Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park is truly a Medley of Wonders! Located in Kasese District of Uganda, this Uganda safari/ uganda tours park has various ecosystems made up of sprawling savanna, shadowy, moist forests, lakes and fertile wetlands, which makes it a good home to various species of wildlife, primates and birds making it a haven for uganda tours/ uganda safari/ trip to Uganda. Queen Elizabeth National Park lies against the back of the great Rwenzori Mountains with stunning and panoramic views that are made up of various crater lakes. These lakes are carved dramatically into the green rolling hills. When you visit, you will reward yourself with magical sights of the Kazinga Channel. This channel’s shores are infested with hippopotamuses, elephants and buffaloes. You will also see the Savannah plains of Ishasha, whose fig trees obscure tree climbing lions that are ever ready to knock on herds of the famous Ugandan Kob. Just like the sights and attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park Uganda does have a rich cultural background too. There are many scenarios and opportunities for tourists to meet up with the local communities and be part of amazing cultural activities like traditional dances, storytelling moments, listening to traditional music and more. You can further engage in community projects and leave footprints behind.
Named after Queen Elizbeth II, this park was previously named Kazinga National Park. The gazetting of Queen Elizabeth National Park has long ensured the conservation of its ecosystems for decades, which in turn benefits the surrounding communities. Some of the activities to carry out in this popular national park include wildlife viewing (primary activity) in Kasenyi, Mweya and Ishasha sectors, Chimpanzee tracking in the exhilarating Kyambura Gorge, Kalinzu forest or Maramagambo forest, Hot air ballooning and local community visits. Other interesting activities include hiking and nature walks, bird watching, launch cruises on the Kazinga Channel, lion tracking, a visit to the explosion crater and a visit to the Katwe salt works. Tourists can visit Queen Elizabeth NP at any time of the year but the best experiences are got during the months of June to September and December to January respectively. This wildlife park is not only among the best wildlife viewing destinations, but is also Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. When you go gorilla trekking in Bwindi, endeavor to add a visit to this lovely park as they are not so far away from each other. Its also easier to connect QENP with Kibale Forest National Park just in case you want to try out its Chimpanzee trekking experience.
Key Attractions in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Tree climbing lions are also known as, cactus climbing lions.There are only two population of these mysterious tree climbing lions in the whole world; Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park and Lake Manyara national park in the southern part of Tanzania. The fact that these are not climbing animals makes these big cats a major attraction for the tourists that visit East Africa.
Kazinga Channel is a wide 32km long water body that connects the Lake Edward to Lake George in the south western part of Uganda. The water body is found in the Queen Elizabeth national park and is a habour for many wild animals. Kazinga channel shores are know for having wild life like Elephants, Hippos , Flamingoes and Nile Crocodiles. Its is a major attraction as tourists take a boat cruise across its shores to view the magnificent wildlife scenery
Mweya Peninsular is a piece of land that juts into the Lake Edward. Its a one of kind looking pieces of land and tourists come here to visit the land occasionally. Mweya peninsular comprises of the Kazinga channel track part of it being covered by candle stick thorns with the outlying impressive Savannah making it an excellent area for game viewing, this zone has got several game tracking points which must be followed during game drives.
Lake Katwe Explosion Craters are located north of Mweya peninsular. They are the highest elevation within Queen Elizabeth national park in Western Uganda. You can get to see the great western rift valley of Africa and the escarpments during the drive. You will also see Lake George, a chance of Mountain Rwenzori ranges and Kazinga Channel that connects Lake Edward to Lake George.
Lake Katwe Salt Works is a salt water lake and lake katwe is located north of Mweya peninsular, in the south western part of Uganda with in Queen Elizabeth national park. Its has been a source of rock salt for years and has salt mining has been a major economic activity in the surroundings. Tourists visit this area to learn and look at the lake with a sanile smell because of its sulphurous chemicals which form the salt.
Kyambura Gorge is the magnificent valley of apes in the Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda situated in the Eastern part of the park. This is drain by river kyambura. It was formed by the disorderly waters of River Kyambura. It’s about 100 metres deep the site of the land scape is so breath taking and one of the best u can find in the world.
Maragambo Forest Maramagambo forest is located in the Queen Elizabeth national park in south western part of Uganda bounded by “lake nyamadindiri” and “lake kyasanduka”. Tourists mostly love this forest for its bat caves and resident African rock pythons. Many come around to visit this wide vegetation.
Kasenyi plains are found in the north Eastern part of and some times known as Mweya. Queen Elizabeth national park in western part of Uganda this plains are also known as Kasenyi sector the plains are fascinating with endless views of Savannah’s with roaming antelopes and Uganda Kob. The Kasenyi plains also habour numerous lions, leopards and many other cats.
