Classified as an Important Birding Area by Birding International, QENP is a superbly varied destination for QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK birdwatchers with species representing the park’s varied habitats. Its location at the overlap of East African PARK AT A GLANCE savanna and Congo forest also means that species from The 1978km2 Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of both biomes are present. Uganda’s oldest protected areas. Originally gazetted as the Lake George and Lake Edward game reserves in LOCAL PEOPLE 1925, it was upgraded to create one of Uganda’s first Bunyaruguru people live on the Kichwamba Escarpment national parks in 1952. to the southeast of QENP. The area to the north of the DEMOCRATIC park is the home of Basongora pastoralists while Queen Elizabeth lies directly on the equator. A pair of REPUBLIC Bakonzo farmers cultivate the slopes of the Rwenzori concrete hoops marks the spot where the 0O line mountain beyond. crosses the Kasese road. OF CONGO ACCESS Roads Two routes run from Kampala to Mweya, the primary tourism hub in QENP. The most scenic route passes through Fort Portal (410km) and offers detours to Kibale, Semuliki and Rwenzori Mountains national parks. The An abundance of magnificent vistas include the jagged alternative (420km) runs through Mbarara and Bushenyi backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains; rolling hills pocked and passes Lake Mburo National Park. with extinct volcanic craters; open, rift valley grasslands QENP’s southerly Ishasha sector is directly on the main at Kasenyi and Ishasha; the hippo-lined Kazinga Channel; route to/from from Buhoma, the main mountain gorilla and the Mitumbe mountains in Congo rising above the tracking trailhead in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, distant, western shore of Lake Edward which lies 62km south. Queen Elizabeth National Park and its surroundings are Air also of cultural and historical interest. There are many Charter flights can be arranged to airstrips at Kasese, opportunities for visitors to meet the local communities Mweya and Ishasha. and enjoy storytelling, dance, music and more. The park was initially named Kazinga National Park in 1952, but CLIMATE was renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by Daytime temperatures average 18-280C. Nights can be Queen Elizabeth II. cool. The park is home to over 95 mammal species and over WILDLIFE WHEN TO VISIT Hotel/Lodge UWA cottages 600 bird species. QENP’s various habitats support a wealth of wildlife with All year round The park’s highest point, 1,350m above sea level, is found more mammal species (95) than any other Ugandan Scenic highlight Birding ACCOMMODATION in the Katwe Explosion Craters while the lowest point is park and over 600 bird species - a phenomenal number 910m on the shore of Lake Edward. for such a small area. Expect to see safari favourites A range of accommodation in and around the park caters such as elephants, buffaloes and hippos. The chances of Game Drive Main road(surfaced) for up-market, mid range, budget and self-catering Scenic and biodiverse, Queen Elizabeth National Park finding lions on the plains of Kasenyi and Ishasha are visitors. At Mweya, UWA offers 4-5 bedroom bungalows (QENP) is Uganda’s most popular protected area. Diverse good, especially with a ranger guide, while leopard Park gate Main road(unsurfaced) equipped with cooking facilities and utensils and ecosystems, including sprawling savanna, shady sightings are frequent, though unpredictable, around affordable one-two bedroom cottages. Campsites are forests, sparkling lakes and lush wetlands, provide ideal Mweya and the nearby Channel Track. found at Mweya and Ishasha. Please visit the UWA habitats for classic big game, forest primates, and birds. website for more information. Jacana Safari Lodge banks lined with resident hippos, crocodiles and sightings of resident and migratory waterbirds on the evaporation pans since the 14th century. Local guides An intimate mid budget lodge embedded in a rain forest waterbirds and visiting elephant, buffalo and antelopes. Kazinga Channel; spectacular seasonal congregations will escort visitors down into the crater to see the at the edge of Uganda’s largest Crater, Lake Nyamusingiri. of flamingoes on the Kyambura and Katwe soda lakes; process. The adjacent Lake Munyanyange is rich in GAME DRIVES It offers an exclusive eco tourism experience. careful searches for rare and restricted range forest waterbirds, including migrating lesser flamingo between Kasenyi plains August and November. Ishasha Wilderness Camp Half an hour’s