the environment becomes very green and shows the beautifulness of Queen Elizabeth National Park. although it’s a wet season, the prolonged rainfall makes the roads and chimpanzee tracking trails slippery, rare unique tree climbing lions among others.  Therefore, Queen Elizabeth National Park’s activities can be done throughout the year but mostly in the dry season.

Wet seasons can be affordable by all visitors since the prices decrease during this period and every one can get where to sleep.

How to Access Queen Elizabeth

Different transportation routes can lead you to queen Elizabeth national park depending on your starting point. You can consider the following routes and select what’s suitable. Along when accessing the park there’re several types of game parks of Uganda.

• By Road

From Kampala to Queen Elizabeth National Park, it is 397/399 westwards. you can take different routes since all are accessible and public like Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara road which covers 410km which is 250 miles and Kampala-Mubende-Fort portal road covers 420km which is 260 miles.

Thus, from Cong it can be accessed through Fort portal-Mpondwe road and Rwanda it can be accessed via Ntungamo-Kasese road. Where you can access many Uganda national parks. And hear you can visit many national Game Parks of Uganda.

• By Air

Through using air transport to Queen Elizabeth National Park, slightly from Entebbe International Airport is the starting point, straight to Kajjansi Airfield near Kampala, the nearest places to the park are Kasese, Mweya and Ishasha.

Things to do at Queen Elizabeth

There are many activities to carry out during a safari tour in Queen Elizabeth National Park and include.

• Game Drives.

Game drives is one of the things to do when you get to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Game drives are conducted both in the morning and evening hours. This is an activity you can engage in and during the game drive, you will see different animals like the elephants, antelopes among others.

During the month of January to February and June to September, Queen Elizabeth National Park experiences its dry season and grass is short and dry grass thus it makes the clear view of seeing Common birds include swamp flycatcher, pels fishing owl, shoe bill, collared pratincole, palm nut vulture the black bee-eaters, majestic African fish eagle and cormorants,

Around the month of November to April, the park receives migratory birds, and these are believed to come from Europe during winter in search for food.

• Lion Tracking,

Lion tracking is the most interesting activity one would like to carry out which contains research and other unique facts. It’s mainly done at Kasenyi plains, budget and you can get closer to the African lions though it is carried out by the limited number of people to prevent interference.

• Chimpanzee Trekking,

This activity is done in the northern part of the park and at a place called Kyambura Gorge which is known as the home of chimpanzees, and they are under the rain forest which protect them from sunshine.

Entrance fee for Queen Elizabeth

The entrance fee is given at any main gate of entering Queen Elizabeth National Park. But before entering, the foreign residents are of Uganda are supposed to present their valid on year working permits, East African citizens present their national identity cards, and the foreigners are required to present their passports for verification.

• USD40 for the foreigners
• USD30 for foreign residents of Uganda
• UGX20,000 for East African community citizens.
• UGX100,000 for a safari guide annual park entrance.
• USD30 foreign residents’ motorcycles
• UGX10,000 for East African citizens’ motorcycles.
• UGX50,000 for a school bus

NOTE: The entry fee is not levied on children below 15 years. The park entry fee is only for a single day (24 Hours).

Animals in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National is most famous for its diverse mammal and bird species in Uganda. With about 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species, its one destination that will leave you fulfilled with adventure as most game activities are crowned by a boat cruise at the famous Kazinga Channel. It has the four of the big five in the world. This is the list of animals in national park.

• Lions

Lions are carnivores’ animals and belong to the cat family. These are largest animals in the cat family and are one of the big five. Lions’ gestation period is about 108 days. These do not chew their food; they have small incisors at the front of their mouth used to grip the meat whilst their sharp carnassial teeth in back of their mouth tear it into chunks and then they swallow.

• African buffalo

The African buffalo is a large sub-Saharan African bovine, and they live in large herds on savanna and smaller herds in forested areas. An interesting behavior observed in African buffaloes is seemingly altruistic partnership and belong to Bovidae family. The mud baths are very important buffalos because the mud cover in the skin, regulates body temperature and repels ecto-parasites and flies.

• African elephants

are the world’s largest land animals, and they are among the big five. They have six sets of molar teeth and when the last set is lost, die. Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating and can consume up to 300 kilograms of food. African Elephants when you visit the park, and they are among the big five. They have six sets of molar teeth and when the last set is lost, they are unable to eat and eventually die. Gestation period is almost two years or less than.

• Leopards

They are the smallest of the big cat family and are vulnerable and belong to Felidae family.  In Queen Elizabeth, leopards have sharp teeth, strong jaws, powerful bodies, they are notoriously shy, skilled climbers, eat prey, and belong to the Felidae family.

They have a gestation period of 90-105 days, and they grow up to 6.2 feet, their tail adds more 25-36 inches. A male leopard usually weighs around 36-75 kg, and a female leopard typically weighs 21-60 kg. Leopards are nocturnal i.e., they are active during night, and they are solitary creatures.

• Antelopes

Antelopes in Queen Elizabeth National Park are classified in different types like reedbuck, sitatunga, Topi, Uganda Kob, duiker, bushbuck, waterbuck, etc. the Uganda Kob are the most common and their gestation period is 7.5 to 9 months.

