Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s flagship wildlife destination, straddling the equator in western Uganda between Lake Edward and Lake George. The park’s diverse habitats, open savannah, forest patches, wetlands, crater lakes, and the Rift Valley escarpment, support extraordinary biodiversity.
The park is famous for its Ishasha sector in the southwest, home to Uganda’s celebrated tree-climbing lions. These unusual prides spend their days lounging in the branches of fig trees, a behaviour rarely seen elsewhere in Africa and one of the park’s most iconic sights.
The Kazinga Channel, a 32-km natural channel linking Lakes Edward and George, offers boat cruises past some of Africa’s largest concentrations of hippos (over 5,000) and Nile crocodiles, with elephants frequently drinking along the banks.
Kyambura Gorge, a dramatic forest canyon cutting through the savannah, shelters a habituated chimpanzee community that can be tracked on guided walks. The gorge is sometimes called the “Valley of the Apes.”
With over 620 recorded bird species, Queen Elizabeth holds one of Africa’s highest bird counts in a single park, making it a world-class birding destination alongside its big-game offerings.
What you can experience
Game drives in the Kasenyi plains and Ishasha sector deliver Uganda kob, elephant, buffalo, and the park’s famous tree-climbing lions. A Kazinga Channel boat cruise concentrates hippo, Nile crocodile, and elephant along one of Africa’s richest wildlife waterways.
Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge, nature walks in Maramagambo Forest, and crater-lake viewpoints complete a stay that feels like several parks in one.
Tree-climbing lions in Ishasha
The Ishasha sector is one of the few places on earth where lions routinely rest in fig trees above Uganda kob plains. It sits naturally on the drive between Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Kazinga Channel boat cruise
A launch along the Kazinga Channel concentrates hippo, crocodile, elephant, and waterbirds in one of Uganda’s richest wildlife waterways. Many itineraries combine this with chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge and a later chimp day in Kibale Forest National Park.
Getting there
Queen Elizabeth lies about six to seven hours from Kampala by road, or a short flight to Kasese. It sits naturally between Kibale and Bwindi on the classic western circuit.