Kyambura Wildlife Reserve is one of the known areas of Queen Elizabeth national park with extraordinary views of wildlife, primates, butterflies and many other things to be included in ones travel list. It’s bordered by kyambura Gorge to the west kyambura is situated on the north Eastern side of Queen Elizabeth national park and also links to the Kazinga channel, forming it’s northern boundary villages and village plantations lie to the southern end of kyambura game reserve.
Lake George is found near Queen Elizabeth national park in western Uganda, it’s situated in the western part of the great African rift valley. It covers and area of about 250 kilometers squared and its depth is about 2.4 metres hence small and shallow.
Kalinzu Forest is located in the south Eastern edge of the Queen Elizabeth national park and is one of a must destinations in your list at the park with better chimpanzee tracking than in Kyambura George.
Tour Activities in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Lion Tracking: Mainly tourists come to Queen Elizabeth National Park for lion Tracking and they get a chance to get an upclose session with the lions and get to study their behaviors.
• Game Viewing: During the game viewing activity one gets a chance to view various animals including giraffes, leopards, elephants, hippos, flamingoes, pelicans and many others including reptiles.
• Chimpanzee Tracking: During chimpanzee tracking, tourists get to go on with their guides to track chimpanzees in the forests and get to study and understand how they live.
• Hot Air Ballooning: This is an activity where the tourists together with their guides get a chance to take a flight I the hot air balloons so as to catch an aerial view of the park, the wild life, the riftvalley, lakes , etc .
• Birding: Some tourists come to queen Elizabeth national park to go bird watching and get a glimpse of the various bird species that the park has to offer.
LION TRACKING, DEFINITION
Lion tracking is more of a research. Lion tracking involves one taking a close look at lions and learning their behavior. Lions with radio collars are tracked by a researcher assigned by the Uganda carnivore project- under the research department of Uganda wildlife authority. They use the radiation trackers to monitor the movement of the lions with the radio collars.
Lion tracking involves learning much more about the habits of the king of the wild in natural plains of kasenyi with in the national park. Lion tracking one of the most interesting experimental tourism activities in Uganda.
This is really a hope giver; on 11th / February/ 2019 a source said that they spotted a new pride in Hamukungu where the 11 lions were killed by poisoning. The pride has two lionesses and seven cabs. This really clears the rumor that these tree climbing lions are getting extinct.
CHARGES FOR THIS EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITY OF LION TRACKING IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
The coast of a lion permit authorized by Uganda wildlife authority is US$50 for international tourists and UGX 100,000 for the members of the East African Community. On this amount US$10, is paid to the Uganda carnivores’ project that is responsible for the conservation of the lions in Queen Elizabeth national park. This charge is inclusive of the park entrance fee to Queen Elizabeth national park.
Lion tracking being a research, a few people are allowed to go with the researcher to track the lions in the savannah plains with in the park. The researcher is provided by the Uganda carnivores’ project (UCP).
Limited numbers of participants are allowed to a natural habitat. This means if you are to join the team you have to book in advance in order to spare a place. This activity lasts for 2-3 days and only twice a day; in the morning around 8am and late afternoon.
WHY ARE A LIMITED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS NEEDED IN THE LION TRACKING?
Lion tracking is not like any other game viewing activity; it’s a research. So for the research to go on right or for research purposes like collecting accurate information, a limited number of participants are permitted to engage in the lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Another reason is to avoid stressing the animals; lions in Queen Elizabeth national park are not familiar to humans, so, a lot of people can actually stress them. This is truly dangerous for the sustainability of the eco system.
Also a limited number helps to heighten your experience during the lion tracking activity. If you are few for the activity, you can all get a chance to capture clear pictures. Every participant can get a chance to see the lion before it gets scared away by a lot of noise from the many excited tourists, if at all they could be allowed.
Finally but not least, a limited number of participants is allowed for the lion tracking activity in queen Elizabeth; to allow a well understanding of the lion habits and behaviors as explained by the researcher.
HOW IS LION TRACKING ACTIVITY CARRIED OUT IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK?
Being time conscious is an awesome start on the lion tracking activity in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Lion tracking technically should start with waking up early in the morning at around 8am to track, monitor and research about the king of the African jungle; African lions, with in the Mweya peninsular.
The tracking of lions is done by researchers using radio collars and radiation locators to find where the lions are hiding. The data collected by the researching team helps in conservation and the better understanding of the wildlife.
The lions move in the groups of 3-25 individuals and these groups are called prides. However, the number of lions increases during the tracking activity. Therefore, it’s ideal to keep or note down the number seen first to avoid confusion.
