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If you only visit one national park in Uganda, visit (what is colloquially known as) Queen. Measuring 1,978km² Queen Elizabeth encompasses crater lakes, savannah, forests, plains, forested gorges and rivers. Oh yes, and the equator runs through it. Not only is it scenically and geographically mind-blowing, it boasts staggering biodiversity: over 600 bird species, second only to the DRC’s Virunga National Park (a park almost four times the size).
In 2009, I worked with the Uganda Conservation Foundation to tackle elephant and hippo poaching and to protect villagers from the hungry elephants who invade their crops. UCF took me to all corners of this glorious park: Ishasha River and the tree-climbing lions; forest elephants in Maramagambo; Kasenyi Plains, a breeding ground for Uganda kob and place of lions (predator researchers in tow); and the ever-popular boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, lined with hippos and crocs and one of my favourite birds, the spoonbill. Time your
Even if you don’t track Kyambura Gorge’s small community of chimps, the 15-minute drive from the main road to Fig Tree Camp overlooking the gorge is worth the detour, just so you can gaze from the viewing platform across the Rift Valley and into the forested gorge hundreds of metres below you. Beyond all this, Queen’s location ‘between gorillas (Bwindi) and chimps (Kibale)’, plus its wide range of accommodation make it hard to beat.
In 2009, I worked with the Uganda Conservation Foundation to tackle elephant and hippo poaching and to protect villagers from the hungry elephants who invade their crops. UCF took me to all corners of this glorious park: Ishasha River and the tree-climbing lions; forest elephants in Maramagambo; Kasenyi Plains, a breeding ground for Uganda kob and place of lions (predator researchers in tow); and the ever-popular boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, lined with hippos and crocs and one of my favourite birds, the spoonbill. Time your
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visit right and you’ll see seasonal visitors such as flamingos (normally resident in Tanzania and Kenya) and large flocks of white-winged terns and African skimmers.Even if you don’t track Kyambura Gorge’s small community of chimps, the 15-minute drive from the main road to Fig Tree Camp overlooking the gorge is worth the detour, just so you can gaze from the viewing platform across the Rift Valley and into the forested gorge hundreds of metres below you. Beyond all this, Queen’s location ‘between gorillas (Bwindi) and chimps (Kibale)’, plus its wide range of accommodation make it hard to beat.
On the Hunt for Tree-Climbing Lions
So, I went to Queen Elizabeth with the desire to see those world-famous tree-dwelling lions.
Typically, lions are not adept at climbing; they are heavy and cumbersome and tend to fall out from the branches even if they try. Most monkeys in Africa know this and will laugh at lions as long as they do so from the safety of the canopy.
However, in the Ishasha sector of QENP, lions spend a significant amount of time lounging in giant fig trees. Some believe they do this to escape the tsetse flies, while others think it’s to stay cool. Regardless, witnessing a large pride of lions in a tree is an unforgettable sight… Or so I am told.
Despite spending three days on vehicle-based game drives, I did not spot a single lion, arboreal or otherwise. But that’s not to say my stay there was fruitless. A boat excursion along the Kazinga Channel provided one of the best safari experiences I’ve ever had. I saw dozens of elephants playing in the water, large
I guess I was just unlucky.
Typically, lions are not adept at climbing; they are heavy and cumbersome and tend to fall out from the branches even if they try. Most monkeys in Africa know this and will laugh at lions as long as they do so from the safety of the canopy.
However, in the Ishasha sector of QENP, lions spend a significant amount of time lounging in giant fig trees. Some believe they do this to escape the tsetse flies, while others think it’s to stay cool. Regardless, witnessing a large pride of lions in a tree is an unforgettable sight… Or so I am told.
Despite spending three days on vehicle-based game drives, I did not spot a single lion, arboreal or otherwise. But that’s not to say my stay there was fruitless. A boat excursion along the Kazinga Channel provided one of the best safari experiences I’ve ever had. I saw dozens of elephants playing in the water, large
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pods of hippos, and numerous wetland birds, including pelicans. And while not as game-rich as Kenya’s Masai Mara, Queen Elizabeth National Park is still a beautiful safari destination, offering a diverse range of habitats, from rainforest to savannah. It boasts a variety of species, with over 600 birds, as well as numerous primates (including chimps), a plethora of plains game, and leopards and hyenas too. Moreover, many visitors to Ishasha do get to witness those tree-climbing lions.I guess I was just unlucky.
