Getting to queen elizabeth national park

Getting to queen elizabeth national park : Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular wildlife national park in Uganda named after the late Queen Elizabeth II of England, the park is loved by travelers for its abundant wildlife (large herbivores species) including 4 of the big Five – lions, leopards, cape buffaloes and elephants and other species such as Uganda kobs, waterbucks, hippos, crocodiles and topis among others. There are over 95 mammal species and over 600 recorded bird species in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park spans in the districts of Kasese Kamwenge, Rubirizi and Rukungiri covering an area of 1,978 square kilometers, lies on the Africa’s Western Rift Valley floor at an altitude of 884 – 1,337 m. The park protects diverse habitats including grassland, savannah, forests, wetlands and lakes.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is located in Western Uganda approximately 250 miles from Kampala the capital of Uganda which is also where most safaris to start from, from Kampala it is a drive of about 6 hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The park is situated close of towns of Kasese just on the northeastern edge and Rubirizi on the park’s southeastern edge.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a very accessible Uganda wildlife destination using road and air means of transport depending on the preference of the traveler.

By Road

Road transport is the most used mode of transport to Queen Elizabeth National Park and it a drive of approximately 5-6 hours from Kampala using several routes like Kampala via Masaka – Mbarara – Bushenyi route of 420 kilometers and Kampala via Mubende – Fort Portal – Kasese route of 410 kilometers.

Queen Elizabeth National Park can be accessed by either private or public means of transport.

By Public transport, there are public buses offering daily transport from Kampala to Kasese town, Kikorongo Junction, Katunguru or Kyambura then hire a vehicle to reach the park’s gates. There are not buses which reach the park’s gate.

By private transport: You can either hire a private vehicle from Kampala and drive yourself to Queen Elizabeth National Park or Use safari vehicles offered as part of the Uganda safari. Our safari packages to Queen Elizabeth National Park include a fueled vehicle and safari guide.

Queen Elizabeth National Park can also be accessed from Rwanda using Ntugamo – Kasese road with border crossing at Cyanika border, from Congo the park can be accessed using Fort-Portal – Mpondwe Road.

Note: The recommended Vehicle to use to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park is a 4×4 wheel vehicle as it can manage to navigate through the slippery and muddy routes leading to and inside the park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park can also be reached from other Uganda’s national parks/ travel destinations

for visitors getting to Queen Elizabeth national park from the park’s north side that is from Murchison Falls National Park, Semuliki, Rwenzori Mountains or Kibale, the best route to use is Fort Portal – Kasese road
Visitors coming for the southern side of the park that is from Lake Mburo national park, Bwindi impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla national park, the best route to use is Mbarara – Katnguru road.
From Bwindi impenetrable national park to Queen Elizabeth National Park the route passes through the Ishasha Sothern Sector of the park giving visitors the opportunity to see the tree climbing lions.

Routes to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Kampala via Masaka – Mbarara Route

This is a direct route to Queen Elizabeth National Park passing through the towns of Masaka and Mbarara, along the way visitors get a glimpse of Lake Mburo national park and sights of zebras grazing.

This route is approximately 420 kilometers.

Kampala via Mubende – Fort portal – Kasese highway

The route is approximately 410 kilometers and passes through towns of Mubende, Fort Portal and Kasese to get to Queen Elizabeth National Park, this routes runs through the main tourism to Mweya Peninsula and also leads to Kibale Forest National Park

By Air

There are daily domestic and chartered flights to Queen Elizabeth National Park arranged from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi airstrips to the airstrips serving the park that is Kasese airstrip, Mweya airstrip or Ishasha airstrip.

There are daily morning and afternoon flights departing Entebbe at 07:00 am arriving before 09:00 am and the afternoon flights departing from 12:45 pm and arrive at 14:35pm.

flying to queen elizabeth park

The private flights can also be arranged depending on the preferred times by the traveler

Domestic and chartered flights to Queen Elizabeth National Park are offered by several flight companies including Aerolink, Eagle Air and Bar Aviation.

The Best Time to Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park for a safari

Queen Elizabeth National Park is a wonderful Uganda safari destination and it is possible to visit it at any time of year, however the best time to visit is during the season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. This is so, because there is less rainfall, the vegetation cover is thin and the trails used to explore the park dry and less muddy.

Since it is a dry season, most of the water sources in the park dry up, forcing animals to congregate at the remaining watering holes to drink water and cool off thus seeing them in huge numbers.