Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the most diverse ecosystems stretching along the floor of the Albertine Rift Valley region. It is famous for its tree-climbing lions together with the many birds of the national park, the park setup is surrounded by crater lakes, and the Rwenzori mountain stretch, the flora and Fauna of the park is incredible, it is home to many animal species including the so called big four of the wilderness,the magnificent look of the park perfectly describes the mismatch of lots of features of the park, its major attraction points include the Kazinga channel where Boat cruise in queen Elizabeth national park is done.
The Kazinga channel connects 2 twin rift valley lakes of Edward and George, it is a 40-kilometer stream popular for the world’s largest concentration of hippos in the world, a boat cruise on the Kazinga channel is the highlight of a typical Uganda African safari, a trip to the queen Elizabeth national park minus a boat cruise is like missing breakfast! The experience is epic, the channel acts as an oasis for animals, especially during the dry season they collect around the banks of the stream and expect to see hippos, lions, elephants, water bucks, and bushbucks to mention a few and so many birds, the animals are intermingled together as you proceed with the course of the stream, it is a magical moment that can not be explained but rather experienced.
The boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Parktakes +/- 2 hours to enjoy the view of animals, the slow boat ride will indulge deeply and have a connection to nature, there are 2 sessions in the morning and the afternoon, and the boats can be booked through the Uganda wildlife authority or by your ground handler/Tour operator from private companies, like Marasa Africa, most travellers have this as a repeat activity on their visit to the national park. Other things to do include game drives conducted in the northern Kasenyi plains and through the southern part of the national park in search of tree-climbing lions.
For birders, the Kazinga channel is a great location to go birding while in the national park, while on safari, you can see more than 50 different species of birds, examples of species include the Marabou stock, martial eagles, sunbirds, pelicans, great blue turaco, Malachite kingfisher, African fish eagles, blue breasted bee-eater to mention a few.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s oldest national conservation areas, the second largest after Murchison Falls National Park, it is situated in the western part of Uganda and can be accessed via the Kampala-Mbara highway, it takes approximately +/-6 hours to arrive at the destination, trips to the national park are combinedwith those of Bwindi impenetrable national park and the Lake Mburo national park for better experiences.
There are mandatory park entrance fees that are paid out to the management to be granted access to the national park, foreign residents are charged $30, foreign non-residents $40 and East African citizens 20,000 Uganda shillings, it is wise to pack right for the wilderness take long sleeved light clothes, insect repellant and any other items of personal nature.