An Understated Gem
Despite the diversity of its wildlife – ranging from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Ugandan kob in the northern Kasenyi Plains, to chimps at Kyambura Gorge in the east, tree-climbing lions at Ishasha in the south, and over 600 species of birds in between – Queen Elizabeth National Park is quiet and quite serene. True, the wildlife may not be as copious as in some Kenyan or Tanzanian parks, but the Big Five are all here aside from rhinos. Although the best place to see lions is around Kasenyi Plains with its well-stocked larder of kob, the tree-climbing lions in Ishasha are a special sight – when I saw them dozing nonchalantly on the boughs of a fig tree, I stayed for an hour, mesmerized. A boat trip along the Kazinga Channel stretching between Lakes George and Edward is a must for any bird lover – within 20 minutes we saw at least 40 different species. Scenically, the park is as diverse as its residents, lying in the shadows of the Rwenzori Mountains on the floor of the Albertine
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Rift Valley, with myriad crater lakes scattered around, along with areas of open savanna and the tropical Maramagambo Forest, home to several primates.Oasis of Biodiversity
I can’t think of any African national park that packs quite so much biodiversity into a comparably small area as Queen Elizabeth. This assertion is backed up by a staggering checklist of 610 bird species – far more than the legendary Kruger or Serengeti NPs, both of which are around 10 times larger.
Probably the best known landmark in Queen Elizabeth, Mweya Peninsula is home to the most established of several dozen lodges set in and around the park. It is also the base for boat trips along the Kazinga Channel, a lovely steep-sided waterway that flows tranquilly from Lake George into Lake Edward. Kazinga swarms with hippo, elephant, buffalo and waterbirds such as great white pelican, yellow-billed stork and African fish eagle. Weather permitting, it also offers distant views of the snow-capped Rwenzori peaks.
Game drives on the Channel Drive north of Mweya can be a bit hit-and-miss, but I’ve often seen elephants, lions and leopards in this area, as well as
Other highlights? The mysterious Maramagambo Forest stands in a field of beautiful crater lakes and is home to many forest birds. Kyambura Gorge is one of my favourite spots for tracking chimps. Ishasha is a remote wilderness sector renowned for its tree-climbing lions, which I’ve encountered on about 50% of past visits. Best of all is the up-and-coming Kyambura Wildlife Reserve, site of an exciting new private concession where I saw large herds of elephant, buffalo and hippo on a guided walking safari around a beautiful pair of crater lakes on my most recent visit in November 2023.
Probably the best known landmark in Queen Elizabeth, Mweya Peninsula is home to the most established of several dozen lodges set in and around the park. It is also the base for boat trips along the Kazinga Channel, a lovely steep-sided waterway that flows tranquilly from Lake George into Lake Edward. Kazinga swarms with hippo, elephant, buffalo and waterbirds such as great white pelican, yellow-billed stork and African fish eagle. Weather permitting, it also offers distant views of the snow-capped Rwenzori peaks.
Game drives on the Channel Drive north of Mweya can be a bit hit-and-miss, but I’ve often seen elephants, lions and leopards in this area, as well as
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families of the localised giant forest hog (this is one of the few sites anywhere in Africa where this massive swine is regularly seen in daylight hours). Far more reliable for game drives, only an hour by road from Mweya, is the Kasenyi Plains, which host large numbers of lion, buffalo and Uganda kob.Other highlights? The mysterious Maramagambo Forest stands in a field of beautiful crater lakes and is home to many forest birds. Kyambura Gorge is one of my favourite spots for tracking chimps. Ishasha is a remote wilderness sector renowned for its tree-climbing lions, which I’ve encountered on about 50% of past visits. Best of all is the up-and-coming Kyambura Wildlife Reserve, site of an exciting new private concession where I saw large herds of elephant, buffalo and hippo on a guided walking safari around a beautiful pair of crater lakes on my most recent visit in November 2023.