The male lions have a black mane and this is how different they look from the lionesses. Mainly lionesses do not have manes, but you should not under look them, because, they are sometimes stronger than the male; they fight with the male to protect their cabs from being killed by the male of the pride.
It is good to take note of the different signs that can help locate the lions. For example, the nocturnal vocalizations (loud roars) their intensity, as well as the hyenas as they laugh and any other unusual distressing call for prey.
You should also take note of the bent grass in the plains. It might help you know the direction where the lion has moved. There is 95% chance that if you do all this, you can see lions in savannah plains in Queen Elizabeth national park.
DO LIONS IN QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK BEHAVE DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER LIONS IN THE WORLD?
This is no question to so many because lions in Queen Elizabeth national park are tree climbing lions. How unique this is? The lions in Ishasha sector are spotted lazily hanging up in the candelabra tree branches of acacia trees and sycamore trees in the savannah plains of Queen Elizabeth national park.
These lions are territorial, meaning, they make territories and they have to respect this rule or else the worst can happen between two males of different prides. This might be the reason why they are called the king of the jungle; two kings cannot rule one kingdom.
The making the territories is done in different ways;
- The male rubs its hind feet in the ground about 20cm deep. Such a serious sign to show that the owner of the territory in mean to his territory.
- The king goes on urinating on the tree stems around his territory to protect it from being taken by another pride.
- The male lions make territories by rubbing their mane in the shrubs to mark their territories. The mane of the male lion is black in color; the hair is different from the hair of the female lion.
The lions are really rulers and conquerors as shown in their ways of marking territories above. I may say the male lions are also mean and don’t want to be interrupted.
HOW EASY IT IS TO REACH QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK!
Within a few minutes you can reach Queen Elizabeth national park if you use air transport. The park is accessible because it has 3 air strips; at Kasese, Ishasha, and Mweya air strip. By road, you can reach the park from the south through Mbarara about 420km or you can enter the park from the north gate through Fort portal about 410km.
A classic African safari should include a drive through the famous park; queen Elizabeth national park, for activities like hiking, birding, nature walks but don’t forget, a scientific experiential lion tracking in the savannah plains of Kasenyi and Ishasha sector in the south.
OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT YOU HAVE TO SUPPLEMENT TO THE MAJOR
You can never have enough to engage in when you visit Queen Elizabeth national park. There are other activities you can enjoy in Queen Elizabeth national park. These include the following;
- Chimpanzee tracking in the ecosystem of kyambura gorge. It has a rain forest the is supported by kyambura river. Here you can learn about the habituated chimpanzee behavior, monkey ecology and also enjoy the scenery of the gorge.
- Birding is another interesting activity that you shouldn’t miss when you visit kyambura gorge. Queen Elizabeth is selected as an important birding area (IBA) by the birding international. Queen has over 619 bird species. The forest vegetation the links Uganda and Congo will allow you watch and study about both the eastern and central African birds.
- Hiking and nature walks through Mweya peninsular and Maramagambo forest will allow you step out of that tour vehicle and stretch your legs as you enjoy the smell and sounds of the wild in Queen Elizabeth national park.
- The cultures from the neighboring communities can help you find out how great the work is to conserve nature. You will also enjoy their handmade crafts which are made with a lot of love just for you.
- You will also enjoy watching the bats in a bat cave beneath Maramagambo forest. From Nyanzibiri cultural cave you get a chance to see the pythons as they get out to heat up from the afternoon sun.
- Boat cruise along kazinga channel will give you a chance to cool off with the breeze from the cool water. You will also get to see the hippos as they cool off in the water, the buffaloes as they wallow in the mad on the banks of the channel. It’s a variety of wildlife to see here; birds like the majestic fish eagle hanging up in the dry tree branches eager to catch its meal; fish.
- Mangoose tracking is a three hour activity that will help you learn about the behavior of these small animals. This is done on foot with a guide leading the way through the tracks in Mweya peninsular facing Kazinga channel.
With all these activities, your experience will hike up to its maximum when you visit Uganda especially queen Elizabeth national park. Actually Queen Elizabeth National Park should be a must visit for visitors that visit Bwindi impenetrable forest for it’s just a short drive to queen Elizabeth national park in the northern Buhoma area.
Mweya Peninsular
MWEYA PENINSULAR
Mweya peninsular is a chunky grass cover with dense vegetation dominated by candelabra and thorny bushes. It has a number of tracks for game drives, however, the sign posting can make you lose your track back home, so it is good to walk with a guide. Game viewing can be quite a challenging activity in this area because of the trees and the small bushes.