drive from Mweya, the open grasslands of An ideal retreat for people who truly enjoy wilderness. Kasenyi provide the primary game viewing area in central Kyambura Wildlife Reserve Offers superb quality accommodation and services in QENP, thanks to the resident herds of Uganda kob and This small reserve to the east of Kyambura Gorge is this remotest sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park the lions that prey on them. Kasenyi’s experienced dotted with crater lakes that are visited, seasonally, by famous for its tree climbing lions. ranger guides can usually locate lions but predator greater and lesser flamingoes. sightings can be guaranteed by signing up for a tour with ACTIVITIES AND ATTRACTIONS the Mweya-based Uganda Predator Project which TARIFFS & PAYMENT Mweya peninsula and the kazinga channel monitors the movement of lions, leopards and hyaenas For information on park entrance and activity fees, QENP’s main tourism hub is found on Mweya Peninsula, fitted with radio collars. please refer to the UWA tariff sheet at www. 22km west of the Kasese-Mbarara Road. Mweya, which ugandawildlife.org. Payments can be made using Ishasha occupies an elevated plateau overlooking the Kazinga Uganda shillings, US dollars, British pounds, Euros and Conveniently located on the road to Bwindi Impenetrable Channel and Lake Edward, is the site of an upmarket Visa. Twenty percent of all park fees are shared with National Park, QENP’s southernmost sector offers a lodge; budget UWA run accommodation; a marina for communities in park boundary parishes to share the classic game viewing experience under vast rift valley launch trips on the channel; and a Visitor Information benefits of ecotourism and generate local support for skies. Expect to see buffaloes, hippos, elephants topis Centre. Activities are booked at the latter facility which conservation. and more besides. The chance of sighting lions is also contains exhibits relating to the park and its rift particularly good in Ishasha; the local prides obligingly UWA has introduced a Wildlife Card system for prior valley setting. spend their days resting up in the branches of shady fig payment of entrance and activity fees in QENP. Money is Launch cruises trees. preloaded on a wildlife card at UWA HQ in Kampala or at species in Maramagambo Forest; and memorable QENP’s Katunguru HQ and Queen’s Pavilion Information FOREST WALKS shoebill sightings on the remote Lake Edward Flats in Centre. Kyambura Gorge Ishasha. The forest-filled Kyambura Gorge extends from the Kichwamba Escarpment to the Kazinga Channel. Enjoy VOLCANIC EXPLOSION CRATERS the giddy viewpoint on the edge of the 100m-deep Crater Drive FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT chasm before descending into the depths to track Dozens of volcanic craters pock the landscape north of chimpanzees with UWA guides. Mweya to remind us of the Albertine Rift’s violent Uganda Wildlife Authority tectonic history. The 27km Crater Drive between the Plot 7 Kira Road, Kamwokya Maramagambo Forest Kabatoro and Crater gates follows a breathtaking route P.O. Box 3530 Kampala, Uganda At the foot of the Kichwamba Escarpment, the shady around the rims of extinct craters filled, variously, with Tel: +256 (0)414 355000, Maramagambo Forest contrasts with the park’s open lakes, forest and grassland. +256 (0)312 355000 grasslands. Guided walks afford sightings of primates Fax: +256 (0)414 346291 and rare birds (including the forest flycatcher, white- The Queen’s Pavilion, at the Crater Gate on the eastern naped pigeon and the striking Rwenzori turaco) and visit edge of the crater area, has been visited three times by Email: [email protected] Lake Nyamusingire (home to the African finfoot, this is British royalty. A small information centre and coffee Website: www.ugandawildlife.org formed by three connected crater lakes), the copper- shop stands on the site. The equator markers straddling rich Blue Lake and the Bat Cave with its resident bat- the adjacent Kasese highway provide a popular photo Queen Elizabeth National Park gorged python. opportunity. P.O. Box 22, Katwe, Kasese Launch trips on the Kazinga Channel provide the most BIRDING Katwe Salt Lake Tel: +256 (0)483 44266; + 256 (0)392 700694 relaxing way to view game in Queen Elizabeth National Birding activities overlap with the wildlife viewing The people of Katwe town, 12km from Mweya, have been Fax: +256 (0)483 44266 Park. The 2-hour return voyage between Mweya and the locations described above. Highlights include easy extracting salt from the saline Lake Katwe using channel’s entrance into Lake Edward cruises beside