Queen Elizabeth National Park, a Place of Diversity and Scenic Beauty Below the Mountains of the Moon
Queen Elizabeth National Park offers amazing diversity in a small area. In the heart of the park, high on a cliff overlooking the Kazinga Channel between Lake Edward and Lake George, stands Mweya Lodge. I could sit here all day, watching elephant and buffalo coming to drink at the river below. But there is a whole park to explore; new drama is unfolding the whole time, and who would want to miss all that? The Kasenyi Plains is a good place to start for savannah animals. These plains below the Mountains of the Moon are dotted with Ugandan kob, and lions lurk around every corner preying on these abundant antelope. Moving away from the plains, you can drive a circuit taking in some of the beautiful forested crater lakes. Further away you can hike down the impressive Kyambura Gorge, home to chimpanzees and other forest dwellers.
My favourite area in the park is the remote and little visited Ishasha sector. This place is renowned for tree-climbing lions and, contrary to some other
My favourite area in the park is the remote and little visited Ishasha sector. This place is renowned for tree-climbing lions and, contrary to some other
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parks that have this reputation, finding lions on a tree isn’t that hit and miss here. I’ve regularly found a whole pride of about 8 lions high up one of the comfortable sycamore figs that are common in the area. In fact, during a weeklong visit, I would usually find them leaving the river area mid-morning, where they would have drunk after their kill at night, and heading for one of their favourite trees. These creatures can be as predictable as your tabby house cat!Uganda’s Best
Uganda’s top safari destination, Queen Elizabeth is the one must-visit on any Ugandan safari. It still can’t boast wildlife numbers like the best Kenyan and Tanzanian parks, but there are plenty of big animals here and it has one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any nature preserve in the world. This includes an incredible 612 bird species. Nearly every visitor takes a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel where hippos and crocodiles are the stars, but buffaloes, elephants, lions and leopards might also be seen. Wildlife drives are best in the northeastern Kasenyi Plains, but the park’s famous tree-climbing lions are only found in the southwesterly Ishasha region. Sightings of these lions is far from guaranteed, as I can personally attest since I struck out on my quest to find them, even though my guide seemed to know every tree in the sector. But, the search was still rewarding since there were plenty of other animals around including a lot of elephants. My favorite place at QENP
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is the jungle-filled Kyambura Gorge, a beautiful slice of green in the savannah with a habituated chimpanzee community adding some variety to the typical safari experience. Staying inside the park at Mweya or Ishasha puts you in prime wildlife territory, though the lodges atop the Kichwamba Escarpment have inspiring views over the park and out to Lake Edward and the Rwenzori Mountains.Uganda’s Premier Safari Destination
Despite this being Uganda’s most well-known and regularly visited savannah reserve, Queen Elizabeth NP is far from overcrowded. What I like most about it is that it boasts a spectacular array of habitats and landscapes for tourists to appreciate. Boat cruises along the game-rich Kazinga Channel are a perennial favourite with wildlife enthusiasts and birders alike. On a clear day you can see all the way to the Rwenzori Mountains, but there’s no need to travel that far because volcanic features dominate sections within the park. The result is a stunning landscape peppered with crater lakes best appreciated from the air. The Kyambura Gorge on the edge of the national park is also a good place for tracking chimpanzees. But, without doubt, my favourite part of the park is the wild Ishasha sector, famed for its tree-climbing lions, which can regularly be found hanging out in the shady figs along the main road. This is a park with plenty of wildlife and lots to offer the discerning safari aficionado.
Uganda’s Offering of a Typical East African Reserve Supporting Herds of Game
My favourite activity at Queen Elizabeth is the boat ride on the Kazinga Channel. It’s said to contain the world’s largest concentration of hippo, and you can watch thousands of them practically piled on top of each other in the shallows; this is where to get that photo of a hippo yawning. We also saw elephant, buffalo and waterbuck ambling down to the water to cool off, while keeping a wary eye on the many crocs. The water’s edge also attracts thousands of birds, and from our boat I saw malachite kingfishers, fish eagles, and marabou storks that were bigger than the children in the local fishing village. Another attraction is the Uganda kob mating grounds on the Kasenyi and Ishasha Plains. Here, hundreds of male kobs battle it out, locking horns and gnashing teeth, to stubbornly defend their harem. It’s not unusual to see lion preying on the grazing females or arrogant males.
Amazing Diversity
Uganda isn’t really thought of as a classic safari destination in the way Kenya and Tanzania are, but Queen Elizabeth National Park proves the doubters wrong. This large park offers extraordinary diversity in its wildlife, landscapes and experiences. Here, within the space of 24 hours, you can track chimpanzees through the forest, take a boat ride to view hundreds of hippos, and watch lions climbing trees (it’s one of the only places they do this).