However you can enjoy the famous Kazinga channel launch cruise. It is a two hours rind on water along the famous Kazinga channel. You will enjoy a ride on the Kazinga vessel of 20- seat; it is also a motorized water vessel. It runs two rides a day, however due to the tourist demand in the pick seasons; the rides can increase to maximally three turns. The morning shift is from 11am -1pm and the evening rides operate from 3pm -5pm. The booking for the boat cruise can be done at Mweya Uganda wildlife authority offices. The cruise trips set off from the staging site beneath Mweya peninsular, it is a short distance from the lodge however you can use a car to go there.
Apart from the splendid views of mountain Rwenzori over the water, Mweya peninsular is among the very fine places to spot a leopard with in the shrubby thickets. According to visitors to this place, Mweya Peninsular is a focal point for the beauty in the northern part of the park.
What does history say about this spectacular tourism place today?
Evidence shows that it was formerly a human settlement area, about 5000 years ago. According to the explorer called Stanley, he reached Mweya Peninsular in 1889 and all he saw was smoke or formless void, as he reported back home. He continued to ascertain that most probably this smoke was caused by the bush clearing fires. He continued that at this time Mweya had like 81 huts and that it had a lot of sheep and goats.
However, when Fredrick Lugard came back in 1891, found out that the huts had been disserted, most probably this happen way before Lugard came to Mweya Peninsular. It is said that the area was closed from human settlement due to the outbreak of Rinder pest in the area. However later in 1952, it was declared/ gazette for wildlife and it was renamed from Kazinga National Park to Queen Elizabeth national park after the queen’s visit to Uganda.
Mweya village today has over 400 people/ population estimation, and is the main tourists’ area within Queen Elizabeth national park. It has communities of people that make up the population in the area. However, one can’t tell how they live along with the wild community of lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and hippos among others.
It is not just the animals that attract the tourists but also the luxurious accommodation of Mweya Safari lodge with in the Mweya Peninsular overlooking Kazinga Channel. The lodge is found on the extreme side of the northern part of Mweya Peninsular. It offers a very breath taking view of the adjacent Lake Edward.
To note; nature is always a main reason and the whole world can line up behind conservation. In 2006, there was a heating discussion that enacted an argument in the press debate of Uganda that Madhvani Group Of Companies wanted to construct a golf course in Mweya with in the ecological community in queen Elizabeth National Park. Madhvani owns and manages Mweya Safari Lodge with in the national park even to date. However the environmentalist won over Madhivani Group Of Companies, as this action of golf could earn a lot of tourists but would break the balance with in the ecological community at mweya. Perhaps with time the animals would migrate to other places. In the same year (2006) in july, a research was carried out on the tourist to help determine the power from the action from the first class stakeholders to this kind of change, however most of the tourists where opposing the golf course idea, and that is how the environmentalists won over Madhvani Group Of Company about this issue.
Other interesting activities you can get engaged in at Mweya peninsular include;
- Mongoose tracking which is done on foot at Mweya peninsular. A guide leads the way through the trails and tracks the mongoose. This activity involves watching and learning the behaviors of these rodents in the wild Mweya peninsular. It is a three hours activity. During this activity you will also get a chance to study about some birds and a few wild animals like baboons, warthogs among others.
- Community walks, you will get a chance to visit the community near Mweya safari lodge. You can also hold a small interaction with the local people in this community since they are well conversant with English speaking so communication will go on smoothly and you can learn a lot from them.
What you should know before going for any activity with in this part of queen Elizabeth national park
- No eating during and activity with in the wild
- Do not litter in the park
- It is good not to make a lot of noise as this might alert the wild cats
- Keep quiet and you will see more
- Don’t chase after wild animals
- And lastly, follow the instruction of the tour guide.
How to get there;
Mweya peninsular is located 20km west of the road that goes to Mbarara from Kasese town. All types of vehicles between Mbarara and Kasese can go through Katumguru town. And also someone can hire a special taxi to take him/ her to Mweya at just 30, 000, it is a one way fare to Mweya safari lodge.
Game Viewing
GAME VIEWING
Game viewing involves drives through the national park while watching and studying different wild animals, bird life and vegetation in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Queen Elizabeth national park is a known outstanding park with in Uganda with an excellent vast community of; wild animals, avian/bird life, spectacular beautiful scenery like Kyambura Gorge, the wide savannah plains among others.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has a variety of wild animals that make game drives memorable for the tourists that visit Africa. Queen Elizabeth national park has about 3000 African elephants, 1000 buffaloes, 5000 hippos, over 619 bird species, warthogs, Mongooses, monkeys, chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, Kobs , Statungas, Topis, Waterbucks, Lions Leopards, Civet, carvel cats among others.
