Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda's most popular game reserve for Uganda safaris and certainly one most scenic. It stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the south, incorporating a wide variety of habitats that range from savanna and wetlands to gallery and lowland forest. This remarkable diversity is reflected in its bird list of over 550 species, the largest of any protected area in Africa.

ABOUT THE PARK

Districts : Rukungiri, Bushenyi and Kasese.
Altitude Range : 900 metres on Lake Edward to 1845 metres above sea     level. at the top of Escarpment of the Western Rift.
Size : 1978 km sq.
Status : National Park
Habitat : Medium altitude moist semi-deciduous forest, moist thicket,     riparian forest, riverine bush land, open woodland, open grassland,     seasonal and permanent swamps, lakes and rivers.
Timing : December - February.
Time required for this Uganda tour : 2-3 days.
Birds Recorded : 606 species.

KEY SPECIES

African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, The beautiful Black-headed Gonolek, Collard Pranticles, Pin-tailed Whyda Martial Eagle, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars,Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Common Squaco Heron, Shoebill Stork, African Open-billed Stork, African Fish Eagle, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, African Skimmer, Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary,Great white and Pink-backed Pelicans,White-winged Terns.

BIRD WATCHING TOURS

The main camp at Mweya is attractively positioned with fine views of the Rwenzori Mountains aumber of widespread bush species may be seen in the vicinity of the airstrip watch for African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Swamp Fly-catcher, Grey-capped Warbler, The Beautiful Black-headed Gonolek, Red-chested sunbird, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed and Lesser Masked Weavers, Pin-tailed Whydah,and brimstone Canary, Gabon and Slender-tailed Nightjars, are fairly common along the airstrip.

The Kazinga channel is a magnet for water birds a launch cruise reveals species such as; Great-white and Pink-backed Pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, Common Squaco Heron, African open-billed Strok, White-faced Whistling and Knob-billed Ducks, African Fish Eagle, Black Crake, African Jacana, Water Thick-knee, Spur-winged and African Wattled Plovers, Malachite and Pied kingfishers, Swamp flycatchers and Yellow backed Weavers are all common and conspicious. Numbers of migrants peak in Febuary and March and are nothing short of spectacular with hundreds of thousands of White-winged Terns hovering over the water, millions of common sand Martins and Yellow -wagtails roosting in reed-beds and lesser numbers of palaeartic waders such as the Ringed Plover, Little Stint,Curlew Sandpipers,Common Snipe,Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh, common and Wood sandpipers, Spotted Redshank and common Greenshankfeeding along the marshy fringes. A number of national rarities have been recorded from the hippo wallows along the channel including Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Northern Pochard, Mongolian Plover and Jack Snipe. Hundreds of African Skimmers may be seen roosting on sandbars near the entrance to Lake Edward but are migrants from southern tropics and usually present only from December to May. The Kazinga channel may also be viewed from the Katunguru Bridge on the main Mbarara-Kasese road where Pelicans, Terns, Greater Swamp and winged Warblers, Winding and Carruther’s Cisticolas and Papyrus Gonolek may be seen.

ACCESS

The Main Camp and Park HQ at Mweya is a convenient base for exploring the sites in the northern part of the park, whilst the road network running from Ishasha Camp and Ranger Post, 80 km to the south, provides access to the Ishasha area.

ACCOMMODATION

Simba Safari Camp -

Mweya Safari Lodge - luxury accommodation is an ideal place for relaxation a 5 star lodge with swimming facilities a variety of bird species can be seen in this area.
Jacana Safari Lodge - luxury accommodation is an ideal place for relaxation and refreshment built over the banks of a crater lake you will loose all your worries.
The Institute of Ecology - budget, basic hostel style accommodation. Camping - can be done at Mweya, Maramagambo Forest and Ishasha sector of the park come with camping facilities or can be provided by the company.