Whilst wildlife numbers don’t compare with the Serengeti or Masai Mara, this is still a very well-stocked park. Ugandan Kob are two a penny, the lions that feast on them are surprisingly easily seen (I think I have seen lions on every day of every visit), and elephants are also very likely to be encountered. Then there’s the hippos. With lots of waterways, pools and lakes, hippos are very common and by taking a boat ride down the Kazinga Channel you’ll be able to marvel at literally hundreds of them, as well as crocodiles
One of the unexpected attractions of this park are the habituated chimpanzees living in the tree-stuffed Kyambura Gorge. Sometimes they emerge onto the surrounding savannah and when they do so they may even walk upright – a look back at our shared ancestry if ever there was one!
Queen Elizabeth is also relatively easy and cheap to visit. So, with so much going for it are there any downsides? Not really in my opinion except that the park does lack that sense of space and wilderness that you can savour in some other East African parks.
Whilst wildlife numbers don’t compare with the Serengeti or Masai Mara, this is still a very well-stocked park. Ugandan Kob are two a penny, the lions that feast on them are surprisingly easily seen (I think I have seen lions on every day of every visit), and elephants are also very likely to be encountered. Then there’s the hippos. With lots of waterways, pools and lakes, hippos are very common and by taking a boat ride down the Kazinga Channel you’ll be able to marvel at literally hundreds of them, as well as crocodiles
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and a multi-coloured rainbow of water birds.One of the unexpected attractions of this park are the habituated chimpanzees living in the tree-stuffed Kyambura Gorge. Sometimes they emerge onto the surrounding savannah and when they do so they may even walk upright – a look back at our shared ancestry if ever there was one!
Queen Elizabeth is also relatively easy and cheap to visit. So, with so much going for it are there any downsides? Not really in my opinion except that the park does lack that sense of space and wilderness that you can savour in some other East African parks.
Greatest Collection of Mammal Species in Uganda
The best way to get an early feel for Queen Elizabeth National Park is to join a two-hour boat cruise up the Kazinga Channel, which runs between Lake George and Lake Edward. Birdlife is fantastic but the whole journey, especially if you go at sunset, is filled with sightings of watering elephants, buffalo, hippos, crocs and various antelope. Queen Elizabeth covers about 2000 sq km and some of the outlying country (at greatest distance from the lakes) is extremely wild and barely travelled. It can take some serious 4x4 driving to get to some parts of the park but is worth the mission if you have the opportunity to explore these areas. A definite highlight of the area is a walking safari in Kyambura Gorge where you can see several primate species – with undoubtedly the most spectacular being chimpanzees.
Big Cats and Furry Primates
Famed for its tree-climbing lions (and yes, seeing a lion sitting in a tree does look weird), Queen Elizabeth NP has a marvellous array of wildlife and you’ve even a good chance of spotting a leopard here on a night drive. There’s wildlife aplenty including four of the Big Five (no rhino).
A boat trip along the Kazinga Channel is a great way to enjoy the birdlife flitting along the banks, including kingfishers dive bombing into the water from overhanging tree branches. Along the shoreline one of our group spotted a leopard lazing on a tree branch in the late afternoon.
Another highlight of this park is Kyambura Gorge, a kind of humid, forested lost world where a community of chimps swing from tree to tree with abandon. Although you have a better chance of seeing chimps in Budongo or Kibale, this location is much more atmospheric. We stumbled across a family of chimps within 15 minutes of entering the gorge – the furry primates swung around us in the forest
This is a very fine national park with a diversity of experiences, activities, wildlife and adventure.
A boat trip along the Kazinga Channel is a great way to enjoy the birdlife flitting along the banks, including kingfishers dive bombing into the water from overhanging tree branches. Along the shoreline one of our group spotted a leopard lazing on a tree branch in the late afternoon.
Another highlight of this park is Kyambura Gorge, a kind of humid, forested lost world where a community of chimps swing from tree to tree with abandon. Although you have a better chance of seeing chimps in Budongo or Kibale, this location is much more atmospheric. We stumbled across a family of chimps within 15 minutes of entering the gorge – the furry primates swung around us in the forest
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and even came down for a closer look near the river.This is a very fine national park with a diversity of experiences, activities, wildlife and adventure.