The best season for the drive is the dry season; January to February and June to September. During the rainy season game viewing is hard as the tracks are slippery and make game drives very difficult and thses months include October to December and March to May. Also the rain interrupts the game drives and game viewing at large since during the rainy seasons some animals hide and it becomes hard to see them.
GAME VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Since game viewing involves watching wild animals, queen Elizabeth national park has an abundance of wild animals. Some animals are actually not easy to see so they need to first be tracked down such as lions, chimpanzees, and mongoose in Queen Elizabeth national park;
This is actually a different activity from the normal game drives. It is also known as the scientific experiential lion tracking, because, it is technically a research than a tourist designed activity. It is a special activity that needs a researcher aboard and a few other persons. The research is carried out by the Uganda carnivore project to track the behavior of the lions that have radio collars. They use the radiator locators to track these animals. This activity is carried out in the savannah plain of kasenyi especially in the south; ishasha sector for tree climbing lions. Something interesting is that you can also help the researchers to tack the animals. And you can get a closer look at the lions and this is awesome because you are going to “feel the experience”, and you can also take closer and more real picture.
Chimpanzee Tracking
It is carried out in kyambura gorge also known as the valley of apes. The gorge has a number of habituated chimpanzees; familiar to humans. This makes there tracking easy. The morning hours are favorable for this activity. The chimpanzees are diurnal; they start their day’s routine of looking for food in the morning. They are both boreal and terrestrial; they sleep in the trees and also spent some time during the day up in the trees, they also walk on the ground to look for food like termites and nuts from the tree roots. Chimpanzee tracking will help you learn about the dramatic primates in kyambura gorge. Did you know that chimpanzees have tools used when looking for their food? They crack nuts using stones and also use sticks and twigs to get the termites out of their anthills. It is a thrilling and enjoyable activity: tracking chimpanzees in kyambura gorge, you would not want to miss this activity when you visit Africa.
- Mongoose tracking.
mongoose
Mongooses are small animals that fall under the rodent group of animals in the park, that is, queen Elizabeth national park. It is just a three hour activity for visitor to Queen Elizabeth national park. It is carried on mweya peninsular overlooking kazinga channel. Mongoose tracking is done on foot with the tour guide leading the walk through the tracks in mweya peninsular. It will help you learn about the mongoose behavior. You will also be able to see birds and warthogs during this activity. This will help you get out of the car and make your legs do some walking as you enjoy mongoose tracking activity in Queen Elizabeth national park.
- Birding; This is a relaxing and enjoyable activity you can do when you visit Uganda.flamingoes
Queen Elizabeth national park is gazette as an important birding area (IBA) because of the many bird species this area harbors. Queen Elizabeth national park has over 619 bird species; shoe bill stock, king fishers, African fish eagle , flamingos (seasonal), African broad bill, martial eagle, god wit among other interesting birds along kazinga channel and kyambura gorge. Queen Elizabeth national park is a must visit for the birders that visit Africa. The forest vegetation link central Africa (Congo) to east African (Uganda). For this reason you will have a glance at both central and eastern bird species of Africa.
- Boat cruise should be a must for all visitors to Queen Elizabeth National Park.boat cruise
This is carried out along Kazinga channel during the mid-morning hours and a cruise normally last for not less than 2 hours. During the boat cruise, you are going to get the chance to see the crocodiles along Kazinga channel, bathing Hippos on the shores, the birds and how they play around big mammals like buffaloes and at times Lions. And the birds on the shores of Kazinga channel are interesting to watch all paraded up like a battalion of soldiers ready to be commander for action. A boat cruise will also allow you see Katunguru fishing village and by chance can watch the fisher men and they drop their nets into the water ready to yield fish.
Hiking is another activity you can engage in when you visit Queen Elizabeth national park. This is carried out in Maramagambo forest through Kyambura Gorge where you will enjoy the vegetation in the gorge; tall trees of a rainforest and underground forest in Kyambura Gorge harbor a lot of wild animals. You will definitely enjoy the hike when you visit Queen Elizabeth national park.
Nature walks around Mweya peninsular will leave you all feeling happy. Nature walks are interesting; you will see different animals along the tracks like water backs, losers (single male buffaloes), elephants, warthogs, monkeys, mongooses, lizards and monitor lizards.
To note, nature walks and hiking are done freely in the nearby semuliki national park. The Uganda wild life authority stopped the charges for seeing sempaya hot springs in semulik national park. This was done to improve your experience. The only now is the park entry fee and the rest of the activities are free of charge like, birding, nature walks, and butterfly watching among others.
