History of Queen Elizabeth National Park: Queen Elizabeth National Park’s history dates back to 1912, when a sleeping sickness outbreak led to the park’s designation as a restricted area. At that time, the villagers who were farming and fishing in the park were asked to leave and relocate to the surrounding districts. As a result of the area’s depopulation, more acreage was available for wild animals.
The British government made the decision to evict the few surviving residents in order to establish game reserves as the region grew large enough for a variety of species to thrive. They forced people to flee to nearby regions like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kasese, Bushenyi, Rukunguri, and many more after destroying their homes and even killing park animals.
The locals designated the wide protected area Kazinga Channel National Park in 1952. The lengthy river channel divides the two game reserves in the area, one in the Ankole kingdom and the other in the Toro kingdom. Two lakes in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Rutanzige and Katunguru, were named in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s father, George, and uncle, Edward, in 1954.
After the British monarch visited the park in 1954, the current Queen Elizabeth National Park gained notoriety. Following the queen’s visit, the two game reserves, Lake George and Lake Edward, were combined to establish Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Kazinga Channel was donated to connect Ankole to Toro Kingdom.
Three traditional leaders from Ankole, Toro, and Bunyoro met with Queen Elizabeth during her visit in 1954 at what is now known as the Queen Pavilion. The government changed the park’s name from Kazinga Channel to Queen Elizabeth National Park in honor of her visit.
What to know about Queen Elizabeth national park
One of the earliest protected sites, Queen Elizabeth National Park was gazetted in 1952. With 1978 square kilometers, the national park is the second largest in the nation, behind Murchison Falls National Park, which has 3983 square kilometers. There are 600 bird species, 95 animal species, and 10 primate species in this national park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to a wide variety of species, but its most well-known feature is the tree-climbing lions that may be seen perched on large tree branches in the park’s Ishasha sector.
The districts of Kasese, Rubirizi, Rukungiri, and Kamwenge are included to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The government organization in charge of overseeing and managing this park is Uganda Animal, and it is reported that the animal population has been steadily growing over the past few years. Four large creatures can be found throughout the national park: lions, buffaloes, elephants, and leopards.
The Kazinga Channel, which runs through Queen Elizabeth National Park and connects Lake George and Lake Edward, is home to the greatest number of hippos in the world. The national park has one of the highest annual visitor counts in the nation.
Birdwatching, game drives, the Kazinga Channel boat trip, nature walks, chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura, and community tours are just a few of the tourism activities available at the park. Since the park is available year-round, these activities can be completed at any time of year.
Accessing Queen Elizabeth National Park
One of the places that can be reached by road and air is Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park may be reached by car from Kampala via Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, and Rubirizi, or from Kampala via Mubende, Kyenjonjo, Fort Portal, and Kasese. These two routes need seven to eight hours of driving.
Chartered flights from Kajjansi airstrip or Entebbe International Airport to Mweya Airport or Kasese Airstrip let visitors to reach the park by plane. You must make reservations in advance with airlines like Aerolink Uganda and Bar Aviation Uganda in order to get to the park. After the one-hour and fifteen-minute flight to Mweya, you are given a brief ride by a driver guide to your reserved lodging.
What is the best time to visit the park?
Although you can visit Queen Elizabeth Park at any time of year, some seasons are better than others. The dry season, which runs from June to September and December to February, has been shown to be the ideal time to visit the park. The roads going to the park are passable, the foliage is short and dispersed with nice views of the attractions, and the game pathways are dry due to insufficient or nonexistent rainfall.
Additionally, visitors can visit the park during the rainy season, which runs from March to May and October to November. This is advantageous for those on a tight budget because lodges are more affordable during these times. Travelers should be aware that the roads leading to the park are impassable, there is a lot of rainfall during the rainy season, which makes the game routes muddy and slick, and the vegetation is dense and tall, making it difficult to see the attractions.