Queen Elizabeth National Park.???.....Why have we stopped Dad?’ My 8-year old son prides himself on being an expert game spotter. He has spent most of his holidays on safari. We had already seen a herd of over three hundred elephant that morning.

We sat on the roof of our Landcruiser finishing the last of our breakfast while the gentle giants wandered from the cover of the forest into the open plains

Their mighty trunks swung before them and they sauntered from side to side lifting the trunks to smell as they go. The wind was in our favour and with their poor eyesight they had no chance of seeing us until they were very close. A huge cow swung to face us and I wonder if it was my strong cup of coffee she smelt?

She shook her head vigorously and the great ears flapped loudly against her hide in a warning. We got the message as a younger cow mimicked her warning in a less threatening way.

We had left the elephants behind and stopped in the shade of a large plains tree.

I pointed up for the benefit of my son and his eyes widened. ‘Wow, he is huge’ and he was.

He was asleep until our excited voices had roused him and he forced open one eye to look down on the disturbance. A bulging belly showed the faintest spots of his youth and a heavily scarred face was evidence of how hard life had been since then.

His muzzle was generously dyed with fresh blood and he had probably killed the night before? He could, of course, have waited for another to kill for him and then chased the exhausted hunter off their meal. Ishasha, is one of the few places in world where the king of the beasts climbs into trees and it is not a sight one easily forgets.Click here for more information on carnivores in Ugandan national Parks

Queen Elizabeth National Park is probably the most popular park in Uganda because of its size and wildlife i.e. animals and birds

Established in 1952, it is one of Uganda's three oldest parks and covers an area of 1978 km².

Queen Elizabeth National Park park is situated on the Equator in the Western Rift Valley (Albertine Rift) close to the Rwenzori Mountains and is contiguous with Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Click here to learn more about the culture of the Bakonjo who live near this national park

The mark is bisected by the famous Kazinga channel into two sectors (the northern and the southern sector).

Each sector has different ecosystems, each with its own distinctive attractions.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a world biosphere reserve for humanity (UNESCO, 1979) and the site is classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International.

QENP has 568 of Uganda's 1017 species of birds (over a quarter of Africa's bird species), which is more than any other park in Africa!

Mweya is the Northern sector is the most popular part of Queen Elisabeth NP since it has the beautiful and renovated Mweya Safari Lodge.

This lodge is situated on the peninsula, with an extraordinary view over the Kazinga channel. One of the highlights is the rewarding launch trip on the Kazinga channel.

The bird life is prolific, and there is much game, including elephants.There is also a scenic crater area, some of which contain salt lakes. They were formed by volcanic activity some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

On the eastern side of the Park toward Lake George lies an interesting game viewing area with the Uganda kob mating ground.Click here for more information about wildlife in Uganda

Ishasha

Ishasha is the southern part of the park, which lies in the spectacular highland of Kigezi.

Ishasha is famous for its tree-climbing lions. The concentration of game, with large herds of Uganda kob, topi and buffalo, is found in the savannah highlands of Kigezi and at the Lake Edward flats. Click here for more information about the antelope species in Uganda

Elephants are also found, though not in large numbers. Bird watchers will appreciate the rich birdlife along the Ishasha River.

Ishasha is an off-the-beaten-path destination which most package tours cannot offer simply because there are no fixed accommodations.

However, some of the best camping sites of Uganda are in this area. Further to the north, you'll find the immense Maramgambo Forest. This forest - one of the largest in Uganda - is highly regarded not only by birders but also by hikers, since there are a number of walking trails. Along these trails, you will get a good idea of the wildlife (primates, birds and butterflies) in the forest . (The bats cave (fruit bats) is an interesting walking destination

Related Pages

mgahinga National Park

Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda

Katonga Wildlife Reserve

Kibale forest National Park

Kidepo National Park

Mount Elgon Park

Murchison Falls National Park

Semliki Game Reserve

Semliki National Park

Rwenzori Mountain National Park

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