Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth national park is Uganda’s primary destination for big game viewing. It comprises of approximately 1,978 square kilometers with varying landscapes including volcanic cones and craters, beautiful crater lakes, grassy plains, swamps, rivers, lakes and tropical forest. Animals found ere include elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, stating, giant forest hog, Uganda kob, topi and, Defassa waterbuck, along with crocodile in the Kazinga Channel. Giraffe, impala, rhino and zebra are not found here though. Ten different species of primates can be found here, including; chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys and baboons.
The park has over 600 of Uganda’s 1067 recorded bird species – one of the highest figures for any single protected area in the world. These include twelve species of kingfisher, including the giant (the world’s largest) and the dwarf (the world’s smallest) may be seen on waterways, 17 varieties of nectar-feeding sunbirds, flocks of red-throated bee-eaters, gangs of crow-like piapiacs, families of spectacular Ross’s turacos, and the rare shoebill.
A 2-hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, offers excellent opportunities for viewing hippo, elephant and buffalo at close range. Early morning and late evening day boat trips provide the best light for photographers.
The north of the park has several saline lakes. The Kyambura Gorge, located on the northeast boundary of the park, has a small population of chimpanzees. Trekkers descend from the savannah into a tropical rain forest within the gorge where turacos, hornbills and flycatchers abound. The park’s Ishasha region in the south of the park is famous for its tree-climbing lions.
The snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains lie to the north of queen Elizabeth National park.