The park, in the western arm of the Great East African Rift Valley covers 1,978 sq km located in Rukungiri, Bushenyi and Kasese districts. It includes a variety of eco-systems; from semi-deciduous tropical forest to green meadows, savannah and swamps, with crater-dotted hills and open grassland. It supports an abundance of wildlife, including elephant, the tree-climbing lion, leopard, the unique Ugandan antelope, the kob, baboons, hippos, buffalo and man’s closest cousin the chimpanzee. The park’s dominant feature is the 32km long Kazinga Channel that links Lake Edward to Lake George. The Kazinga Channel is said to contain the world’s largest concentration of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles – all easily viewed from a boat cruise.

The park is home to more than a quarter of Africa’s total birdlife. With more than 500 species of bird within its borders including the black bee-eater, 11 types of king fisher, and several species of falcons, eagles and raptors, the park is a bird watcher’s paradise! Flamingos can also be found in the crater lakes to the north.

Popular tourist activities are game viewing, nature guided walks, bird watching, launch trip,scenery viewing.

A Queen Elizabeth Safari offers the opportunity to see game in unusual landscapes and the park is one of East Africa’s best kept secrets. The animals here aren’t being hounded by dime-a-dozen minibuses.

Timing : December - February.
Time required : 2-3 days.