Queen Elizabeth National Park, located in south western Uganda, is one of the most scenic national parks in East Africa.

The national park was established in 1952, named after Queen Elizabeth II, but the park was later re-named Ruwenzori before it returned to its royal name.

Occupying an area of 1,978 square km, east of lake Edward and south of Ruwenzori Mountains, Queen Elizabeth National Park contains an incredible number of species – about 100 mammal species and over 600 species of birds. The rich flora and fauna of Queen Elizabeth National Park confirms the reason as to why the park is the most-visited game reserve in Uganda. The park is also famous for its volcanic cones and deep craters - many with crater lakes such as the salt generating Lake Katwe. See other popular safari destinations in Uganda.

Some of the wildlife hosted by Queen Elizabeth National Park include elephants, leopards, lions, water buffaloes, antelopes and hippos. In deed the Kazinga Channel, the 40-km channel connecting Lake George to Lake Edward, is said to hold the largest concentration of hippos in the world. However, there are no impala, giraffe, zebra or rhino in the park.

The plain north of Kazinga Channel is the primary game viewing area of Queen Elizabeth National Park. There are numerous intertwining tracks that enable you to get best views of the animals in the grassland thickets that cover the North Kazinga area near Mweya Peninsula.

Mweya is the focal point of most visits to Queen Elizabeth National Park and home to the Mweya Lodge. Located at the heart of the park over-looking the Kazinga Channel, Mweya Lodge offers excellent accommodation to Queen Elizabeth National Park visitors.

A 100km road trip to the south of Mwenya will take you to Ishasha, the park’s most remote region offering rewarding wilderness experience. Ishasha supports a variety of wildlife including the famous tree climbing lions that can be be spotted relaxing in the branches of giant fig trees.

Ishasha not only provides excellent game viewing opportunities for buffalo, elephants and various species of antelope but its also boasts an idyllic wilderness camp going by the same name.

Ishasha Wilderness Camp provides the ideal location for a midway break between gorilla viewing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the other areas of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The camp is also an excellent base for excursions to the Lake Edward neighbourhoods where incredibly large herds of game can be viewed.

Queen Elizabeth National Park lies on the floor of the Great Rift Valley. The low altitude and its location  exactly on the equator mean that temperatures can be warm, rising from a mean minimum of 18°C to a mean maximum of 28°C. The park receives up to 1250mm of rain, mostly during March - May and September - November.

The best time to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park is between January and February – the hot dry months of Uganda. During the months of June to September when the park is driest, animals can be spotted easily near the water sources but this is not a good time to visit as afternoon thunderstorms can happen at any time. It is totally inadvisable to visit the park in the months of October to December and March to May as roads are impassable as a result of heavy rains.

Queen Elizabeth National Park can be accessed by road from the capital city of Kampala – located 420 km away or via aircraft. There is a landing strip for light aircraft at Mweya Lodge and another for larger aircrafts at the town of Kasese situated on the western edge of the national park.

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