• Warthogs

A warthog is a wild member of the pig family found in savanna grassland and savanna woodland. Their scientific name is Phacochoerus, always the common warthogs do not dig their burrows, males are always solitary in their wild and females make family group or sounders and their young ones. Common warthogs are light grey to brown color, they have three pairs of ‘warts’ are along their face.

• Spotted hyenas

The spotted hyena is also called the laughing hyena, it’s the most common large carnivore in Africa and their gestation period is 110 days. They are four types of species striped hyena (hyaena hyaena). The brown hyena (Para hyaena brunnea), the spotted hyena (Crocuta Crocuta) and the aardwolf (Proteles cristate).

Spotted hyenas are skilled hunter as well as scavengers, their sound of laughing is a sound made to inform the group members to a source of food and noise can be heard up to three miles away.

Other animals include the famous hippopotamus at the Kazinga Channel, chimpanzees among others.

Lodges in Queen Elizabeth Park

Accommodation is one thing you shouldn’t worry about we you visit Queen Elizabeth National Park. There different accommodation categories ranging from budget, midrange and luxury. below are some of the examples. All these lodges are good for Queen Elizabeth National Park Safari bookings.

• Kyambura Gorge Lodge.

This lodge definitely exceeds all the expectations and is perfect for visitors that want a mix of luxury lodge stay whilst doing exiting activities. The Kyambura Gorge lodge sits outside the Queen Elizabeth National Park, and you can trek to see the family of habituated chimpanzees from the lodge.

The lodge also has different kind of rooms like an open-plan bedroom with a day bed, the suite bedrooms are also huge.

• Mweya Safari Lodge

This is also one of the luxury lodges in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is surrounded by the magical Rwenzori mountains known as mountains of the moon and it is located on the peninsula within the heart of the Queen Elizabeth National Park.

• Parkview Safari Lodge.

This is a mid-range lodge which combines local and modern materials, opening to the wilderness beyond, it is located shirts of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

• Banda Accommodation

These are mid-range accommodations. They are within the bushes of Queen Elizabeth National Park and are most suitable for nature loves.

• Katara Lodge.

Everything on this lodge was hand crafted from the wood flour up to the grass thatched roof and offers accommodation in eight luxurious cottages on a beautiful stretch of hills overlooking the open savanna in a serene and relaxing atmosphere.

• Elephant Plains Lodge.

This lodge is a new branded lodge located on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park offering spacious luxurious en-suit guest accommodation with breath taking views of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This lodge offers 10 spacious rooms with en-suit facilities private veranda.

• Kazinga channel view resort

This resort is a fantastic budget stay, many common animals can be observed for drinking water In front of the resort. On this Kazinga channel view resort’s perks are to consistent electricity, charging electronics and hot water for showers.

• Simba Safari Camp

After the showers of lake Kikarango, the camp is located on another gate. This is especially for travelers who don’t mind sharing and it’s a budget accommodation. It is constructed as a dormitory and it’s the cheapest accommodation and camping is also possible.

Other main attractions in Queen Elizabeth

There are many attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and they are located in different places which are explained below.

• Kazinga Channel.

This Kazinga Channel is located in Kasese district, with in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is 32km long and it joins two freshwater bodies lake George and Lake Edward. The boat cruise takes 2hours along the Kazinga Channel.

During the boat cruise, you are free to carry out different activities like building, animals especially Nile crocodiles, hippos and African elephants.

• Mweya peninsular.

This is situated in the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park and the best destination for game drives where is good to see different bird species and various animals like leopards, elephants, and others.

Mweya peninsular also offers accommodation facility which is luxurious called Mweya safari lodge where visitors stay during their safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

• The Ishasha sector.

This sector is known due for being famous of the unique tree climbing lions, whereby it is consisted of candelabra trees which have big branches, and these helps the lions to hang up there. This Ishasha sector is located in Southwestern rim of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and in western of Uganda.

The dry season is the best time to visit the Ishasha sector due to the dry roads and clear environment between June to September. However, the Ishasha sector is also open for visitors all throughout the year.

• Kyambura Gorge.

Kyambura Gorge is found in the eastern part if the park and its mainly for Chimpanzee trucking in the valley of apes. it is of the places where the primates, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons, white colobus monkeys, birds and others can be found in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Due to its beautiful as being sheltered by the riverine forests. Activities are.

• Game viewing
• Chimpanzee trekking
• Guided nature walks

Travel tips for Ishasha safaris

• Binoculars are very important for clear observation of the climbing lions.
• Notebooks and pens for recording down some information
• Cameras for capturing photos and videos for interesting features.
• Open roofed cars for safety and clear view.

Frequently asked Questions.

What is the major tourist attraction in Queen Elizabeth National Park?

• Tree climbing lions at Ishasha Sector.

How much does it cost to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park?

• USD40 for foreigners
• USD30 for foreign residents
• UGX20000 for east African community citizens

What is there to do at Queen Elizabeth National Park?

• Bird watching
• Tree climbing lions.
• Game drives
• Boat cruising
• Chimpanzee trekking

Conclusion

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the second largest park after Murchison falls national park. And all activities explained above can be carried out throughout the year. Enjoy your safari or vacation in Queen Elizabeth National Park any time. Get good experience with Kubwa 5 Safari.