​Expert Reviews – Queen Elizabeth NP

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Expert
Charlotte Beauvoisin   –  
Uganda UG
Visited: November

Charlotte lives in Uganda and is a writer, blogger, volunteer and promoter of birding, conservation and responsible tourism. She writes for Fodor’s, Horizon Guides and Bradt, and runs an award-winning blog.

Queen Elizabeth’s reign continues in Uganda's best safari destination
Overall rating
5/5

If you only visit one National Park in Uganda, visit (what is colloquially known as) Queen.
Measuring 1978 km² 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, but it boasts staggering biodiversity: over 600 bird species, second only to the DRC's Virunga National Park (a park of almost 4 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 breeding ground for Uganda kob, 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 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 en route "between gorillas (Bwindi) and chimps (Kibale)" plus wide range of accommodation make it hard to beat.

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Expert
Mark Eveleigh   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: August

Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.

1 person found this review helpful.

Greatest collection of mammal species in Uganda
Overall rating
5/5

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 2000sq 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.

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Expert
Philip Briggs   –  
South Africa ZA
Visited: Multiple times

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

4 people found this review helpful.

Oasis of biodiversity
Overall rating
5/5

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 Ruwenzori 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 families of the localised giant forest hog (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.

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Average Expert Rating

  • 4.2/5
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

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