Visiting a cultural cave (Nyanzubiri) will leave you amazed at by the big snakes that come out to get some heat in the afternoon. The cave is also known for the bat; sometimes it is called the bat cave.
Apart from game viewing you can also enjoy the cultural encounters in the neighboring communities of the national park. When you interview these people, they can let you know how the national park is so useful to them and how they have benefited from engaging in the nature conservation. You can as well buy some African crafts from the villagers for souvenir from katwe town, kasoga community and katunguru trading center among other towns.
They also do salt mining in Katwe crater lake, the miners can narrate to you how the salt is mined and the dangers they face doing this activity of salt mining. You will also learn about the old Germany salt factory that closed when the pipes good corroded from the chemicals from the salt. “If metals failed to process the salt, don’t you think that it is interesting to find out how these miners do it?”
Kyambura Gorge
KYAMBURA GORGE
Kyambura Gorge: The extensive kyambura George pronounced by locals as ‘Chambura” is the magnificent valley of apes in the Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda situated in the Eastern part of the park this is drain by river kyambura it was formed by the disorderly water s of river kyambura it’s about 100 metres deep the site of the land scape is so breath taking and one of the best u can find in the world.
However only sixteen chimpanzees can be found in this valley of apes as confirmed by researchers but it’s one of the places never to live out on a trip to Queen Elizabeth national park, kyambura George has got stunning views of the rain forest and it’s also positioned very close to the equator crossing the kyambura.
Kyambura is a habitat to chimpanzees and is one of the only place where this primates can be found on Queen Elizabeth national park tour either way it also contains a good number of other wildlife and birds as it’s a water source to animals within the park.
Reservations for trekking chimpanzees can be made at myeya information centre within Queen Elizabeth.
The steep slopes of kyambura George also attract the beautiful flamingos the scene is so beautiful as it’s being on sheltered by the riverine forests attracting large numbers of primates red tailed monkeys, olive baoons,white colobus monkeys, red Columbus monkeys and chimpanzees among others a number of birds are also often seen such as the African skimmer, papyrus canary white tailed lark papyrus gonolek vereux eagle owl lesser plus greater flamingoes, shoebill chapins fly catcher among the rest to exhaust the nature of kyambura George one has to take a nature guided walk with an highly knowledgeable tour guide kyambura George can be part of an exclusive safari to Queen Elizabeth national park surrounded by Savannah.Other where chimoanzees can be trekked in include Kibale forest national park, Kalinzu forest, budongo forest national park and across East Africa Nyungwe forest national park in Rwanda, Gombe stream national park in Tanzania and Mahale Moutains national park still in Tanzania.
ACTIVITIES
- Game viewing
- Guided nature walks
- Chimpanzee trekking
LAKE KATWE EXPLOSION CRATERS
Explosion crater lakes in Uganda can be found around Queen Elizabeth national park. They are located in the northern part of the Mweya peninsula the main Crater Lake is ‘Lake Katwe’ the number one salt distributor in Uganda the lake is 3,265 feet depth not able to habituate any animals because of salty water however elephants, buffaloes, flamingos and baboons can be seen at the baboon cliff
This ancient lakes are believ
Lake Katwe Explosion craters in Uganda are found around Queen Elizabeth national park. They are located in the northern part of the Mweya peninsula the main Crater Lake is ‘Lake Katwe’ the number one salt distributor in Uganda the lake is 3,265 feet depth not able to habituate any animals because of salty water however elephants, buffaloes, flamingoes and baboons can be seen at the baboon cliff
It is just a 27km drive through the craters in Queen Elizabeth national park. Along the way you can spot some animals like the loser buffaloes; lonely male buffaloes and elephants.
The Katwe Craters are located north of Mweya peninsular. They are the highest elevation within Queen Elizabeth national park in Western Uganda. You can get to see the great western rift valley of Africa and the escarpments during the drive. You will also see Lake George, a chance of Mountain Rwenzori ranges and Kazinga Channel that connects Lake Edward to Lake George.
Several volcanoes in western Uganda where violent leading to the formation of the explosion craters that spot western Uganda; Bushenyi district, Kasese and Fort Portal. The Katwe craters are known as extinct however, some still eject sulphurous gas smells.
Katwe explosion craters are very beautiful views for hiking in Queen Elizabeth National Park found in the western side of Uganda. You would not want to miss the Kitagata Lake that is fed by the salty hot springs. This lake has no wild life around but very beautiful to view and do hikes around it.
The Katwe Explosion Craters will elevate your hiking experience when you visit Queen Elizabeth national park. “Top of the world” hike near fort portal will lead you to more crater lakes through the villages, and through tea plantations, what a beautiful alchemy this makes!
You will also get a chance to visit the long ago salt works at Lake Katwe. Here you will get information on how salt is formed from super/ hyper concentrated saline water during the dry season. You will find out how hard this kind of work is for it can cause sexual problems to the miners, but, despite, they still work hard like their lives depend on salt mining, which is true, the living of the people in Katwe village depend on salt mining. So, you can show some support to the community when you buy crafts from them.
The crater at fort portal is one of the folk stories in western Uganda; called the “kasesankarange” meaning the thrower of roasted material from the mouth or stomach; spew. You wouldn’t want to miss the story as told by the local people in the community.
During the hikes, you will encounter wild animals like monkeys, baboons at Nyamunuka Crater Lake, tropical birds and also the eye catching flamingo migratory birds in Queen Elizabeth National Park. It is said that they migrate from Europe during the winter season and come to experience warmth in western Uganda. You will see them bedding on the shores of Kitagata salty (no life around), it is okay if you why of all places they chose to stay near to salty crater lakes.
The other crater lakes include; Bunyaruguru Crater Fields. These are located in Kichwamba escarpment of the western rift valley. For example, Lake Nkugute, which you can see from Mbarara- Kasese road, and 20 more craters are found in this region. Imagine how spotted is the west with crater!
Another crater field is Ndali- Kasenda Crater Fields near Fort Portal- Kibale Forest. Unlike in the national park; queen Elizabeth national park. Craters here are explored on foot. This is where the top of the world hike is done, during, you will see the mountains of the moon, go through tea plantations, Kibale Rain Forest, Lake Goerge and Kichwamba escarpment of the western rift valley.
The fort portal crater fields are the smallest in the west of Uganda. They have lakes like Lake Kyaninga. If you happen to have some dollars to save you can lodge in the up-market Kyaninga Lodge overlooking the Crater Lake; it is actually a short distance hiking from the crater to thee lodge.
Accommodation should not be your worry, queen Elizabeth national park is spotted with a lot of accommodation facilities;
- Kyaninga Logde
- Ndali Lodge
- Cvk Lodge
These are the nearest to the craters however you can also lodge in Mweya Hostels, Mweya Safari Gorge Lodge, Park View Lodge, Katwe Camp, among others.
Surely the Katwe Craters should be on your must do list when you visit Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi Forests, Kibale National Park. At least let the beautiful scenery attract you to involve in this activity.
ed to have been formed as a result of violent volcanic eruptions this explosions were so violent that instead of piling debris just about their vents they instead widely released ash to the far areas.
Today they are known as crater lakes and some of this lakes are still releasing Sculpture smells. These lakes are; The Ndali Kasenda crater, Bunyaraguru on the Kichambwa escarpment and Kyemengo the most beautiful. A few years before Christ this lakes continued gushing volcanic fire and brimstone continued to erupt from this crater explosion lakes.
They have no outflows for water hence making the water salty.
Plenty of wildlife such as elephants, monkeys as well as many bird species can be seen throughout the 27kilometre drive around the lakes, the crater lakes are also positioned in an area with breathtaking views of the great western arm African rift valley with its enormous escarpments.
In the local communities of the people of western Uganda they still speak of the crater lakes like kasesankarange in fort portal meaning spewer of roasted materials. Some of these lakes still contain molten lava and are likely to explode in years to come probably not when your on safari just enjoy the extraordinary views for time being, the three main lakes mentioned above are not the only crater lakes found therein but others are present the area contains over 20 crater lakes with some being dry.
This lakes can be found near kibale forest and fort portal area and can be accessed on foot one of the hikes one can take here are “on top of the world” hike offering panoramic views of the right valley escarpments and mountains of the moon among others u can also add a nature guided walk to kibale forest to your itinerary touring can take half day to a full day tour. Accommodation unit can also be found around here.
This explosion crater lakes also attract various numbers of birds such as the lesser plus flamingos,
Apart from explosion crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the park has a lot to offer starting from the impressive views of this crater lakes to the fresh water body lakes George and Edward not forgetting the stunning Kazinga channel with it’s numerous hippos, crocodiles and views of elephants in the afternoon with the overlying views of the ishasha and Kasenyi plains over looking the mountains of the moon and Kasese town and fishing villages.
Not forgetting to visit the Lake Katwe fishing village and see people’s way of life and lean how salt is mines though the mining processes haven’t changed in the recent years one can also add a chimpanzee trekking trip to their travel list and view chimpanzees at the great kyambura “ the valley of apes” including the baboon cliff near lake Katwe. Visiting this explosion crater lakes can take a full day itinerary tour and a unique experience of the volcanic eruptions
KAZINGA CHANNEL
Kazinga Channel shores attract a lot of wild life in Queen Elizabeth National Park; it is the nearest and easy to reach water body in the park. Kazinga channel is located in kasese district; with in Queen Elizabeth National Park, it is about 420km away from Kampala City. It has an estimated terrain of about 914m above sea level.
It is wide and long natural channel of 32km (20mi) that links two fresh water Lake George and Lake Edward. Kazinga Channel is the dominant attraction in whole of Queen Elizabeth national park. Kazinga channel has two parts; North Kazinga and the Kasenyi Plains. Both the parts of Kazinga channel are very cool points for viewing game; the Kasenyi Plains are ideal for lion tracking.
Kazinga channel is lined with a swamp on its northern shore beneath Mweya Peninsular. Kazinga Channel Wetland is registered and protected through Ramsar sites rights of conservation of wet lands in Africa. The wet land is a home for crocodiles, numerous bird species, and the water and land Statunga antelopes, the waterbucks among others.
The old buffaloes when chased from their herds, they find comfort at the shore of Kazinga Channel. During the Mweya Boat Cruise, you will see a number of individual buffaloes bathing in mad. The act of “mad bathing”, is called wallowing. Wild animals like buffaloes wallow in mad to get rid of ticks and other biting insects from their bodies. In the afternoon noon most animals quench their thirst on the kazinga channel and you can view elephants, buffaloes, monitor lizards, you can also view the biggest lizard that can be found in Africa the giant monitor lizard.
Kazinga Channel is also termed as the most popular tourism area in Uganda due to the many activities that visitors can do when they visit Queen Elizabeth national park. It has been famous from way back; in 1948, a remarkable photographer from America, George roger, took a black and white picture of a small group of zebras in Kazinga National Park, currently known as Queen Elizabeth National Park; the picture got viral and it was kept by art space a photography company.
Kazinga channel is bordered with lake George on the eastern side; Lake Gearge is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Uganda with many tributaries from Mountain Rwenzori, it covers over 2000sq km. Lake George is responsible for the drainage of Kazinga Channel and the adjacent lake Edward.
The shores of Kazinga Channel draw large numbers of wild life like Hippos, Crocodiles, Statunga Antelopes, Bird Species, Waterbucks, Buffaloes and elephants among others. It attracts wild life throughout the year with the biggest population of Hippos and numerous Crocodiles in the whole world.
During the boat cruise you will get a chance to see the fishing villages overlooking the stream such as kasenyi plains. On the boat, you are able to see fishermen washing their fishing nets in river. You can also have a chance to see small boys catching fish using a more rudiment method and traditional method; hook fishing. When you look over the stream to the fishing villages you will also see fisher men repairing their boats and women repairing the fishing nets to make them read to be used for fishing.
Kazinga channel is seen well on a boat cruise down the course of the channel. This is the most liked launch trip in Uganda. The boat cruise is operated between 11am in the morning to 1pm in the afternoon local time. It also has the evening cruise that start at 3pm to 5pm local time. You can book for any of the two cruises when you visit queen Elizabeth national park according to your preference; booking is done at Mweya Safari Lodge located on Mweya Peninsular with in the national park.
Accommodation should not worry you because Queen Elizabeth National Park is stained with a lot of lodges, hostels, and camps among others;
- Mweya Safari Lodge and
- Jacana Lodge, these two are the luxury accommodation facilities you book; they have excellent services.
- Ishasha Wilderness Camp is a lavish facility
- Mweya Hostels and Cottages
- Ishasha Bandas are budget accommodation facility with average standards. They are affordable to all visitors
- Hippo Hill Camp
- King Fisher Camp
- Kyambura Lodge
- Simba Safari Camp
- Queen Elizabeth Safari Camp
- Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge
- Kyambura Tented Lodge
- Ishasha Tented Camp
- Ishasha Ntungwe River Camp
- Ihamba Safari Lodge
How can you get to Kazinga Channel?
Mweya peninsular is where the boat cruise starts from. Mweya Peninsular is 20km west of Kasese- Mbarara Road (Main Road). Normal vehicle itineraries between Mbarara and Kasese go through Katunguru. You can also hire a special taxi at Katunguru Trading Centre at USHs 30, 000 for a one way fare drive to Mweya Safari Lodge where you book a boat cruise down the course of Kazinga Channel.
You will enjoy a classic safari in Africa if you include some activities with in queen Elizabeth national park but, only Kazinga Channel and its associated to do list will bring you back to Africa with a friend or friends.
hippos kazinga channel
